SPEECH DELAY IN 27 MONTH OLD

Hi Doctor,

My son is 27 months old and has about 50 words he CAN say if asked to repeath them. HOwever, he really only uses about 10 to  15 on a regular basis (mama, dada, hi, bye, juice, outside, up,down, yea, un-uh). My concern is for autism as he seems to really like motion.  For instance in the car he just stares outside and watches the trees go back and forth almost in a trance. He also likes to spin around and watch his feet while he spins. In the stroller he will just stare a the wheels. Does this type of behavior happen with kids in general? He really is pretty social and smiles and giggles alot. WIll play good with us and sister.  He can communicate with pointing and grunting also.

Given the speech delay and the like for motion/movement is autism something we need to be looking into further?

Thanks for any info, Mercer (MRSA)

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

There is a wide spectrum of conditions called Pervasive Developmental Disorders, and Autistic Disorder is one of them. Even within this category there is great variation in children's characteristics, from severe to mild symptom profiles. On the basis of your description, Autistic Disorder is not an obvious likelihood, though it's not impossible you're seeing a mild version of the condition. If he is displaying any condition along the PDD spectrum, it's likely not Autistic Disorder, particularly in view of his social inclinations. It would be sensible to have him evaluated by a developmental specialist who can pinpoint his status in the various aspects of development.