delayed speech

[bsmith1969]

My son is 4 and a half years old.  He has delayed speech.   His sentences are one to three words.  His doctor had always said he was perfect.  Everything else has developed normally and on time. At age 4, his doctor felt that maybe he fell on the spectrum of Autism because of delayed speech and his behavior.  I took him to see a speech pathologist.  She said he had receptive/expressive disorder.   I took him to a neurologist, and after 15 minutes of observation, he decided that it is Autism.  I was told to get myself educated on the subject.  After taking my child off all milk and wheat products, I found a DAN doctor.  This doctor felt that he does not have Autism.  The DAN doctor sent me to a hearing specialist.  The hearing doctor said it is not hearing and he also flet that he did not have autism.  The DAN doctor and the hearing specialist feel he is not Austitic because he is aware of his surroundings and understand what is being said to him.  The hearing specialist has now refered me to another neurologist.  My question is, if it isn't autism and it isn't hearing, what else could it be?  

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Besides the delay in speech/language, what behavior is of concern? If the only concern is around the language issue, he is certainly does not display a condition along the spectrum of autism. But is there something else about him that prompts people to be concerned?

[bsmith1969]

Yes.  My son repeats things over and over.  He will become obsessed with shapes, letters, and numbers.  Anything he is interested in is repeated over and over.  

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Such stereotyped, repetitive behavior can indicate a problem along the Pervasive Developmental Disorder spectrum, but it does not by itself indicate that such a condition exists. I recommend either a developmental evaluation (by a team of specialists) or an evaluation by a child psychiatrist.