Is it autism or speech/language delayed ?

[lisasasongko]

My daughter is soon to be 27 months. She has not talked yet. Only few words, like: ball, duck, woof woof (for dog), go, up, baba (for bye bye), juice, etc (but less than 50 words). Not combining any 2 words yet. about 6  months ago, she was diagnosed of having speech/language delay. She is seeing speech therapy an hour a week.

However, recently, I started to concern about her behavior. She likes to babbled something, like she's talking to herself. She started staring at nothing. And I also realized her eye contact with me is diminished.

Is she just having a speech/language delay or are those autism signs ?

thank you

[Jessica L Thomason Sassi, Ph.D., BCBA-D]

Diagnostic criteria for Pervasive Developmental Disorders (including Autism, Aspergers, and others) include delays in social interaction skills, communication skills, and the presence of stereotyped or restricted behavior and interests.  It is difficult to tell the extent of a problem from a description, but what you are describing (diminished eye contact) might fall within a range of typical behavior or might be an indicator of problems with social interaction skills.  However, your subsequent description suggests that she has regular social exchanges – so it sounds as though there is a good chance the issue is limited to language delays at this time.

Direct evaluation by a qualified professional is necessary for any diagnosis.  For your peace of mind, I’d suggest that you describe your concerns to your pediatrician and ask whether s/he thinks that referral to a specialist for further evaluation is necessary. They may recommend further evaluation, or they might find her development to be relatively normal.  If they don’t recommend follow-up and you still don’t see improvement within a few months, you might want to bring your concerns back to your pediatrician and ask again for a referral to a specialist.

[lisasasongko]

She can understand directions well. She likes to help me clean up or getting things for me. She doesn't have severe or violent tantrums. She is cooperative. She shows me what she wants. Because she's not talking yet, she points to the things that she wants. So I help her say the word, like "Do you want banana? say: banana" then she'll say "nana"