we are very worried please reply

[john687]

my son who is three and a half year old cannot complete sentences or some time miss the words from sentences .he goes to school , but after going to school he has learnt alot , but he cannot ask the quetion or reply back ..like if we ask him good morning MM he will reply goodmorning MM and so on . he cannot tell us if he is hurt , he cannot express his feelings . and in his school he bites other children too.actually what we think in our house we had lot of problems in last one year and me and wife were so tensed that we stopped talking and our main motto was to feed him and send him school.. after he comes back from school , when we will make him sleep he will tell us MM will go to park ..what he should say that i am sleeping when i will get up i will go to park .please please reply us back as we are very worried

[Sally44]

My son is also echolalic.  He used to repeat things I said to him when he was a toddler.  But from age 3+ he started repeating TV/DVD dialogue and also uses phrases, words, accents etc from films and TV in his speech.  Now I would say his speech is 50/50 his own and delayed echolalic speech.  He finds it harder to find the words to put together a sentence himself.  It is easier for him to use a phrase he has already heard and use it correctly in its emotional context.  So, for example, if his father were to tease him, he might say 'I'm going to send you to Timbuktu'.  That phrase comes from Walt Disneys the Aristocats and is what the butler says to the cats because he wants them out of the way.  So, autistic children can be very clever in the way they put together their speech.  I know that I could do it like my son does.
So your child's speech will improve.  But he will need input from Speech and Language Therapy and may need assessing by other professionals to see if he needs other supports in school.

[Ridina]

John
My son is autistic and is now 5 1/2 years old.  He was diagnosed at 2 1/2 years old.  He was doing the same that you have mentioned as well as other characteristics.  With intervention that he has had he no longer does the echo.  The sooner you act the better for your child.  Not saying my son is cured but the echo he used to do has evolved.

hope that helps!

[Rachel Thompson, Ph.D., BCBA]

You should be sure that you share your concerns with your child's school and your pediatrician. These professionals should be able to make a referral for assessment of your child's language development and his development in other areas. It is very important to intervene as early as possible.

[Sally44]

I am a parent not a professional.
Google echolalia and see if that is relevant to how your son uses speech.  If it is then you need to go to your doctor and ask for a referal to a Speech and Language Therapist.  If you suspect autism, tell your doctor that and you should ask for a SALT with experience of this diagnosis.
As well as a SALT a paediatrician and physcologist should observe and assess your son before you get any kind of diagnosis.
If you go onto the Autism forum, at the top right hand corner of the page click on the Health Page icon and go into the Behaviourial Characteritics behind a Diagnosis of Autism.  That gives the DSM IV clinical diagnostic criteria.  This is the criteria the doctors look at to decide if your child is autistic (on the spectrum) or not.  Parents have also posted examples of their childs behaviour that meets the criteria, so that should help you see what behaviours the doctors are looking for.