Speech problems with my 3 yr old/school says autism????

[2brilliantbabies]

I have a 3 yr old (born 12/31/02).  She was delivered by c-section 2 weeks early, but was still 7 lbs 9 oz.  She was jaudiced, but no other real problems.  Development went quite well until about 6 mos ago, when I realized that her speech was probably not where it should be.  My pediatrician and other professionals said that it was most likely because everyone in the family (including her older sister) spoke for her.  She did not need to verbalize much to get her needs met.  We have been trying to get her to talk more, and she is doing better.  Mostly one or two word sentences. Says, "Hey look" "Got an owie, Mama kiss it?" or "What's that" "Hey give that back it's mine" (comes out very clear). Uses "Please" "Thank you" and "You're welcome" at appropriate times.  She does do a lot of "rambling" and it generally pertains to Dora or Blue's Clues (she will do a monologue from parts of the shows) with no real precipitator. (I should add she has probably watched more than her share of Blue's Clues and Dora.)  She will answer yes or no questions, follows directives with no problems, sometimes very complex.  She knows her ABC's, identifies shapes (including hexagon and octogon), can write her numbers to 10 periodically, can identify her numbers through 20, can count to 20, draws exceptionally well (according to her pediatrician), knows all of her colors, and throughly enjoys sports (any form of playing ball, but especially soccer) and does amazingly well. I might add that she does not play any structured setup of soccer, but does kick with both feet and dribble the ball with her feet all the way across our huge backyard.  She also pitches and catches very well.  I had her screened at our school for 3 yr Pre K.  They immediately picked up on the speech problem and because she did so well on the other areas, they started using words like "splinter skills."  She does do echoing, but seems to repeat the word until we say it back to her (almost like a form of acknowledgement). She enjoys being with other children, is not a picky eater (actually quite the opposite), maintains eye contact, is very affectionate.  They want to have her evaluted by a child psychologist, do an IEP, and possibly put her in the special education room of the Pre-K in the fall.  I disagree. I think she is language delayed, but not autistic. They (the school teachers, etc) seem to be pushing this, and I am very uncomfortable that they are so quick to label her based on a 45 minute screening.  My pediatrician saw her yesterday and did not feel that autism is the appropriate "label".  He feels that language delay is a problem, and she should be evaluated for that.  My husband and I agree and are following through with that.  I am wondering, are the teachers/evaluators seeing something I'm not, should I be concerned about possible autism; should she be evaluated further.  My doctor said that University of Iowa Hospitals have a very good department, if we want to pursue that. Thanks so much

[2brilliantbabies]

Thanks again to those who shared their thoughts with me.  Audrey is continuing to progress, but slowly.  She is finally answering questions like, "What's your name?" and "How old are you?" correctly. (Although she does like to tease us and say "2" instead of "3"...she thinks that's hilarious!) We have significantly cut down on the television, especially Blue's Clues and Dora.  The spontaneous "rambling" has slowed...Thank Goodness!  She continues to be very active, especially outdoors (learning to pump her legs on the swing now!), playing any form of ball, and learning how to drive her older sister's Barbie jeep.  Still an extremely loving and affectionate little girl, with very good peer relations.  We have started attending a play group two times a week now.  Verbal skills are definitely improving, using new words and phrases!  She still refuses to talk to strangers, but I don't think that's such a bad thing!  I have been working with the school system dilligently, and we are in the process of setting up a speech/language evaluation. (Hopefully soon!)  Subsequent therapies will depend on the therapist. (This is a bad time of the year, with school coming to and end in about a month.) It is a possibility that we may get to continue through the summer if the therapist is willing.  We are pushing this very hard!  Thanks again to everyone..this site has been a very positive experience for me in a very stressful time!

[TTroop7]

My daughter just turned three on March 4th. She has been in early intervention and is now in the school, preschool with an IEP. She goes to preschool twice a week and during that time is taken out for a half our each day for speech therapy.
I'm writing to tell you that she seems to be at the same level as your child with speech, but is behind when it comes to drawing, shapes and numbers.
She did have a hearing test done yesterday, at the request of the school. ( I had no reason to think twice about it) As it turns out there is something blocking the absorbtion of the sound in her left ear. Could just be an infection so we are retesting in three weeks.
If with just a 45 minute interview with your child and they are saying possible autism... I would question it big time!! Like someone else said, try to keep your child mainstreamed because they could fall further behind if not.
Let us know how everything goes.
Tonya

[mom3g1b]

My child has aspergers very close to autism, and she has speech problems.  Except for speech your child sounds like a three year old!  I would put her in speech therapy, because if you wait until they are older it could cause problems with reading later.  I would also ask your ped. what they think about your child and autism.

[jdtm]

Your reply reminds me so much of my nephew - the selective hearing, not looking at strangers, not using a slide or tricycle, non-use of scissors, and being headstrong.  In addition, my nephew did not speak until three years of age, echo-talked until he was five and then began to use speech but still in a more question/answer format than conversational.  He spoke in a monotone and was unable to understand social cues as body language, inferences and jokes.  Everything was either black or white - he was unable to perceive the "gray" areas in life.  He could memorize anything, loved to be "on stage",  and was/is fascinated with a certain few objects and activities.  

Today, he has graduated from college, holds a good job, and is married with a young child.  By the way, he was diagnosed with Asperger's which is on the autism spectrum (but at the high-functioning end).  I hope your child is not AS (and I certainly am not in the medical field); however, I think it might be too soon to rule out this possibility.  I wish you the best in your search for answers.

[2brilliantbabies]

A special thank you to the doctor and to the others who commented.  It has been a very upsetting 2 weeks for me since this all came up.  When I did have her in for her well check this week, the doctor did check her ears and they were fine.  They attempted to check her hearing, but she would not keep the ear phones on.  Personally, I do not see anything that would cause for alarm with her hearing, but she does have selective hearing, as does any child!  I think the school's concern was that she would not test, she would not answer their questions, and would not look at them.  That is not unusual for her, if she does not know someone.  They attempted to do testing in a room full of toys that she had not seen before (including a slide) and they wondered why she would not cut a piece of paper with scissors down the line they had drawn.  Finally, I think she got fed up and walked over and tore the paper down the line.  They all just sat there and looked at each other!  She refused to ride the trike and only did what she felt she wanted to do.  She is a very head strong child, but instead of seeing that, they think she is autistic.  I do not see how they can make that judgement in a 45 minute screening, which is only a small window into her whole world!  Again, thanks so much to every one!

[jo43]

My daughter has just been diagnosed with autism (2yo) and my eldest son has (17). I agree with the professional. Nothing in your description of your child seems awfully evident of an autism disorder, bar some language development, and provided she is using even limited speech to communicate, then she ain't got it.

By all means have further evaluation, it never hurts, and it may help with developent of her speech, but i would be really surprised if a diagnosis of autism was kicked up.

Autism is enjoying a new "fame" I think, and the numbers that are currently being diagnosed may point to wider criteria, and greater understanding by the professionals, but I have seen kids with a labe of autism, and I'm stuffed if I can work out how that got. Enjoy your daughter, and don't worry!!!!!