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

[mommie2]

Has your DR checked her ears. My niece had a speech problem at the age of three (this is when it was discovered) and her DR found that her ears were blocked by fluid and she needed tubes, the fluid muffles everything so it was hard for her to understand. The tubes released the fluid and then she went to speech therapy 3 times a week and this was done right at ther pre school. I definitely would not have thought autism from your description. Follow your gut feeling and do not let strangers over diagnose your child. If speech is an issue and IEP is a good thing s long as it is just for speech but she should definitely stay in a regular class not an ESE class. Fight for what you think is right, keep her in mainstream classes not special ones those will hold her back. SJe seems very bright and enjoyable to be around. Good luck.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Had you not mentioned the notion of autism, nothing in your description of your daughter would have directed my attention to such a diagnosis. It sounds like your daughter is generally proceeding quite well in relation to development, with the sole exception of a bit of delay in language. Even in this area, she seems to be closing the gap. I fully concur with the recommendation for her to undergo a Speech/Language Evaluation. There is no indication she requires a special education program, though she may benefit from speech/language therapy. That will be clearer after the evaluation.
The more full-range evaluation won't hurt, it's simply not clear that it is necessary. And your daughter cannot be placed in a special education arrangement without your approval. If the special needs evaluation proceeds, it may well be that an IEP is developed solely for speech/language services, and that would be fine.