What is wrong?

[sch]

I have a daughter. She is the youngest of three. I am trying to figure out what might be wrong. She has just turned three. The problems we are seeing in her behavior is her speech. She has a vocabulary of about 100 words. She normally uses one word when communicating but she does have several phrases of two-three words. We feel these are phrases she has heard us use or picked up from movies and are not words she puts together herself. When you ask her anything she usually does not respond verbally unless she repeats a word you may have used. She may or may not follow simple commands. She may or may not respond to her name.  She does not play with other children, she usually just ignores them. She will play games such as chase or hide and seek with the family. Her eye contact is not real good but she is very affectionate with her family. She also has several behaviors such as spinning, humming, and chewing on her clothing. She has temper tantrums often with a high pitched scream but they do not last long.My wife feels she may have autism spectrum disorder. Could this be possible even if she is affectionate and has some eye contact?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Thomas,

Your concerns revolve around two areas: communication and social-emotional development.

It is clear that your daughter's development of speech and language is not what you would expect for her age. Seek an evaluation by a Speech/Language specialist, who can help pinpoint with some precision the areas in which your daughter is deficient, and develop a plan to address them.

On the social/emotional front, there are indicvations of problems, particularly in relation to the lack of reciprocal social relationships. However, I wouldn't assume yet a condition along the Pervasive Developmental Disorder spectrum. What is called for is a developmental evaluation, and be sure to include a child psychiatrist on the team. A developmental pediatrician and/or developmental psychologist should be on the team as well.

[sch]

Her hearing has been tested. She was within the normal range. Although when they try to look in her ears, she covers them and screams.

[regina]

Have you had her hearing tested?

[Jane]

I am a speech-language pathologist.  There can be a wide range of behaviors for a child diagnosed with autism or PDD. I would definitely have your child evaluated by a speech therapist and by someone in the medical profession (pediatric neurologist possibly).  Whatever the diagnosis is, your child's speech and language skills are not at the level they should be. I believe that therapy should begin as early as possible.  Good luck