New Father

[Coach_Tiger]

My son is 15 1/2 months old.  He can identify his head, hair, hands, teeth, nose, feet, and belly button (rooster peck).  He babbles some but only says a few words and only does he do this very seldom and not on command.  He understands commands like 'back up', 'sit down', 'get your ball', pick up you _____', etc.  He also helps put things up and dances to music a lot.  He is very active but throws fits when he doesn't get his way or has to wait for his sippy cup.  I am mainly concerned with his lack of verbal skills.  What actions should I take?  And do you see a pattern developing here? I have a classmate that has a son who is autistic and my child is exhibiting a few of the same characteristics but I'm not sure if these are just baby actions.  What is your opinion and what should I do?  

Thanks Coach Tiger.

[888mom]

I think pediatricians screen at 18 and 24 months for autism.  A couple web sites I found helpful were:
http://www.firstsigns.org
http://www.info.med.yale.edu/chldstdy/autism/pddinfo.html

Concerns many parents have about autism is if their children do not respond to their own names, cannot follow directions, have repetitive behaviors like arm flapping or rocking, walk on their toes, stack and line up their toys, play inappropriately with their toys, don't socialize with others and have limited eye contact.  Also if children don't hit developmental delays like rolling over, sitting, standing, walking, babbling, smiling and laughing, etc.  My daughter hit a lot of hers on the late side, but I was concerned at 24 months when she still didn't say any words.  At the time I didn't realize there was a difference between speaking and receptive language.  She didn't even respond to her own name, but I just thought that was part of the speech delay.  I probably should have questioned it with the pediatrician earlier, but my husband didn't say his first word until he was 2.  He is not autistic, he was just late in talking.  His first words were all numbers and he didnt' say mama or daddy until he was 3.  But then he was reading at age 3 and then caught up completely with everything, without any therapies (I don't think therapy was done earlier back in the 1970s).  He went on to college and then to grad school and has a PhD from Yale.  15 months is also a little on the early side, but personally, I'd just keep a track of it, address everything with the pediatrician, and stay on top of it, and try not to worry too much.  Plus if you stress out, your son might pick up on it and feel undo pressure to perform (i.e. speak).  Oh, and terrible twos start around 15 to 18 months, so maybe he's just starting a little early with the tantrums.  I guess with autistic children, the why of the tantrums is a clue.  My daughter had a meltdown when we rearranged the furniture in our house.  We had to move it back to original position.  She has meltdowns when anything in her routine is changed.  Autistic children generally like routines and things to be the same in their day to day activities.

Seriously, if you have concerns, address them with the pediatrician.  Especially if he's missing other milestones or is not social.  And if he's speech delayed, there is a wonderful 0 to 3 program that is government subsidized, that deals with lots of delay issues.  I think for just speech delays he probably wouldn't qualify until 24 months or so unless there are other things going on.  Also boys are generally later than girls to start talking.  Good luck.  Raising children is difficult, no matter what the issues.  

[Rachel Thompson, Ph.D., BCBA]

It sounds like your child’s language skills are within normal limits, but I would encourage you to express your concerns to your pediatrician who will be able to do a more complete assessment of your child’s development. In the meantime, be sure to encourage further language development by (a) talking frequently to your child using simple words and phrases, (b) reading and singing with your child, (c) encouraging your child to communicate using sounds and words, (d) and responding positively to your child’s appropriate attempts to communicate with sounds or full words. For example, if your child can say “ball” or even “b”, don’t accept pointing toward the ball as a request for the ball. Instead, encourage him to ask for the ball vocally by saying the word (or part of the word) yourself and then asking him to do the same. When he does respond vocally, be sure to provide enthusiastic praise and give him the ball immediately. Expanded communication skills will also help to minimize tantrums, which are very typical for children of your son’s age. Again, it is important not to accept the tantrum as a form of communication. Avoid “giving in” to tantrums. Instead, require you son to request what he wants using a more appropriate form of communication. You are essentially teaching your son how to communicate with you. If you accept tantrums and gestures as communication, that is how he will communicate with you. If you require more appropriate forms of communication, you will begin to see those more frequently. If a formal assessment does identify any developmental concerns, specialists will be able to recommend for specific strategies.