how do you know if just speech delay or more serious

[bubblagirl]

i have had few threads about my ds 2.7 has been assessed by salt who says his understanding levels are behind

he understandas all we ask of him go get this fromm your room ect

but not simple questions also still not trying to start conversation sometimes he does but its just babbling

cannot pronounce certain letters in words mummy is nunny but will say mama daddy is gaggy bob is gog all be words start with g can individually say letters s,f,d,t,m,b,

well im worried as i know its being suggested its more to it

have stories back with dc who now understand questions such as what is your name he cant do what where when why

can copy what your saying

well i guess i'm asking if was more with dsc what other signs rere there and if was just speech delay does my ds sound similar

just need to hear other stories as last few days since first assessment which was inconclusive i have done nothing but worry losing sleep feel tearful all the time

part of me thinks maybe he is autistic or have some form then i have others asaying yeah but my dc didnt do that either and there ok

he doesnt try to talk to anyone at playschool but only been 8-9 times so with sd surely this would be too soon

please just tell me your stories and how your dc are doing maybe itll make me feel more at ease with my ds situation thank you sorry for rambling

[bubblagirl]

x

[ancientmiddleagedmum]

The main difference between speech delay and autism is the desire/need to communicate. What that means is , does your DS want to share information with you , does he point things out to show them to you,does he realise that he needs to communicate to you if he wants something (a typical thing an autistic child will do is use mummy's hand like a tool to get something, without realising that he can get mummy to do that same thing via communication). Gesture is a big one - does he point, or wave, or any other gestures? How is his eye contact - again, autistic kids often don't make associations with other people so easily and so don't instinctively look in people's eyes. When my DS was being diagnosed, I asked a SALT whether it couldn't just be speech delay, and she said no, because he had no gestures. There is a theory of autism that they don't quite understand that another person has a separate mind, so they think that if they're hungry you will know, without them having to tell you. The other thing with autism is there would be a lack of imaginative play, and some repetitive or obsessive behaviour - eg focusing on some odd object, or part of an object. My DS used to carry DVDs around with him everywhere, and line up his toys rather than play games imaginatively with them. Often, there will be stims = self stimulatory behaviour like jumping or rocking or keening sounds. To be asd, he'd have to have some of the above behaviours, not just speech delay, and aspergers is autism without the speech delay. Hope that helps bubblagirl?

[bubblagirl]

AMAM thank you so much for that i feel reassured by what you have written

there could be more to it than just speech delay but maybe intense speech therapy will be able to sort it

your ds sounds adorable but my ds doesnt seem to do any of the above he does point at things and waves to people to say bye just speech doesnt come easy

he does attempt to try and communicate with who he knows but at playschool says nothing which is where salt done her first review and mentioned lack of desire to communicate although his only been going short while

he doesnt seem to understand simple questions so this is one that worries me or maybe he just cannot say what he wants to,

he used to say mummy and daddy and bob now its gaggy nunny and gog so this also worries me but has learnt so many new words wandering if it could be he has forgotten how to say these thank you again you have been so helpful xx

but even though questions such as whats your name why who and where he dont seem to understand he will do whatever you ask him to do like get something from other room or take your boots off get your shoes ect he can follow through

he just cannot seem to start a conversation

[bubblagirl]

x

[bubblagirl]

x

[bubblagirl]

any additional advise would be greatly appreciated

[bubblagirl]

.

[aig]

You may get more responses if you post in the Being a Parent Special needs section.
However if you have concerns about autism or are just consumed with unfocused worry, ask your Speech Therapist, Health Visitor or GP for a referral to a Developmental Paediatrician (might be a Community Paediatrician or Hospital based). They will have seen lots of children with similar difficulties and can discuss your concerns.

[bubblagirl]

thank you very much

[moneytree]

This sounds exactly like my DS who is now 3.5 and not been diagnosed although I do have a suspicion that he might have mild dyspraxia of the mouth. He started Nursery in September and although he was confident playing with the other children he wouldnt communicate with the teachers and look blankly at them when they asked him a question. He finally started to talk to them on Friday....hooray. He has attended a language course which he didnt complete (he was too tired) and I have been working with him here (especially with listening and concentration skills) I recommend you buy Mr Tongue Takes a Bow by Sadie Lewis...this is tongue exercises which has helped my little fella. And make him speak ie. ask him what he would like to drink...Milk or Juice etc. Also, just narrate what you doing...seems strange at first but now I am used to it. Picture Lotto is also good. Also CBeebies MR Tumbles is good for him to look at. My DS speech is still not at the same level as his peers however it has improved no end. I know exactly how you feel, I have shed many a tear!

I also recommend you forge a good relationship with your SALT...mine is great, she put my DS forward for another course, to see a Occupational Therapist and to Special Educational Dept to go into his nursery and see how is doing, make an action plan to ensure smooth transition to mainstream ...he is a Aug baby so will just be 4 when he starts in Sept! Keep your chin up x

[yurt1]

Ds1 is severely autistic. He is (aged 8) non verbal. He is sociable, affectionate and has excellent eye contact.
The only sign aged 2 was that he didn't point. He would show me things he was interested in using eye gaze and an occasional rough gesture, but he was unable to point. to share things in a book he would use my hand to show me what he wanted, or touch the picture with the flat of his hand.

Now aged 8 his receptive language isn't bad (so for example I said today at normal speed 'you're covered in egg go and wash your hands' no pointing- I just said it, and he did it. At 2 we would have needed 'ds1 wash hands'. and porbably prompting as well - anything else would have been too much

[bubblagirl]

hi i have the report back from SALT from hios assessment and it saysd he shows atypical behaviour with social interaction and communication and needs to be closely monitored and his understanding is behind

and also his speech is atypical

also had when at nursery he got stuck in toy car and just sat there as didnt know how to ask for help and it wasnt until therapist noticed that he was able to get out

it absolutely broke my heart my poor baby at home he asks for help but in that atmosphere he tends to say nothing

also said he plays along side other children but is so focused on what he is doing doesnt seem to notice other children there and this is atypical behaviour and needs to be monitored

i just really hope things will look up he has hearing test next week and 3 yr check in mar would love to see an improvement as scared about what the outcome might be now

at home he is doing so well i hope its because he just needs longer to settle at play school only started just before x mas really dont want my little boy to be aloner and struggling to have friends

i'm so worried about him now

[bubblagirl]

[bubblagirl]

x

[Lulumama]

oh no, sweetheart, what a worry for you

i wish i could offer some help or advice, but i can't. good that it has been picked up on early, and hopefully he will get lots of good support and help ...

hope that you get some more answers soon xxxxxxxx

[bubblagirl]

thanks every one else famuily friends etc all say he just seems to have speech delay although i do question certain things but he has no traits no repetitive behaviour but speech is a big thing and not joining in at playschool will play along side but was told this was normal

has anyone elses dc been through similar and just been a speech delay or could it be more they seem to think so he is not 3 yet and has only been at play school less than 3 mths

oh well whatever it is he is still an amazingly bright and wonderful little boy so as long as we get all the help we need along the way theres no reason he cant make something of himself

yet in 3 mths he may have made a huge leap guess i'll have to wait and see

[bubblagirl]

x

[sweetgrapes]

Hi bubblagirl,
I hope all this goes well for you and your lo is fine.

If there is a big difference in behaviour at school and home then can you ask the SALT to see him at home?

Btw, not wanting to alarm you but family and friends tend to say that 'it's just speech delay and xxx will catchup' so don't read too much into that. Most kids DO catch up but some don't and if yours is one that needs extra help then you need to go and get it for him. (which you are doing... I am not criticising you)

I was always told by friends, family etc that dd is fine and 'will catch up' but sorry to say they were wrong.

The biggest difference between my dd(autistic) and ds(so far seems NT) has been the physical gestures, facial expressions and tenacity of getting my atention.

dd didn't wave, shake hands, point (most imp)
but ds does all these very naturally.
dd never got my facial expressions but with ds I can raise my eyebrow and look at him in a pointed way and he gets what I mean. Like he's had loads of biscuits and asks for another one and I just look at him and he gets it that I am saying 'no'.
He still doesn't speak more than half a dozen words(he's 22 months) but really grabs my attention. His sis at the same age would spin wheels and she would just spin wheels - totally engrossed. With ds it's "ma... this..." "maaaa .. thiiiis.." "MAAAA... THIIIISSSSS..." till I look and say 'wow, how amazing' then again "ma... this..." etc etc...

(She's 6.5 btw and autistic and developmentally delayed, and he is 22 months and hopefully ok. The only worry I have with him is we don't have conversations, we talk - rather communicate as he's not yet talking - at cross purposes. So if he's going on about biscuits he will NOT isten to me talking about anything else but will persevere till I answer him about those blasted biscuits. But this may be just typical toddler speak. )

Anyway, I guess I am rambling...

All the best in everything and .
I know how worrying and stressful it all is.

[bubblagirl]

thank you sweetgrapes your dc sound adorable although i dont doubt al;so worrying for you but i hope you have the right people helping you

at home he will point try to get my attention he is not repetitive in behaviour does not have set routines that he has to follow apart from mine meal times etc

but his speech is poor he has learnt so much but instead of cat he will say ca instead of any word beginning with b its gog the guilder

and most letters are replaced with a k or g sound although now tries to copy all that we say struggles with sounds in words although can say seperatly

he does get very ingrossed in what his doing such as playing with his trains you would need to really get his attention and sometimes seems not to hear you

but he has second hearing test thur so i'm kind of hoping this will show something

he is very bright and tries to do so much for himself can follow through with my instructions whatever they are

but it is obvious at play school he just doesnt seem to know what to do maybe its because he knows he cant communicate he'll play alongside but will not speak he can say help and no yes cannot start conversation he knows enough of the basics to understand his needs

he will answer them if they give him a choice but will not seek out conversation but he hasnt been going long and he seems to take his time sussing things out so in a few months he may go in and start talking as he feels comfortable

sorry i'm going on lol

well i'll see how he gets on today and then we have hearing test thur not much i can do now but wait

i'll definatly seek out more help if needed i've already asked community nurse and SALT if i feel he isnt progressing can they come back out and do more work with him and they both agreed

anyway will speak again soon
thanks for the help

[bubblagirl]

[bubblagirl]

x

[bubblagirl]

[shiny1]

I think ive spoke to you before bubblagirl ,im in a similar predicament,my ds is 2.6,he has a lot of single words which are very clear and the rest of the time he talks jargon.I have been very worried about autism but he points etc and seems to understand most things.he has now got a nursery place for 3 afternoons a week so im hoping this will help.Hugs to you and your ds xxxxx

[bubblagirl]

hello shiny sorry dodnt check thread as thought id killed it as i normally do with threads lol

my ds has in last 3 days started putting words together still along way to go but he got up the other morning and babbled friom morning till night

then at playschool attempted talking to other dc and and clearly heard him saying his colours and shapes

i made sure they made notes as i'm being told his atypical in review with speech and behaviour

well i'm not so worried now his making some 3 word phrases and i'm able to communicate better but we do still have a long way to go but at least now it proves its coming along and can only get better

so will say same for your ds as he seems to be at same stage myt ds was at 2.6 my ds now 2.10 nearly and last 2months huge improvement last 4 days even more so fingers crossed by the time he is 3 he will be even more improved

big hugs to you and your ds also let me know he he gets alomg and i'll keep updating my ds progress

really found the choice thing helpful and also SALT told me to verbalise everything i was doing and him as need to understand actions to words and since i've been doing this is where the major improvement has come in

also was told to not get him to repeat as they learn more by just listening tend to not want to do it if feeling under pressure