helpless with 3.5 olds communication - any advice/therapists?

[BusyBeeMommy]

Hiya,

My 3.5 old DS has been lagging behind in his speech, in overall communcation and social skills.
Plese bear with me if this happens to a rant.
My DS is very active, happy and interlligent child. Very independent minded, sharp and stubborn.
There is no issue with his ability to speak, he can say any complicated word.
But doesnt converse at all. Doesnt answer questions unless he is really interested in it ( like would you like go to park or want a biscuit?)
For the rest he doesnt bother to respond at all. he has been going to nursery at very early age,
doesnt interact with his peers much. Was seen by SENCO and speech therapist from the council
who agree that while there no issue with him, he is lagging in his expressive language.
Her observation was he is very active, doesnt settle down, I feel it is the issue with overall communication and social skills.

he wil only what he wants to - he loves numbers, shapes, colours, alphabets etc
He is not into roleplay or toys that boys of his age tend to like.
Nursery says he is not good with group activities like listening to stories. He sits for a bit and then runs away and does his own thing.

At home, he will things of his liking, he is more interested in grown-up things like laptops, watching helicopter etc.

Any idea what we can do help him bring out more social side and improve his communication?
I would like to get a second opinion from another specialist/therapist.
Anyone know good speech/communication therapist in greater London area?

Many thanks

If your DS is understanding OK, that's the most important thing. Try not to pressurise him to talk, but listen to what he sayd.
Here's an excerpt from SpeechFile, don't know if it helps?

Make sure you listen carefully to what your child is saying, and respond appropriately. If he talks about something that interests him, join in with him and show interest as well. This gives him a reward for his use of language, and he finds using language useful. This will encourage him to use it even more, as success builds upon success.

Accept the phrases he uses, and give him praise and credit for all his attempts at language, even his mistakes.

Read books aloud together, letting him do more of the talking now. Your role is to expand his knowledge by pointing out new things.

Talk to him in language set slightly above the level he already uses. If he uses two-word phrases, he can probably understand sentences you use that are just a little longer and more complicated.

Give him just a little more to understand at a time. Don?t bombard him with words.

Continue to play repetitive games and nursery rhymes.

Don't ask your child to repeat words and phrases. It?s meaningless and discouraging for him.

Thanks SpeechContacts, that is definitely helpful. Main issue is he doesnt tend to listen, hads very small attention span. When we try to talk to him or expand on what he just said, he loses interest or goes away. He is worse with strangers, doesnt like taking instructions from, involving them in his world. That makes it so difficult when ever we see the speech therapist/expert.

Hi, where do you live in London?

Have you had a full development assessment for your DS?

I know a speech therapist in South Woodford/Wanstead area but I know her personally. I have not had to use her (yet) with DS. I can put you in touch with her if you want.

I have a DS who has some things in common with yours, but no so severe. He goes to a school nursery that has a special language development unit. He was refered by salt (NHS).