is it more than just a speech problem she has

[jobekal]

my daughter is 3 and a half and was referred to speech therapy ages ago. i became concerned when she was about 2 and a half but i told everyone that she understood everything, however the last few weeks i've realised her understanding proabbly isnt as good as it should be - i have asked her questions and she doesnt answer appropriately, and its not because of her speech, she just doesnt seem to understand what you are asking her.

Also really struggling to teach her road safety, she took ages to potty train just started a few months ago, doesnt understand colours, numbers, counting or shapes, has awful tantrums over the slightest things,

i have also just realised that autistic children may line their toys up, and she always does this with her dolls, her picture cards, her bricks etc and hates them being moved out of position, she also points out wheels on her cars, i have read that autsistic children may be more interested in parts of toys than the toys themselves, she also has a fascination with trains and i thought lots of children do but apparently that is a charachetristic as well.

However, although she is only just starting to be okay with other people coming round and still hides away or screams to start with, she does interact with other people quite a lot sometimes and does seem to know what a smile means etc

It could be more than but then again communication disorders have a lot in common with Autistic disorders so its not possible to say from your post really.

Has her speech therapist given you any ideas what they think might be causing dd's difficulties?

she hasnt got an appointment yet, her nursery has referred her, also when she hears certain noises like the elec meter beeping she gets really distreessed

have you discussed your concerns with your GP? A referral to a paediatrician might help you get some answers.

Also - if the referral is taking ages then chase it up. Sometimes these things seem to get 'lost' in the system.

Hi,

My DS is nearly 3 and I started to have concerns in January as he had a speech delay. I spoke to my HV who more or less confirmed my fears with a developmental test, he got his dx in March.

My DS had lots of signs which added up to an asd and some of them sound similar to your DD lining things up and lack of understanding etc, I would urge you to trust your instict and reassure you that my DS is getting so much help now, his understanding and speech has come on so much in the last 6 months. After my initial chat with the HV i was devastated and really scared for his future but all I can say is it has been better to confront it early intervention really seems to be the key.

One other thing I didn't realise is that eye contact is key especially with people they don't know my DS had really fleeting eye contact but we hadn't noticed, also pointing at things was another as my DS had never done this.

Hope all works out ok, my DS makes me laugh every day, so it;s not all bad.

i've just read a very good book (found it in the library) with a lot of info and general support about all sorts of speech problems (called The Parent's Guide to Speech and Language Problems by Debbie Feit), I think you would find it useful.

For practical things to do to assist speech and communication, there is some useful info on www.hanen.org (hanen is a canadian website specialising in helping kids with speech problems), and they also publish some useful books (It takes two to talk (approx £30), You Make the Difference (approx £13)) etc. The NAS website (National Autistic Society) has some useful info about encouraging communication as well (I am not mentioning the NAS as a way of hinting I think your DD may have ASD, more because the info is I think very good, and applicable to kids with delayed speech for whatever reason.

If you have free time during the day, Surestart centres often run brief courses to help you help your child communicate, that I think are worthwhile.

I have a DS of a similar age and similar problems - he is very behind in his speech and understanding, and we are mid toilet training process. At 2.5 I also thought that he understood a lot better than he actually did - kids can be good at decoding what they need to know from visual clues rather than what you are actually saying!

I agree with Dusty - as you are concerned, 1)chase up the speech therapy referal and find out how long appointments usually take in your area and 2)ask GP or HV for a referral to a paediatrician.

I'm with dusty and TC - ask for a referral to a paed. When we did that with DS who had already been referred to SALT it seemed to speed everything up. Also having a DX, even though it may not be what you want to hear, is absolutely instrumental in getting your daughter the support she may need further down the line.

LGS -the paed referral seems to have made bu*gger all difference to overall waiting time - did you manage to get referred to a hospital based development paed? DS is stuck on a community joint clinic 10/11 month waiting list.

And just another thing to add for the OP - you may want to look into some private speech therapy if NHS list is dire - I think it's worthwhile even if you just do it as a one off - as you can get your kid assessed plus written report and scheme of work to do with them for £100/£150.

Agree with chasing your referral up and getting an apt with a paed.

I am not an expert on ASD's at all, i'm still only finding out so much about it all but have just re read your original post and just wanted to make another point about being distressed at certain noises. My DS hated anyone singing to him and would cover his ears, he also does it if wants to 'block out' anything which is too much ie certain adverts or pictures with a lot going on as it's a way of him controlling the stimulation.

My wait to see a paed was about 8 weeks and 1 month after that he was attending specialist help where I spoke to a SALT. My DS isn't having SALT yet because she said it was far more important to improve his general understanding first but I don't know if this varies,

nic - think I can safely guess that you don't live in Liverpool then with those brief waiting times - in Liverpool it's 10/11 month wait for both paed and salt referral!

can I also ask what advice you got on helping understanding? was it to use gestures/photos visual clues alongside the words?

No I'm in Wiltshire, I have to admit I have been pretty impressed with the speed of response we've had, 10/11 months is an awful long time to wait for an appointment and seems very unfair.

I'm not sure if we've had that much advice on helping understanding as he goes to an oppotunity group nursery who work with him for 4 hours a week. I remember the SALT telling me that there was no point in getting him to say words and for him it was as if he was in a foreign country and just because we say 'apple' it doesn't mean he understands what an apple is so I started saying words and elaborating ie 'Yum an apple' and pretending to eat it so he understood it was food. She also told me to wait longer for a response to a question so if I asked him a q and he didn't respond I will wait say another 20 seconds and I have to admit 9 times out of 10 an answer will come in this time, it's almost as if his brain in processing the answer.

Thanks Nic, I do try and give S loads of time to answer me (when private SALT came last time, I was biting my tongue not to ask her to give him more time )