Speech issue in 3 1/2 year old boy?

Question

My son doesnt typcially say yes, but repeats the same question. such as, if i ask do you want ice cream? he will repeat ice cream, even though he may or may not want ice cream. He also refers to himself by his name, or by "you", sometimes he uses "I" to refer to himself. he has been seen by a developmental ped, and diagnosed as possibly pdd/nos. are his responses typical of someone with the diagnosis? how can we fix this at home?

my son is involved with the local school district, but we have received no training in what to do at home. i live in nj, does anyone know of any resources i could use to get services like this, or to get an advocate for my child????

Answer 1

He needs a Speech Therapist check the yellow pages, or ask someone at a school. (even if your child isn't in the school call the school and ask them what to do about your 3 1/2 year old), I'm sure they can point you in the right direction, they may even tell you to wait till your child gets into school. (They may not want to rush your child, it could cause stress, and kids don't need that) I had a speech therapist, but not until I got into 1st grade. I couldn't say my R's and I think I was in that class for about a year through out the school year. It's fun when you have someone playing with you while you are getting help with your speech problem. It wasn't stressful at all. Good Luck !

Answer 2

A pediatrician can not diagnose an Autism Spectrum Disorder (which PDD/NOS is part of). He needs to refer you to a psychologist who can do this. Part of this process is getting a full speech and language evaluation. Your local school district should be able to help you with all of this.

There are 3 categories to autism. The first is a social delay. This can be not interacting appropriately with others, not understanding social cues, etc... Some children do not show as much affection to their parents. They will not notice when their parents come back after being gone, whereas as a typically developing child would notice right away and smile and/or give a hug.

The second category is language.This can be not talking, or just having a delay in speech. It can be repeating things over and over, or echoing what others say. It can be speaking in weird tones of voices, and not understanding non-verbal communication such as pointing to items, and using eye contact.

The third category, which children with PDD/NOS diagnosis dont usually have at all, or as bad, are the restrictive play. Some children like flipping light switches, or opening and closing things. Some kids have hand flapping or weird finger manerisms. Some children like to have routines followed precisely and will tantrum if they arent.



All children with this diagnosis look different from one another and do not have all the same symptoms. I dont know about services in your state, but here in California they are free. Your best bet is to start with the school district. Good luck. E-mail me if you need more information.

Answer 3

You can't fix this at home, you and your son need help working through this. Your school district will beable to offer a lot of help. They should offer a developmental preschool in connection to the public schools that he can test into and is entirely free. There, he can recieve both speech and developmental therapy along with regular pre-school material.

You can also encourage him at home (but don't look for an overnight change) by always refering to yourself properly (not as 'mommy wants you to....') and encrouraging him to say just 'yes' or 'no' without pressuring him or frustrating him. This is not something you have done to him, it says nothing about your parenting other then you are a very intouch parent to notice that there was a problem. Most deny it until the child reaches school age and teachers pick up on it.

We have been through a similer situation with my oldest son and after several years of speech therapy he's just about on track and he classmates don't even know he get's speech help.

good luck!

Answer 4

His responses are definitely typical of pdd/nos. It is termed ecolalia, and can refer to repeating a word or phrase without knowing the meaning. On the good side, it IS an attempt to speak and connect with you, regardless of the ineffectiveness of it. A speech/language pathologist will be able to help give you ideas. If you have someone already coming to your home to give services to your son, or he goes to services through your school district, ask the person who sees him for specific ideas on how to help. Most therapists are receptive to parents helping to work on a child's goals at home, since it makes their job easier. As the parent, you have the right to know what is being done to help your son's speech, and know the curriculum. This won't be a quick fix... pdd/nos is forever. However, you can help your son by being a involved parent... know everything that is going on and research everything. You can get loads of information from the Autism Society at www.autismsocietyofamerica.org.

Answer 5

Your Dr. should have the number of a place you can call that provides intervention services, or the school should. There should be some type of place that conucts home visits and works with your child. Every state is required to provide these services, and they are usually free. You say you are working with the school district, what are they doing for you? Do they have a special class or something? I know it's slightly different for me since we are a military family, but our program is called EDIS, and they take care of any problems until kids are 3, then the school takes over. Your pediatrician really should have a number for you, ask him for an agency that provides early development intervention services. By the way, it's normal for a child of this age to refer to himself by his own name. Good Luck to you.

Answer 6

Keep reminding him how things should be said. My mother is a special ed teacher and I volunter with her. I have seen this type of thing many times before. Most are diagnosed with autism if they determine the situation cannot be corrected. Get as much help as you can and try to keep your cool even though this can get frustrating.
Good luck and I hope things get better.

Answer 7

I have a 15 year old with developmental/verbal apraxia and a 16 month old son with SID (sensory integration dysfunction) contact your local welfare office and First steps so they can evaluate him ASAP, he may be like my kids, needing augmentative communication and or picture communication,check with your local schools as well they may be able to direct you in finding community resources for him to be assessed

Answer 8

You can't fix this at home, you and your son need help working through this. You need to go to a speech therepyst.