Getting REALLY Anxious!!

Is he pointing to things he wants to show you or wants to have? Does he seem interested in other children and does he come to you when he needs something? Does he seem obsessed with any 1 toy or item? I think these are much stronger indicators of a child being on the autism spectrum than not speaking at this age.

Neither of my kids spoke much at that age and both have developed right on time with everything else, and the speech caught up later.

R.,
What you're feeling is normal.
Knowledge is power and only with knowledge and truth will your son be helped.
Right now it's all unknown.
Better to have the facts revealed, right?
The you can begin to be educated about what will help your son.

I know people who have had kids clearly with an issue, who were in denial, thus help was delayed.

SO smart to be getting this done now. The earlier the better!

My niece turned 2 in March. She just now has started speaking. Sentences. She just skipped saying words (she said a few things, like Roman and, like Roman, only a few people could communicate with her) and started speaking in full blown sentences. Now she won't ever stop talking. Good luck.

Take a breath... I was a preschool psychologist for many years (at the Newport News PEEP program) and assure you that your son will think he's having a play date with three adults who are there solely to learn about him.

Typically, the psychologist or social will meet with you to do a Social History. If you don't recall specific milestone dates and birth information, bring the baby book or make some notes! They will want to know everything- including any family history or learning or language delays. Ask your mother and MIL before you go!

There will also be a speech pathologist and a learning specialist present. They will engage Roman in a series of activities to measure his overall cognitive and language development. They will be taking notes and asking him to do things that are going to be difficult at times. He may get frustrated, but they need to see that too!

You will not get "results" today. They need to look at his skills as compared to his same-age peers nationally. You will be invited back to go over the reports and results. They may have some general feedback today, but nothing specific.

Remember that Early Intervention is very powerful and has a high success rate. You are catching this very early. It is far easier to teach a 2 year old to communicate than a 4 year old!

Waterproof for sure. I can count on one hand the number of mommies who weren't teary-eyed during the process.

Good luck and please do not hesitate to PM me if you need more details or want help with interpreting the report when you get it.

My step dtr is 15 and is moderately retarded. So mentally she's about 5. She has a speech impediment and new people can't understand her. But those of us who are around her all the time can understand her. When she was little she did learn some sign language but we didn't persue it since her speech has gotten better with weekly speech therapy and CONSTANT practice and correcting her. So you know the saying "it is what it is", you just find out what it is, and do what you need to. That's what us mommies do. Good luck!!! =)

He's only 21 months old. Honestly, it sounds really normal to me...especially since he's a cute little boy (okay, even the non cute little boys are often later to speak...hehe).

I know SO many moms of little boys who think their boys are speech delayed, but it's SO common that I think it's just normal. My sister has two boys. Both of them were "delayed' with their speech. By the age of three, they still barely spoke. They would try, but it was really bad speech - not making most sounds. Their sisters, on the other hand, were speaking at age two. They did great with speech. The older boy is now 12 and speaks great. He does mumble, but he has full command of the english language and his mumbling is something he can work on:) The younger boy is now five, and he fully comprehends things he should at his age. He speaks very well. Neither boy had any speech therapy. Their mom figured it was normal and they'd adjust and learn on their own, and they have.

Not saying anything is wrong with speech therapy. We do it with my daughter. What you describe sounds pretty normal for boys, though. I REALLY don't think there are any psychological reasons. I imagine it's more that he's been busy working on his ninja skills and not so much on practicing speech...as many boys do.

My next door neighbor is going through the same thing right now. Her little one is 27 months and says about 3 words.

Obviously there are always the extremes that are out there BUT in reality there is probably nothing more than an expression delay. From what you said he understands and comprehends things well.

My sister is a speech path and works a lot with children with autism. She said that they can give you a lot of answers after their first session with the kids and can most likely rule out some of the scary things right away.

since you are already a little worked up about this, you should probably wear waterproof mascara just so when they tell you your little guy is going to be just fine, you cry out of happiness!!

Good for you for getting him looked at just to make sure everything is fine and make sure you guys do all the excercises that they suggest!

Well hon, I want to encourage you to try and relax some about this. Today's sessions are only the beginning. They are not going to come up with a difinitive answer today and a plan that will just fix him right up. These people change their minds a lot and often diagnose one thing and then another.

The best thing I can say for long range expectations is to look at my one daycare dad. He's silly, jokes a lot, seems a bit juvenile. But he's responsible, talks just fine, has held a job and loves his kids. His son does not speak at all. He grunts, points, and makes noises. Like you, I'm with him a lot, so I get what he needs or wants. His mommy says his dad was the same way. Now to me, his dad sounds foreign. His mom says that his dad just doesn't fully pronounce a lot of consanants and that people confuse his speech patterns with him having an accent.

Your little one will make his connections with the world when he's ready :)

I just dont understand why they have you so worried about it to begin with. I would feel the same as you, but I have always voiced concern about my sons lack of talking, and they always assured me he was just fine. I would probably be pretty upset if I were you as well.
At that age my son was the same way, he just started really having conversations with me a couple months ago.
Wait until hes 3 R., he will even talk in his sleep! Chatterbox!!

I know everyone says stuff like this but I promise I am telling the total truth. I'm not the type to BS. My son said a few words but didn't communicate well. It was a very frustrating time, for us. Anyway, he was EI from 18 mos to 3 and didn't make any progress. He just would't talk. He started developmental pre-school, about 9 mos into school, just started talking. He said everything at once, his vocab was HUGE. They said they had never heard a 4 yr old, have that kind of vocabulary. He was a bit hard to understand , he is 9 now and I still feel he has some articulation issues. He was discharged from developmental prechool about 6 mos before starting K. I'm sure he's fine. If you feel in your heart he understands what a 21 month old should understand and he's on track in other areas of development, you shouldn't be overly concerned. Of course you will worry , that's what moms do ;)
OK, after reading your update... I want to add that my son had a few other issues going on that if I look back on it now, I probably should have been more concerned but he grew out of them and I'm glad I didn't focus on them.
Oh & Yes , like Yarrmatey, when he started talking, he never stopped! This kid talks to everyone. I feel sorry for people. Luckily, he is a pretty funny guy & most seem to enjoy the conversations but geez, never stops.

Meh... He's fine.

Don't even worry about wearing makeup to begin with! It's over-rated!

Taking both Greg and Nicky in for their testing was very concerning...what are they going to find? what are we going to do about it? sooo many questions...

Don't be afraid to cry - this is a very emotional thing!! Roman isn't talking much!! What i think will happen is he is going to start talking one day and you will post here - ooohhh man!! I got what I wished for and now I want him to be quiet!!! (this is intended to make you smile girlfriend!!)

Since I'm a day late on this - how did it go?! what did they say?

Try to concentrate on you concerns, write them down and share those at the meeting. Does he respond to all enviromental sounds including voice? I would just try to focus on preparing for the meeting to keep you busy. Lay off the research because it will just make your head spin more. My son is deaf and I can tell you It was AMAZING when I heard Momma for the 1st time (took 3+ years)!! I can totally understand the anxiety but brace yourself for the possibility of not having an answer after the eval. AWEsome you starting sign language, it's such a frustration reducer for the little ones as well as Mom and Dad. Good luck!!