Intro and question about speech
reneenearl
member
Hi All, I have been lurking for a few months, so I thought I should introduce myself. My name is Renee and I have an awesome little 2 year old named Chase, (March baby). Pretty much we have no diagnosis right now other than developmentally delayed. His developmental evaluation is finally scheduled for September 29th, after a long wait. He receives Early Intervention services for speech, OT, and a teacher. He'll have to transfer to the school district for services in January which I am very nervous about as he does not do change well. At this point I am just trusting our therapists, and for some reason I have a lot of hope for some answers from this developmental evaluation. The OT has suggested that they may just tell us to come back next year due to his age. He will be 2 1/2.
Quick run down on Chase is that he has fine and gross motor delays, no communication skills (he can say a few words like daddy, and doggy, but does not use them to communicate...He can point, but will not point to show you things, only for himself.), He is very rigid, if anything changes then it is noticeable in his behavior and sleep for up to two weeks. He is extremely overwhelmed in public...especially grocery stores, and it is not unusual for him to be very angry and violent...I swear this kid is stronger than me. He is obsessed with light switches, and turning water on and off...don't interrupt him during that! Also obsessed with emptying cupboards, drawers and toy bins...first thing he does every day is dump everything out.
anyway that's the quick version of my little guy. He has no coping or adaptive skills. I am not even sure if most of this is typical of his age or not and that is why I am just hoping for clear answers in September.
My question is regarding speech. I want to help him communicate as this seems to be a big barrier for him. He does not bring me things he wants, he does not point to show me, and he does not show recognition of things we say to him. So he does not follow basic commands, and most of the time we don't even think he understands us. The therapists have said that he might understand, and be ignoring us or he might not understand at all. She said it is hard to tell since he is not talking. We actually did a hearing test as we were concerned he wasn't hearing us as there is no response often when we talk to him, but he can hear fine. He just does not even turn his head to us most of the time. He doesn't even care if its something fun like going to the park. But he doesn't like to transition so maybe he doesn't like to go places because he doesn't want to leave.
Anyway, we are doing speech therapy, and we are making flash cards so he can bring us pictures of his favorite snacks and his cup or whatever else it is he wants. Any other tips for helping him communicate? I can tell this is getting frustrating for him when I don't automatically know or understand what he wants. Also it is very hard on us, because it usually results in a violent meltdown until we figure it out. Anything any of you have tried that has worked or made it easier for your LO?
Sorry this turned out so long. Thanks for any help!
Re: Intro and question about speech
Be sure to label the card when he brings it, apple/goldfish/toy car/etc.
Keep your words to 2 max when speeking to him, if he has 1 word max and limited vocab you don't want to use much more then 1 word more then he does because it will be hardfor him to process and understand. As his speech increases you want to remain 1 step up. So if/when he is using 2 words you use 3 and so on until you reach 'normal' levels.
I would begin looking into ABA providers in your area, they are very used to addressing significant behavorial issues like you are describing as they are very common in children with Autism.
There is often a wait list so as you are waiting for your evaluation it would be worth it to get on the wait list so that if appropriate you can move forward sooner than later with them.
@DC2London we have tried signs. We started about a year ago. It took a long time but he will sign "more" now. He signs it when he sees something he wants, and we understand that he is asking for it. He does this occasionally but not consistently.
He has signed "please" a few times and "all done" a few times , but neither consistently. Those are signs I use daily with him.
I will be thinking of you in September. I have a feeling you'll get an answer then. FWIW, my DS got a prelim dx (all that was needed to get services in the state we were in at the time) at 20 months and an official diagnosis at ~28 months.
I'd also suggest seeing ABA. Be aware that there is often a wait list, we were on lists 2-6 months long for my son to get in.
For our son, handing me things he wants was the first way he started showing me what he wants. It still is the main way he lets me know. He's started pointing recently, but doesn't usually use it to indicate like that (he's more likely to stand on his tiptoes and try and reach it himself). I'm working pretty hard at trying to get him to do signs for food and drink when he hands me each.
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He is being referred for a PT eval and a geneticist as well. I guess they found some genetic markers that may give us more answers.
He is being reccomend for a full day preschool program, but Chase could be on the wait list until August for that program, until then he will continue his EI services. He turns 3 in march, but they said he could stay in EI by til he starts school rather than transfer to the school district before preschool program as he does not adjust well to new people or change. Not sure what else I should be doing but I feel like I should be doing something more as we do not often have successful outings in the community.
Just wanted to update! Thanks for all the advice and support.