Is This Typical Behavior?

[Ariana]

I have a 2.5 yr old dcb. He says a few words that are hard to understand and mostly speaks complete jibberish. If I told you he was speaking fluent Polish you would believe me. He looks at you and speaks in this language as if you can completely understand him. He is a pretty social little guy. His receptibe language is also limited. I will have to direct him several times to do something or go somewhere. He looks at me blankely.

He will only play with cars. Watches the wheels spinning, rolls them on anything and everything. Lies on the ground watching the wheels. Has very limited play outside of cars. I have seen him pick up a toy phone and talk on it but not much else.

Outside he is terrified of bugs. He will hold his hands over his ears pretty much the whole time unless I tell him not to. His play is severely interrupted because of his intense fear of bugs. He has a hard time drinking from a cup. Spills it everywhere, misses his mouth. Has a tendency to chew up food and spit it out. He has also screamed for seemingly no reason and has erupted into crying fits for no reason.

He is seeing an SLP soon and he is really babied at home. Does this sound typical to you for this age?

[trix23]

Not typical but he's def speech delayed and might also have sensory processing disorder and/or ADD. Give the parents some written instructions on things their child should be able to do at home and to work on them. (My son has speech delay and language delay and we got him free help from the state. He also has sensory processing disorder)

In what circumstances does he cover his ears? Are the kids being really loud?

As for the cup, there are special cups you can give the kids that are open cups that have a curved area for their mouth which makes it easier to use.

[AmyKidsCo]

Does he interact with you or other children, or does he focus on toys instead of people? The obsession with wheels could be a sign of autism.

In any case it sounds like he should be evaluated by a professional.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Not typical but he's def speech delayed and might also have sensory processing disorder and/or ADD. Give the parents some written instructions on things their child should be able to do at home and to work on them. (My son has speech delay and language delay and we got him free help from the state. He also has sensory processing disorder)

In what circumstances does he cover his ears? Are the kids being really loud?

As for the cup, there are special cups you can give the kids that are open cups that have a curved area for their mouth which makes it easier to use.

Things I was thinking, too, as I was reading.

[Ariana]

Thanks everyone! This is the 3rd child I have had with suspected issues so I wanted to make sure I wasn't completely out to lunch.

He only covers his ears when outside around bugs. If I encourage him to take his hands off his ears he goes into the playhouse and won't come out. He also seems terrified but also happy about bubbles. He will laugh and get excited but screams if they come near him. He is not afraid of loud noises at all.

He is social with the kids for sure but due to language issues he has a hard time engaging with them. He does say "hi" to them and gives them eye contact and engages with them when they include him. To me this is the biggest difference between him and children I have worked with that have ASD.

I personally think he can get the hang of a cup and feel like it is more a product of being babied at home. Since coming to my house I habe seen a major improvement in language and in his sensitivities. At first he had a hard time with mud, water, bubbles in the water but now he loves playing in it. I am very much in agreement about sensory processing issues but wonder how much of it is lack of exposure as well. He tantrums a LOT at home according to mom and does odd things that he does not do here.

Anyway hopefully the SLP sends him for an assessment or something. I never know with boys because many people say obsession with cars is typical and they don't play the same as girls or they start typical play much later.

[Ariana]

I should also add that his younger brother who is 17 months is also very "young" for his age. He is more like a 9 month old. Very whiney, has no words only cries when he needs something and very rarely babbles if at all. He makes this little whine noise all day long. He had no clue how to crawl outside or go up and down stairs, which I had to teach him here. This is another reason I suspect babying at home to be the issue.

[daycare]

is there any other language spoken at home other than English?

[Ariana]

is there any other language spoken at home other than English?

This is what I thought too but no!

[daycarediva]

I'm going to say it sounds like sensory processing disorder combined with speech delay.

The receptive language concerns me the most, though.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Thanks everyone! This is the 3rd child I have had with suspected issues so I wanted to make sure I wasn't completely out to lunch.

He only covers his ears when outside around bugs. If I encourage him to take his hands off his ears he goes into the playhouse and won't come out. He also seems terrified but also happy about bubbles. He will laugh and get excited but screams if they come near him. He is not afraid of loud noises at all.

He is social with the kids for sure but due to language issues he has a hard time engaging with them. He does say "hi" to them and gives them eye contact and engages with them when they include him. To me this is the biggest difference between him and children I have worked with that have ASD.

I personally think he can get the hang of a cup and feel like it is more a product of being babied at home. Since coming to my house I habe seen a major improvement in language and in his sensitivities. At first he had a hard time with mud, water, bubbles in the water but now he loves playing in it. I am very much in agreement about sensory processing issues but wonder how much of it is lack of exposure as well. He tantrums a LOT at home according to mom and does odd things that he does not do here.

Anyway hopefully the SLP sends him for an assessment or something. I never know with boys because many people say obsession with cars is typical and they don't play the same as girls or they start typical play much later.

I've sent home lists of red flags to parents and asked them to seek an evaluation from our local school district at age 3 before (the Early Childhood Intervention program for under 3's isn't so great out here). I've had children diagnosed with high functioning Autism who WILL play with other children and who DO make eye contact. But, their conversations are pretty focused on what they wish to discuss (so, cars in this case for this little one) and they spend a lot/most of their time doing that activity. This one needs an evaluation. You might be surprised...