2 year old with autism capable of what? | Autism PDD

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jaxbs,
I would get your child evaluated for autism. That is the only way you're really going to know.
Nowwhat
The Centers for Disease Control has early warning signs on their site.  You can also get a quick feel for whether your child falls on the spectrum from taking the PDD assessment at www.childbrain.com  The results are as accurate as your input, of course.  Other than that, get on the long waiting list for a diagnosis with a GOOD developmental doctor (dev. ped., child psychiatrist or ped. neuro.)  In addition to that, contact your state's early intervention.  Some states use the Dept. of Ed. to run it, other states use the Health Dept.  Ask around.  It doesn't actually matter what the dx is.  If your child has delays of any kind, it is better to address them early.

Tweeker's Mom,

You said that your son did the same thing as mine at his age, but was he able to do some of the other stuff that I mentioned, such as following simple directions, etc.?  I'm trying to get a grasp on what a 2 year old with autism is and isn't capable of doing.  Thanks for any help!

Does your son have anything repetitve lining things up opening and shuting things turning things on and off?

How are his play skills and social skills.

Sorry for all the questions just wanting to get more of a feel for what your son is like

I have never seen him line things up.  Sometimes he'll open and shut the door, but I thought that was pretty standard toddler behavior.  He turns the TV on and off sometimes, but not for like, an hour at a time.  Isn't that pretty typical for a toddler? 

He had little contact with children his age for a while, and when I first started to take him to the playground he seemed a bit scared of other children (he would run back to me, etc.)  Now that we take him everyday, he does much, much better.  He doesn't seem scared at all, and will play alongside other children.

Thanks!

 

My going to be 2.5 yr old son was having HORRIBLE tantrums at about 1.5 yrs old then they stopped.

They came back at around 2yrs but they had turned into meltdowns anywhere from 5-20mins

He walked at 10 months and babbled but didn't really start to talk until 2. At that time he sounded like a parriot and he had and has alot of repetive speech.

Before this he would take my hand and bring me where he wanted tme to be and still does at times.  He can understand routine one-step directions. His expressive lanauage is better then his receptive but he has alot of immediate and delayed echolia.

His play was and still is repetitive. He loves to dump things in and out of things and its not for an hr but it is for a long enough time.  Lines up cars and melts if they are disturbed. Will want me to "play" with him but this consists of me just sitting there not doing anything such as touch a car or move something ect.

He loves to watch the wheels on the cars move and will roll them back and fourth slowly by his eyes.  He LOVES music and gte very obsessed with certain videos which we can watch 1-5 times a day .

He is very ridget in how things need to be same plate same person putting him to bed ect..

Social wise he is ok if he is the iniater but NOT if someone approaches him.  He has alot of sensory issues as well.

I just wanted to give a little back ground on my youngest since they are very sim in age.

BUT I want to stress just because you may not be expiercing these things now you could later. No child is the same as you know and that also goes for kids with ASD. Please keep an eye on yr child and go withj your GUT and INSTINCTS for your child.

adding PS- no tantrums at all really

Cin051639144.7341087963

jaxbs,

WELCOME TO THE BOARD!!!  Here you'll find a lot of useful information and some extremely knowlegable & experienced parents of children with ASD's!!!

Your son is very young, and I am unsure of whether or not he has been diagnosed (has he?).  My son did exactly the same things at your sons' age...ie: pointing at things & grunting, flapping his hands, etc.  but that doesn't mean that your son has autism.  My suggestion to you (if he has not already been diagnosed or assessed) is to take him to a pediatric neurologist who specializes is autism for an assessment.  While early intervention is extremely important for children of special needs (& not just children with autism) it is necessary to have a diagnosis to know what services your child would best benefit from.  If your child has been diagnosed, I would suggest that you contact your local school board for the services (IF you are in the U.S.A.)they offer such as: speech therapy (SLP), occupational therapy (OT),physical therapy (PT), also ABA (applied behavioral analysis) or IBI....If you are in Canada, you will need a referral for services from your child's Pediatrician.

I wish you and your child luck with this.  

Blessings,

Shelley

Hello,

My son turns two in 2 weeks and is still not talking.  My question:  Could a two year old with autism be able to communicate in other ways without using words?  If a child is autistic, do they throw tantrums because they are unable to communicate?  For instance, when he wants to go somewhere, he'll bring me his shoes and coat, and then also bring me mine if I don't go to get them.  If he wants something in the refrigerator or cabinet, he'll point and grunt.  He also can point to all of his body parts (and he knows the difference between his and mine: "Where's mommy's ears?  Where's your ears?") when asked and can point to pictures such as dogs, cars, a bath, etc., in a picture book.  He follows simple directions, such as "Take your diaper and throw it in the trash can", or "Go put your shoes back in your room", or "Can you please go shut the door?"

Is this behavior consistent with autism?  His not talking and arm flapping at times (when he's very excited and only for a few seconds at a time) are my only real concerns.  He climbs stairs and ladders at the park fine, and seems to walk/run normally. 

Also, does anyone know the percentage of "late talkers" who have a more serious condition?  Many members of my family say that their children didn't start talking until they were almost three (and are fine now), and I've also read quite a bit about late talking being common among boys, but do most late talkers have something more serious going on, or is it still rare? 

Thanks for any help!

jaxbs39144.6599652778

Hi jax,

Apparently, as JulieA posted, some ASD kids do respond to requests and directions.  I know of very few at your son's age who did.   ASD kids have varying degrees of abilities, which makes it difficult to just give you a list of things to check off and then you can say "Yes, he is ASD" or "No, he is not!" 

From what you have described, even the paci thing, your son sounds like a typical child with a speech delay.  HeE sounds to me like he is in very much tune with his social environment.  Being afraid of children at his age is being in tune.  Most ASD kids I know or e-know would more or less ignore other kids until they got quite a bit older.  But the fact remains that pretty much nobody can definitively say for sure a child is autistic or not until he is closer to 3 years old.  By then, the behaviors become more obvious, if he is developing differently than his peers.

Whatever you do, call your school district about speech therapy.  And please try not to worry!  I take it this is your first child.  We all worry overtime about our first.   Call your district and they will get you on the right track.  That is what you pay all those taxes for!

Make sure when you have your son evaluated for speech they do a thorough examination which includes a full oral motor check which can often result in a speech delay. It sounds like your son's receptive skills are right on track and his social skills are very typical so it looks like only an expressive speech delay. Schedule an appointment with an audiologist for a full exam ASAP as the evaluators will want hearing issues rule out first. Even though your son can follow directions (so obvioulsy can hear) if there is fluid in the ear it can cause a muffled quality to the language he hears which can impede speech.

Some websites you may want to check out - if you haven't already

http://www.speechville.com/athometohelp.html

http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster2/sptherapy.html

http://www.tayloredmktg.com/dyspraxia/index.shtml

http://www.geocities.com/speppera/Speechenrichment.htm

http://www.geocities.com/speppera/late_talking_Activities.ht m

I had so many more but actually haven't looked at non-autism speech resources in awhile, so I will try and locate more info and get back to you. Also, we found the Baby Babble DVD found on talkingchild.com to be great at the preverbal stage. It really helped. I don't know if you read the Late Talker yet by Marilyn Agin which is a good starter book. You can also look into some of the Hanen books which have great activities for eliciting speech.

littlebopeep,

Thank you so much!   He definitely notices when others enter the room; if he hears me coming home from work, he runs to the door and gets excited.  When he knows that I'm leaving without him, he gets his shoes and wants to go too.  He watches me from the window and waves as my car pulls out.  My brother from out of town visited recently and he was very interested in him too.  So I think that what you said about "being plugged in" certainly applies here.  That's very, very encouraging to hear. 

He also follows instructions better and better every day; "Would you take your diaper to the trash can and throw it away?"  He picks it up and takes it to the kitchen, opens up the pantry door, opens the trash can and throws it away.  When I asked him to go get the newspaper in the morning, he runs right over to the door, runs outside to get it, and brings it in for me. 

So there are a lot of good signs, but the not talking (he has only ever said, "Go, go, go!" in a very deep voice when we're going somewhere, and arm flapping and not really playing with other children at the playground that has really worried me.

Could it be that he's simply not hearing well enough?  If I say "bubbles" (one of his favorite things in the world) at a whisper, he'll jump up and run to get them.  But he is very allergic to milk, and from what I've read that's one of the causes of middle ear fluid build-up, which can cause children to not be able to hear well enough to learn to say words.

Thanks again for all the help!

jaxbs39145.4601851852the communication sounds like late talker or a speech problem. the arm flapping when excited can be a sign of senosry issues or overload, and not being around children can be sensory too. the fear that they will get to close to him. all in all, he seems very not asd. very into others, doing things, and functional. i and my osn have milk protien allergy with no ear issues, and also im not asd/pdd, etc. milk allergy is somewhat common especially at young ages. when you evaluate speech and goto early intervention, have them test hearing as a precaution. he may just know that he cant verbally respond so he tunes out. good luck

Late talking isn't all uncommon.  My son's best friend from NH, Jack, didn't much at all before three.  He's quite NT and talks fine, now (at seven).

Also, my son (who does not have an ASD), had lots of red-flags for autism when he was a baby.  One thing they don't really tell you on the checklists is that many of the autistic "symptoms" are only symptoms if they persist until or appear in older toddlers and children.

My son used to line things up, stare at spinning objects, turn over cars and trucks to play with the wheels, and had immediately echololia.  Thing is, he outgrew all of these things at the appropriate times (before one for the play things, before two for the echolia, IIRC.

Also, many people flap when excited - even adults.  Seriously - especially teenage girls when they're very excited (jumping up and down excited) about soemthing.  If you don't believe me, watch a game show, or a reality show when everyone's jumping up and down with excitement over something - or watch a movie with Jennifer Love Hewitt in it.

The flapping that I've seen autistic kids do is kind of obvious.  It's not like the short-lived flapping that kids do when they're jumping up and down due to excitement or during a temper tantrum.  I can't really describe it, but you know it when you see it - one of those kinds of things.

fred39145.3829398148alot of the things you are writing about, the playground, hugging, are sensory issues. most persons with pdd and asd will tell you the most pervasive of the their disorder is the sensory issues. however, you can have sensory issues and not asd/pdd. one 'sign' that is often overlooked that you mentioned however is the lack of initiating. that is something you want to explain to doctors. while my son will hug-if asked, and will say words, sometimes spontaneous requests, he initiates next to nothing, and has no concept of turn taking. also, when it comes to spinning, it often goes further in detail. not just spinning himself, but spinning toys, fixating on fans or things that go around, sometimes unable to break away for tantruming if they stop. also, a fixation with spinning parts. my son wont ride ride on toys much and has no interest in pedaling, but will pick them up and flip them over and spin the wheels. the other thing that my son does often is tune you out. you can call him over and over and he will not respond. you can ask him questions that he can answer and he will ignore you like you are not there. also, although he hates most noises (blenders, vacuums, etc.) he is completely unaware os sounds like the tea kettle whistle, or loud bangs, or horns. its like he is not even there. is hearing is perfect.

Hi jaxbs,

Everything you describe about your child gives me the impression that he is NT (neurotypical, not autistic.)  Much more important than toe walking and hand flapping is how he relates to people.  You say that he responds to his name, he is interested in people in stores, he brings toys to you to look at, he looks at you when you speak, he follows your point to something in the sky - All of this indicates that he is NT.   Very few kids on the Spectrum at this age will follow many directions and basically participate in every aspect of daily life.  And yes, he is still the appropriate age for parallel play.  He would not be engaging much with other kids quite yet.  But the basic interest in others should be there, and it sounds like it is.  Even the unwillingness to hug you sometimes is, in his young way, being plugged in to you.  He hugs you - or not -but his obvious refusals are indications of being present with you.  An autistic kid who had physical intimacy problems would simply not respond at all or pull away, but not appear engaged emotionally much. 

Autistic kids are not all in their own world.  And they all do not flap or toe walk.   What points to autism at an early age is a basic not being "plugged in" to those around him pretty much at all times.  An NT kid will look up when someone new comes in the room, will be interested in new people, will point and share and just generally look engaged, in an effort to communicate - even if the words are not there.  Autistic kids do communicate, it just takes much more effort and know-how to read them. 

Hi jaxbs,

Our good friend and neighbor has a speech delayed son who is close in age to my youngest.  The neighbor boy is 2 1/2 and only saying a few words.  However, it is obvious, seeing the kids side by side, what the difference is between speech delay and autism.  My neighbor's child is constantly trying to communicate and interact, even if he does not yet have words.  My son's engagement and interaction are not even close.  My son is not in his own world, he just doesn't seem to notice other people, especially new people, much.  Your son sounds a lot like my neighbor's and like my older son, too.  My older son was a first class pest when he was age 2,3,4 - as little kids should be.  Little NT kids will be pestering their parents and just generally never leaving them alone. 

Your son certainly should qualify for speech therapy.  Call your school district and they will get you on the right track.  To me he sounds like a typical kid with a speech delay.   No biggie in the disability department, but he would surely qualify for speech services.

Did he just turn two?  He is still in the parallel play stage and will slowly become interested in playing with other kids over the next year or so.  An NT kid starts really playing with other kids around age 3.  As before, the thing to keep looking at is  - Is he engaged and just generally part of the social scene in his little world?

My son is 33 months old.  His receptive language skills are above age level...he understands absolutely everything and can follow multiple step directions.  He is rarely in his own world.  He does not flap his hands.  His only "stim" really is that when he is excited or tired he will run in a big circle around our house.  He knows the entire alphabet and all shapes, colors and can count to twenty and count objects correctly to 16.  He points, has fabulous gestures and eye contact, is affectionate and loves to be held and cuddled.  His speech just really took off two-three months ago, and he is now putting together 3 to 4 word sentences.  He is a fabulous communicator....knows bunches and bunches of signs.  However, he is still on the spectrum.  His deficits are more social...he has a lack of showing and while he will play with us gladly when we initiate play he will never initiate playing with anyone himself unless he "needs" us somehow for his play.  He is supremely interested in playing with other children but he seems to be unsure how to go about doing it.  I hope this info helped you a little bit.  I would definitely take your child to be evaluated by a professional who is very experienced with autism.  It is always better to be safe than sorry...especially when it comes to providing early intervention for a child who is showing delays.

At two years old it is very common for children to be doing parallel play. This is where they will sit next to another child and appear to be playing independantly, but will be mirroring to some extent the other child. Eg both building towers, both pushing cars along. Co-operative play whereby there is direct communication and simple rules (eg "you be the doctor and teddy is ill") does not often start until after the child is three.

 Your son is responding well to verbal instructions, especially as you are using a fair few "filler" words. This suggests his verbal understanding is ok.

To be honest there is nothing, at this age, that makes me think your son is on the spectrum. NT children often line things up as well and if spinning wasn't so popular then spinning tops would never have caught on

 It may be that if your son is on the spectrum things will become clearer in a few more years. Keep an eye on how often he initiates things, whether he has difficulty expressing his wants and feelings about things (this is in a couple of years time), whether he has any sensory issues, whether he has a gait that might be considered odd, whether there are any unusual or distinctive speech patterns, whether he has poor motor planning (eg catching or throwing a ball). Does he seem to have a quirky sense of humour? Does he have any difficulties approaching other children?

While there are a lot of positives with my son, perhaps I'm over-analyzing, but he definitely pulls away if I try to give him a hug.  I wonder if that's because perhaps I wasn't affectionate enough with him in the past?  If I say, "Come give me a hug", sometimes he runs over and gives me a hug, and sometimes he comes over and slap me in the chest.  Sometimes he just shakes his head "no."  He rarely, in ever, initiates a hug. 

Should a child at two be able to catch a ball?  I throw a ball to him and he opens his arms and sometimes it falls in (for a catch?) and other times it just hits him in the face.  He seemes to be able to throw a ball fine now, but just recently started; before, he always threw it over his head (and the opposite way). 

As far as approaching other children, if he wants to go play on something (i.e. the sliding board, he'll sort of go around other children and walk up the ladder).  He rarely just approaches another child to see what they're doing.  He doesn't chase other children or anything like that, but sometimes he'll walk up to a little girl and play with her hair, etc.  I don't see any kind of real play.  The other day at the playground, a boy grabbed him from behind and started to form a choo-choo train, and my son laughed and seemed to enjoy the play, but that was very unusual.  Most of the time he he plays side-by-side with other children and does what they do; he'll often watch them and then do the same thing.

Also, I've read quite a bit about arm flapping and toe walking as being signs of being on the spectrum.  My son does both, but only for a few seconds at a time.  He flaps his arms, for example, when he first gets to the playground and is excited, or when he wants something and isn't getting it.  The toe walking is very rare for him typically, but I really observed him yesterday and he did it 3-4 times for approximately 5 seconds.  Would an autistic child constantly walk on their toes, or constantly flap their arms and not be able to stop?

Thanks for all the help! 

 

 

jaxbs39145.3554513889

NO matter what your son may be diagnosed with or not its never too early to teach kids basic sign language, back the signs up with speech and when he can speak well enough o communicate he wont need the signs, if he doesn't get to the point where speech is clear at least he has signs he can use to bring down his frustration levels at being unable to communicate. Signs need only be simple and on step.

our autistic foster daughter had very little speech a year ago, 3 words or so. we taught her sign language and use picture exchange communication cards with her also, always backing it up with speech. Now she has at least 50 words and her behaviours are calming the more she can communicate. she doesn't have the generalised repetitive behaviours but she does have the social and communication difficulties, is very quick to pick things up and is rather clever when she wants to be.

early intervention and communication are the keys to a more independent life for these kids. Both my partner and i work in the disability field and have seen how extremely aggressive autistic kids can be helped significantly when they can use a form of communication. The fact that your son is pointing at objects is a good sign, Maddi has only just started at 4.5yrs to point at things,  something her psychologist says is important for further development, kids who never get to that stage are more limited later in life.

Check out local sign language classes or look up basic signs, makaton for instance is really easy to learn and teach your son, also look up picture exchange cards.(PECS) The PECS are basically pictures of items they may like to play with or eat etc, the idea is that if they give you the card you then reward them with the object they asked for, this way he isn't dragging you to the fridge for cheese and when you offer him milk he will then tantrum cos he will have shown you the cheese card etc. works well for some kids but not all, depends on there ability to picture recognise and can take a while for them to realise what they need to do to get the object, but it can work really well and I've seen both kids and adults use this system.

as an example of the cards Maddi has just bought me the TV and video card and asked for hi-5......brb need to put it on now!

Hope this helps a bit, no kid too young to learn sign as a first step to talking and just Cos they use sign doesn't mean they wont talk as well. The research now shows babies can use signs from really early ages and are less frustrated, calmer and happier babes.

Zoe

 

My son who is 8 now and fairly nt was very late for speech. He didn't talk in sentences or sleep through the night until he was 3 years old. HOWEVER, he loved being read to..would choose many book each night. We would sing songs together. He had great eye contact and enjoyed flirting with others. He always responded to his name and he could follow directions. My daughter on the spectrum never responded to her name, hated being read to, never made eye contact, didn't care about other people, led people by the hand to what she wanted. Couldn't follow a point..would just look at the finger around 2 years she started major tantrums.

Your child has a few red flags and many many strengths. It is good that you are concerned, but you probably need to see a developmental ped. inorder sort out what is going on. Contact EI, early intervention services for speech will help tremendously!

Best of luck! Renee

nene39145.004375

Does he look at you when you say his name?

Does he point or wave?

Does he show you things--like an airplane way up high?

Does he play with the children, or just beside them?

Does he notice people? and what they are doing?

Does he look people in the eyes at the store and watch them?

Does he look at you when you say his name?  Sometimes

Does he point or wave?  Yes, both

Does he show you things--like an airplane way up high?  Yes, if there is an airplane, he looks up and points at it

Does he play with the children, or just beside them?  I would say just beside them.  I haven't seen any real interaction, but then again he has had very limited exposure to other children.

Does he notice people? and what they are doing?  Yes, absolutely

Does he look people in the eyes at the store and watch them?  He definitely looks at other people and watches what they're doing, although I'm not completely sure about the eye contact.  When I check out at the cash register, he always smiles and waves bye bye to the cashier

 

jaxbs,

Yes, my son WAS able to follow SIMPLE directions at that age.  Although this may also sound similar to your sons' capabilities, I would still recommend a pediatric neurologist evaluate your child. If anything, regardless of the results, it will give you peace of mind- I mean REALLY KNOWING whether your child has a disability or not.  I'm certainly not insinuating that KNOWING that your child has a disability will bring you peace of mind.....I'm just stating that "at least you'll know what you're dealing with & you can proceed accordingly.  Just so you know my son is fairly high functioning and did not receive a diagnosis until he was 9 years of age.....I'm not saying either that YOUR son will have to wait until then to get a diagnosis OR an answer as to whether or not he is on the spectrum.  Have your child assessed, then move forward...we're all here to help if you need advice!

Good luck!

i would recommend looking up the MCHAT test online or goto childbrain.com and taking the pdd questionairre. they wont diagnose your child, but will give you a good idea of things you will typically see. i say this because there are quite a few red flags. there are many possibilities, he could just be a late talker, have a spectrum disorder, or even apraxia (without speech). but he is definately communication with you when he is able buy gestures. i would try to have him evaluated by a speech pathologist, and get him into speech therapy. you may have to try more than one to find one who can help him get words out. i also recommend sign language. using signs for more, drink, eat, open, want, yes, no, please, thank you, and things that are motivators are a great way to help children get out sounds. if tantrums are an issue but he doesnt have problems with destroying things alot picture boards can be an option. a good speech therapist can help you implement these ideas. if hes not talking at tha age he should also qualify for early intervention based on language delay and could be eligible for other programs depending on your county and state. as far as other evals and therapys i would take a look at the childbrain or mchat pages and go with your gut. early interventions can make a big difference so i think, in my opinion, its better to initiate things 'just in case' instead of waiting to see. my son just turned 2 and is verbal now. hes said over 1200 words in the last 2 months altho he still has alot of speech problems, grunts alot, and cant say what he wants when he wants it...............but considering 2.5 months ago he could barely say 50 words its gr8. he started speech at 20 mos and i started signs at 17mos. mbrogue39144.8337384259

Littlebopeep,

Thanks for the reply.  My son turns two in 2 weeks.  Other kids his age seem to run up to him and stare at him, and my son sort of just backs away, like hes uncertain what to do.  This is a big improvement from a month ago, when he simply ran from other children and back to me, particularly when he just got somewhere new.

You mentioned in a previous post that "very few children on the spectrum will follow directions."  The fact that he does follow simple directions, such as, "Go turn the lights/TV off" or "Bring me your apple juice", does that mean that he's "plugged into his environment" and others around him?  I'm trying to grasp this, because I think it's important, and understand exactly what "being plugged in" entails.  If someone knocks on the door, and he runs to the door, he's interacting with his environment, right?  Or if I leave for work and he gets his shoes (and he watches me and waves at me when I pull out of the parking space), is that participating in what's going on around him?  Sometimes I feel like he's completely "plugged in" and other times, not so much.  Like, tonight I bought and horn and started playing it, and he ran right over and wanted to try it and blow on it.  Today at the store, a girl was bouncing a ball beside him, and he looked at me and pointed at it, grunted, and acted as if he wanted it.  Examples like this seem like he's pretty "plugged in" to me, but maybe all children, even autistic ones, do that.

Also, does anyone know if there's any evidence to support that late talking can be caused by a child using his/her pacifier too much?  My son almost always had his pacifier in (until recently, and now he only uses it during bed time) and I'm afraid that that might be causing his speech delays.  He's typically home with my husband or I, and neither of us talk a whole lot, so perhaps that's what has caused the delays?  I'm trying to constantly continue a dialogue with him, and "label' everything that I do now, but he's still not talking.

Thank you so much for your help! 

jaxbs39145.7303009259

Take him to a developmental pedi like already suggested. What I was told by at least one of the drs we saw (we have seen so many) was that it wasn't so much the lack of speech at age 2 that was the concern as long as they were responding and trying to communicate in some way, like gestures, which sounds like he is. The speech would eventually come. The concerns with my boys was they didn't try to talk, they didn't really babble, they didn't point and grunt for what they wanted, they couldn't identify anything in a picture or even pointed or tried to, they didn't follow simple directions, they didn't bring me their shoes or coat when they wanted to go out, they didn't try to tell me or show me anything, they just kind of sat or stood there and if they wanted something they just screamed. there was no communication of any kind, not pointing, not showing things. From your description it sounds more like a developmental delay or a speech delay but you really need to see a dev pedi. I have a NT 21 month old and she doesn't speak in sentences, she probably has about 25-50 words and often she only pronounces the first syllable, and she is not considered delayed at all. She doesn't respond to her name half the time and rarely follows directions but that's cause she doesn't want to.

As far as the pacifier, can he use a straw? Is he still using a sippy cup? What I was told by the therapists was the sippy cups are the same as bottle and they do not strengthen the muscles needed for speech. She said the best thing was to get them to use the straw instead of bottles and sippys, it would build the muscles they needed for speech. I don't know that a paci would impede speech but it wouldn't help it. My boys had low muscle tone in their face though and at least for Andrew is a big reason for the speech problems and the sippys/bottles were doing nothing to build them. Also they used those as pacifiers and would have a bottle or sippy hanging out of their mouth. She said they couldn't talk with that constantly in their mouth you have to get them to put it down. They have just recently figured out the straw but I have replaced their sippys with straws now.

Quick update:

Let me preface this by saying that I have a meeting scheduled with an Early Intervention specialist on May 16th.  I still have a few questions and I guess I'm a little worried because the meeting isn't for 2 more weeks.

My son, now 26 months old, is still not talking.  He sometimes says "bread" or "more bread", and sometimes "ball" when he sees a ball, and sometimes "buh buh" for bye bye when he's leaving or someone else is leaving.  

I've noticed recently that he's drooling quite a bit still.  Is that more consistent with a child that has a speech delay, or with a child that has something else going on? 

Also, he's seemed to have moved past parallel play stage and is actually chasing other kids around the playground now (he still flaps his arms at times for a few seconds when he gets really excited), and he also likes to be chased.  This evening, he was playing chase with a little girl and when she had to leave, he looked at her and said, "buh buh", and waved.  He's also waving at strangers and smiling when he passes them.  He always seems "plugged in"to what's going on around him, but I still feel like something more might be wrong.  Maybe I'm just a nervous first-time parent?  Things that bother me still:  Occasional arm flapping, toe walking, drooling, and of course, his lack of speech.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!                

jaxbs39208.7103819444Two suggestions:  1.Show videos of what you are concerned about with your child so the people who interview you/him have more of a look-see at what the issues are.  2.  Take the PDD assessment at www.childbrain.com  Your child is young for this and it's a rough screening anyway, so you shouldn't misconstrue it as an online diagnositic tool, but it IS a great way to see all the possible issues by answering the questions. 
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