Expert: James Michael Roan - 11/27/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have a slight concern that my 2 year old by may have some signs of autism. On the whole he is a very happy active little boy but his speech isn't coming on a well as it should. We have taken him for his hearing checked & everything seems fine from that area.
Our main reason for concern is that sometimes he seems in a world of his own, in so much as it is very hard to break his concentration when he is doing something. He interacts with his 3 year old sister wonderfully & they chase & play together for hours, he is really, really agile. He never stops, even when he is watching television or havign a story read to him he is climbing on the furniture or bouncing up & down. We wonder if his delayed speech & communication is due to his sister being very outgoing & saying most things for him. Any advice would be a great help.

ANSWER: Hi Dan;

Please keep in mind that at no time am I diagnosing anything nor am I ruling out any potential condition, just providing guidance and direction.

There are many reasons for speech delay, however, I am not a speech and language pathologist so I will not comment on them here. Down load the M-CHAT and scoring instructions here:

http://www.firstsigns.org/downloads/m-chat.PDF
http://www.firstsigns.org/downloads/m-chat_scoring.PDF

It is screening tool for autism in toddlers and not a test. Let me know if you need any clarification.

Kind regards,
James


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Bio

James Roan is a certified school psychologist who has been consulting in the areas of autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and learning difficulties in the United States and in Ireland for over ten years (http://www.jamesroan.com). James earned his M.Ed. in School Psychology and M. Ed. in Adult Education and receives ongoing post graduate training in autism at the University of Washington’s Autism Center. James Roan has traveled to Galway, Limerick, Mayo, Clare, Dublin, Cork, Waterford, and other cities and counties across Ireland assessing children and adults, and consulting with solicitors (lawyers) in defense of children with disabilities. James Roan was the consulting assessment professional responsible for many of the autism and AD/HD screening tools and other content for Access Special Needs.Com. James Roan consulted with the graduate department of the Waterford Institute of Technology in Waterford Ireland in the development of their graduate program for the certification of private autism tutors. James has conducted formal assessments of students in the Autism Unit in the Claddagh National School in County Galway Ireland.






---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks, We've done the test & apart from Q20 & Q23 we seem to have passed all the other questions. To be honest on Q23 both him & his sister are so confident that new things don't phase them enough to need our assistance! Obviously i'm not an expert but he is a really confident, outgoing little lad so I think to be honest we are concerned unneccesarily & i thought (perhaps wrongly) that autistic children were often withdrawn?

Answer
Hi Dan;

Yes, autistic children are generally withdrawn. High functioning children with autism, are aloof. Language delays suppress social interaction, so many parents fear autism. Don't sweat the language delay, it's very common, but he may need therapy. Again, he's very young! I wish you and your family a good holiday season.

Kind regards,
James