Expert: James Michael Roan - 11/22/2009

Question
Hi ,my 4yr old son was diagnosed with autism at 2.He was in the Early Intervention program for 1yr and when he turned 3,started going to public school for autistic children. He is a brilliant,smart and lovable child. In these 2yrs he has made excellent progress with the help of therapies. His receptive language is almost similar to a typical 4yr old. He is reluctant to use his words unless he really needs to. He has good vocabulary and prefers to do everything independently.He is always lost in his little world,does not pay attention to the things in which he is not interested.In the school,he would not answer the question even he knows the answer.He waits for the prompts and most of the time he just has to repeats after the therapists.He does not play with anybody but me. I'm very concerned about his attention and expressive language. His teachers say he is capable to talk to people but chooses not to. Any suggestions to improve his attention (to get his attention,since he is always in his world)and expressive language will be highly appreciated. Thanks a lot

Answer
Hi Mita;

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.

I sincerely apologize for the delay in getting back to you. Your son's selective attention to topics of personal interest and low use of language is due to his autism (high functioning). What is lacking is the social motivation to shift attention and converse. The best and most simple therapy to increase his social interaction is Stanley Greenspan's DIR Floortime Model (www.floortime.org/). His model helps establish joint attention and thus social interaction. It is well validated in the research.

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.