Expert: Valerie Herskowitz - 2/11/2009

Question
My son is 28 months old. There are many assuring things that make me believe my son is not autistic, but there is also a few things that make me believe he is. He loves people, and loves interacting but when it comes to playing with toys, he has no interest. I feel like I need to prompt or ask him to play. He is mostly that way with me though. He is watched by family the days I work, and they claim he plays there. He has always gotten a lot of attention and I'm not sure if he just prefers to play that way. He likes to give silly names to things, quite imaginative sometimes. When you ask how to play with something he tells you how but doesn't actually play on his own. He constantly talks, all day long. When around other children, he watches them sometimes, but prefers to run and check things out on his own. He is quite picky with textures but also has enlarged tonsils. He talks extremely well for his age. He points, and shows, and asks lots of questions. I just need some advice.

Answer
Sounds like he has good speech skills which would not lead me to suspect autism, however, the pickiness and social issues make me think that he is having sensory issues-could be Asperger Syndrome which is in the developmental spectrum. You may want to have this all checked out with a pediatric neurologist. If you want some ideas on how to handle these issues, I am available for consultations.

Valerie Herskowitz, MA CCC-SLP
valerieherskowitz.com