Expert: Valerie Herskowitz - 9/24/2009

Question
Hi Valerie,
Thank you for taking the time to read this message. I have a three year old son who has been working with a speech pathologist for over a year and receiving OT as well. He began speaking at eleven months but then tapered off at about eighteen with no improvement by twenty seven months.  His vocabulary is wonderful when given a visual prompt.  He knows his letters and the sounds and is sight reading simple words and can even sound out simple CVC words.  The problem is that he is unable to answer questions about anything abstract. I ask him what he did at school and he repeats "at school".  I will even give him two choices such as did you paint or ride an elephant and he will inevitably tell me he rode an elephant. How can I help him to understand what I am asking him?  I have tried to make a big deal out of an activity we do by talking about it at the time and restating it. (We are swimming in the pool, we went swimming in the pool today, etc...) Still I ask him twenty minutes later "Did we swim in the pool?" and he says "no". I know that there is some connection that is not being made here and I am desperate to help my little guy.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

Answer
Hi Stephanie

Language skills occur at different times. Your son is functioning at the 3rd or 4th level (out of 7) when abstract skills come in at Level 6. So he is just not ready. I really want you take one of my classes-I talk about this issue EXACTLY. I even use the example of asking a child what he did at school. It's a free class. You will laugh when we come to this part of the class as I mention this question specifically.

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