Expert: Valerie Herskowitz - 12/11/2010

Question
Our 6th child shows considerable language delay.  He is almost 20 months old, yet he speaks no words.  He has just learned to imitate our others kids saying "Stop it", like one word, but he has never said Mama.  He babbles, but not with recognizable words.  He hates children outside our family.  He cries in fear around toddlers, even if they are kind to him.  He runs on his toes, but walks normally.  He has a temper, and when strangers try to talk with him, he "flings" his hand at them, as if to make them go away.  He has chosen 3 of his older siblings to be nice to, and he laughs with them, but he staunchly refuses to be nice to his oldest sister (14 years old). She is a gracious and kind person and has never been unkind, but for some unknown reason, he does not like her.  He even slaps her across the face sometimes for no reason when she tries to talk with him.  He plays well with my husband and myself, laughing and playing peek-a-boo. He just started waving bye-bye about a month ago.  He started pointing at about age 17 - 18 months.  He does love it when his siblings clap for him. He walked well at 10 months.  My husband says our son is just immature.  We live in a rural area and do not have access to much testing, so I would like to have a good idea what I'm dealing with before I start hunting for specialists. Thank you for your time!

Answer
Start hunting. Start with the public school as the law requires that children who are having developmental delays be seem by an Early Intervention Team through the states. No doubt there is something going on. You have 5 other children to compare to so you know that a child who is 20 months should be saying a whole lot.

If you can't get what you need, then email me at
info@valerieherskowitz.com and I will work on a home program for you to get the ball rolling

You are doing the right thing to seek out help for your child at this time,