Expert: Valerie Herskowitz - 3/21/2010

Question
I have had a few worries about my 9 year old daughter for a while now. She never talked until she was four. We saw a speech therapist at that time however as my daughter made eye contact she didn't think she was autistic.  Now she will not shut up she talks constantly and gets in trouble at school for talking talking talking when she should be working. She has always had pica, in that she can hunt out bits of foam material anywhere and will chew on it non-stop. Until the age of 6, she pretty much acted like a cat, she would run around meowing and doing everything exactly like a cat. she has had problems in school, she is very behind for her age and really struggles. She hates certain clothes i have to take the labels off them and will only wear socks inside out as they bother her feet. Recently I have noticed that she takes everything that is said completely literally. i.e. the teacher told her to pull her socks up and she actually did. This is one example however the list is endless, everything is taken literally.
She has a lot of friends and likes playing with children, although will not approach them she waits for them to approach her.  Until 4 she really played alone, she wouldn't play with anyone, but once her speech improved she gained more friends.  
Are all these things typical or should i be worried and looking further into it?
Thanks for your help
Helen

Answer
Hi Helen

Thank you for your letter.

Your daughter is no doubt exhibiting issues that if left untouched, will most likely hinder her ability later in life.

I am not able to diagnose your child, nor is any speech pathologist, so I recommend that you take your daughter to see a pediatric neurologist or developmental pediatrician or psychologist who can.

Since she is having problems in school, hates certain clothing items, has pica, and processes non-literal language literally, and has a history of speech delay, I would definitely say that she is most likely going to be diagnosed in the developmental delay spectrum.

You will need to get her help or start working with her at home. I am happy to help you develop a home program that you can do to teach her certain skills she is having trouble with. Just let me know and we can do a consultation. Email me at:
info@valerieherskowitz.com

Hope to hear from you