Expert: Valerie Herskowitz - 4/12/2010

Question
Hi Valerie,

Thank you for your great work here. It's much appreciated, especially to a worry-wart like me! It's too easy to surf the Internet and get conflicting information, so I thought maybe you could help.

My son is 2 years 11 months old. Up until about four weeks ago, he seemed fine. Perhaps a month or two behind where his sister was at that time, but he walked and spoke within a reasonable range.

Today he walks well (runs all over the place, actually!) climbs stairs and playground equipment, and laughs quite a bit, especially when chased or tickled. The other day when I walked in he said to me 'Daddy, I drawing with Nanny!' That's a good example of his speech, sometimes a little mixed but generally understandable.

My worries concern two things. First is his sometime inability/refusal to respond to his name. He'll be playing (maybe pushing a toy truck back and forth) or in his car seat, and my wife or I will call him, and he keeps looking away as if he hasn't heard. If we sit him down and look at him (his eye contact is good, not great) he will eventually respond, but it's tough.

Also worrisome is his occasional -- perhaps I view it twice a day -- hand flapping or finger movements. Some places I read say it could be a symptom of autism, other places say almost every child does it. He babbles about the same -- two or three times, saying 'Goo goo' sort of speech, but 95% of the time he's speaking words that we all understand.

Otherwise he seems to play well with others, points if asked, and is good at speaking, walking and eating (he uses a fork). He also has affection for his sister -- the other day he took an extra piece of cake to give to her.

I know that that a definitive answer can be given only after observation, but I was wondering if you think I am overthinking all this and he's just in a phase -- he is, after all, just 2 years, 11 months, and this hasn't been going on for long -- or not. There is so much conflicting information.

(Last item -- his grandmother, who used to teach grade school, visited the other day for a few hours. Her response -- he's a little quirky, but probably fine. But keep an eye on him.)

Again, thank you so much.

Ken

Answer
Hi Ken

Basically, it sounds like he is pretty much on target for speech-at least from what you are telling me. A boy his age should be talking in sentences and conversation though with plenty of grammar and pronunciation errors.

The only thing that really worries me is the fact that his grandmother feels he is quirky. There must be a reason she sees this. I think it might be a good idea if you, his grandmother and I talk on the phone for maybe 15 minutes or so about this. Can you do a conference call on your phone? If not, I can do it. I won't charge you for this consult. I am just wanting to confirm why she thinks he is quirky. She's had plenty of experience.

If you want to do this sometime, just email me at info@valerieherskowitz.com. Or if you want to take a chance and just give me a ring, my number is 954-980-0134 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              954-980-0134      end_of_the_skype_highlighting. (cell).

Talk to you-perhaps

Valerie