Expert: Valerie Herskowitz - 6/1/2010

Question
Hi,

I have a 19 month old son who had seizures (blue spells) during the first three months of his life.  He has been seizure free for about 16 months now.  He is still on medication (topomax).  I will you tell my concerns.

Does do - points at objects and people.  My wife asks him where is daddy and he points at me.  When asked he points at his nose.  His only words are juice, go and cool.  He does babble sounds like mama and da da and other sounds.  He does play with toys.  Can stack 3 blocks on top of each other.   

My concern is when he walks or runs and also plays with toys he makes this sound. (it sounds like a buzzing sound with his mouth)  He does not talk using words a 19 month old should.  Does he have any austim spectrum disorders and pervasive developmental disorders?

Thanks.

Jim

Answer
The answer to your question is that your son does have a language delay. A child of his age should be speaking lots of words. Does he understand and follow directions and come when you call him? There are a lot of questions I would ask to see what is going on before I would say that his issues are leaning towards autism rather than just a language delay. However,the fact that he had a seizure disorder does put him into a high risk for developmental delays. Have you discussed this with his neurologist? Or have you gone to see a developmental pediatrician? If not, I would highly recommend it at this time.

Right now, he need to be receiving communication training. There are many things you could be doing at home to help him communicate more effectively. I can help with this if you are interested. Feel free to email me if you want more info. My email address is: info@valerieherskowitz.com