Devleopmentally normal or not?

[Momof4]

I have a little boy who is 24 months in my daycare who is driving me just a teensy weensy bit nutso too and I can't figure out what's wrong with him. But I give the parents an update at the end of each day with all of my concerns and the facts as I see them. It's up to the parents to talk to their doctor about the big issues.

We shouldn't have to find the 'labels' or diagnose the problems, that's up to the doctor, but we can give the parents gently hints that maybe there is something a little out of the ordinary that should be checked out.

[sunnydays]

Today I tried to get him to even point to his own nose, eyes, etc...nothing...just blank stares and little smile. He was able to do that in the past a little bit. I tried talking to him from across the room...sometimes he does respond and other times not...maybe it could be a tone thing or maybe he is ignoring me...so hard to know. I will find a way to express my concerns to the parents in a non-threatening, non-alarming way. He has been sick a lot lately...maybe I will broach it from that standpoint...getting the hearing checked as a starting point. It isn't frustrating me in any way in particular...mostly his behaviour is fine except for certain times...but I just feel that it isn't quite normal and not sure if he could be helped in some way.

[Momof4]

My little 2 year old guy is verbally advanced and talks and talks and talks but can't answer or comprehend a simple question or command of any kind. I have wondered about autism too. He says something, then repeats and repeats it until I ask him to stop. He can't answer a question of any kind. Crafting has been making me crazy because I ask him to choose a colour of a popsicle stick or pipecleaner or paper and he doesn't understand at all. I say 'put that on the glue' and he doesn't understand and we've done it for over a year!

He is catching on slowly to 'breakfast time' lunchtime, time to change your diaper and other things that happen regularly daily but if I say anthing or the other children say anything he just repeats and repeats and repeats. I have a little girl a month younger than him who absolutely HATES him and I'm always scolding her to be nicer to him, but I sooooo agree with her! Oh man! This job is so hard!

[sunnydays]

It's funny because with the little one I have, I wouldn't even dream of giving him a choice or really asking him much of anything as he just looks at me blankly...it's like talking to a 12 month old...you talk, but you don't expect any particular kind of response. He is really sweet and everybody loves him because he is so gentle and kind, but really he just does his own thing in his own way and in my mind I put him in with the two 13 month olds I have in care. It avoids frustration at him not being able to do things. Maybe it's wrong to think like this, but I can only push him so much.

[Momof4]

It's funny because with the little one I have, I wouldn't even dream of giving him a choice or really asking him much of anything as he just looks at me blankly...it's like talking to a 12 month old...you talk, but you don't expect any particular kind of response. He is really sweet and everybody loves him because he is so gentle and kind, but really he just does his own thing in his own way and in my mind I put him in with the two 13 month olds I have in care. It avoids frustration at him not being able to do things. Maybe it's wrong to think like this, but I can only push him so much.

That's how I feel about my 2 year old boy, he's more like the 15 month old baby, while I consider the almost 2 year old girl one of the big kids. It's the difference in their motor skill abilities and comprehension skills, not necessarily their language skills.

I keep trying to give my little guy choices and asking him questions to try to help him learn to answer a question and understand talking with others and not just AT others. That's the problem he has with the other children. He's in their space and takes their toys, but not to be mean, her really doesn't understand socialization. He is a sweetie and sounds a lot like your little guy. It sounds like we have similar days!

[CrazyEight]

[QUOTE=apparently the dairy allergy reaction caused excess mucus and so forth in his system and sinuses and it made it hard for him to hear properly and figure out how to make the 'sounds' needed to talk so he just wasn't trying to talk likely cause no one understood what he was saying when he tried to 'babble' [/QUOTE]

Reggio, did you notice the mucus too? I have an almost 20-month-old in my care who says absolutely nothing, and his face is just constantly goopy. He says "ba" and "boo" and NO other consonants - my daughter was speech delayed, and I remember the speech therapist asking if she said other sounds like ga, da, ma, etc, and that apparently that was the red flag, that she didn't attempt any other sounds. This little guy is the same. No imitation, no attempts at any other consonants at all, and his eyes and nose are ALWAYS goopy and slimy. Every minor cold that goes by, his face is just a mess for a week. Even when he's healthy, his eyes and nose are still just dripping goop. At least he lets me wipe it for him though!

He understands things when I ask him to get things or do something, and "dances" when the little baby piano plays music, so I know he can hear at least somewhat, but that's an interesting connection that I had never heard of before. He's still on formula, since he also has pretty crazy eating issues - he will only eat pureed baby food, even though he's got a ton of teeth. He'll also eat crackers, toast, cheese, and a bit of pasta, but everything else, he won't even let go near his mouth. He does have yogurt every morning for breakfast though, and cheese and yogurt throughout the day, so I could feasibly see dairy being a culprit. Thanks for the heads up!

[Busy ECE mommy]

Autism and hearing loss were my first 2 thoughts. Loss of language is a red flag. I wouldn't let that go too long before discussing with parents. At the very least, a hearing test would rule out one diagnosis.

[Samantha33]

I would definitely tell the parents that a visit to the "Dr." is warranted. I have an issue in the past 1 1/2 years where I told a parent they should see a Dr. They just recently saw a Nurse Practitioner "not" a Dr. or specialist. I believe in Nurse Practictioner whole heartedly but not in place of a Dr. or specialist for a specific problem such as I dealt with or you are dealing with. Good luck. Be strong and forceful if necessary - for the child's sake.

[Crayola kiddies]

This thread is over a year old

[Crayola kiddies]

Reggio, did you notice the mucus too? I have an almost 20-month-old in my care who says absolutely nothing, and his face is just constantly goopy. He says "ba" and "boo" and NO other consonants - my daughter was speech delayed, and I remember the speech therapist asking if she said other sounds like ga, da, ma, etc, and that apparently that was the red flag, that she didn't attempt any other sounds. This little guy is the same. No imitation, no attempts at any other consonants at all, and his eyes and nose are ALWAYS goopy and slimy. Every minor cold that goes by, his face is just a mess for a week. Even when he's healthy, his eyes and nose are still just dripping goop. At least he lets me wipe it for him though!

He understands things when I ask him to get things or do something, and "dances" when the little baby piano plays music, so I know he can hear at least somewhat, but that's an interesting connection that I had never heard of before. He's still on formula, since he also has pretty crazy eating issues - he will only eat pureed baby food, even though he's got a ton of teeth. He'll also eat crackers, toast, cheese, and a bit of pasta, but everything else, he won't even let go near his mouth. He does have yogurt every morning for breakfast though, and cheese and yogurt throughout the day, so I could feasibly see dairy being a culprit. Thanks for the heads up!

Reggio hasn't been contributing to this site for about 9 months now