Hi Moms. I'm hoping this is normal behaivoir but do your kids repeat themselves?? My 26 month old repeats words over and over again...to the point where it drives me crazy. For example the other day we were in the car and out of nowhere my son decided he wanted yogurt for lunch. I told him OK we'll have yogurt when we get home. He repeated the word yogurt 52 times (Yes, I counted) For the first several minutes I tried to talk to him and explain that once we got home we would have some yogurt but he ignored me and continued to repeat the word. He does this with everything and it is starting to drive me crazy. A few of my mom friends have said their kids repeat things but I'm a bit worried this is beyond normal. He is a well adjusted kid who seems "normal" for a two year old and I forgot to mention it to the doctor at his 2 year appointment (plus at the time it was not that bad). Any advice or anyone have this experience??
Took the little guy to the doctor and he is fine. They are not concerned with the repeating words and he is developing normally.
i don't know if its normal but my boy did the same thing when he was 2 years but just for a little and then he didin't do it again
G.:)
my daughter does this sometimes too. i think it is a phase, my nephew used to do this & it drove me crazy at the time, now my daughter does it & it still drives me nuts. but she is growing out of it, & does it less now than she used to. try averting him by teaching him how to spell the word, or write it if you are at home. this has helped my daughter & now she can spell several words at 3yrs old! sometimes we make up a funny song with the word or things like that. i hope this helps!
I echo the response from the mom who suggested that you just get him evaluated by ECI to see what they think. Also worthwhile just to call your pedi and voice your concern. If your son gets evaluated by ECI and they find no issues, then it's peace of mind for you. If there is some cause for concern, early intervention on is key to helping your child along.
My son was a late talker, so we began with ECI around 20 months with speech therapy. My son also had some "quirky" behaviors at that time as well that from what I read could be potential flags for autism, so we were also followed by a social/pych person at ECI as well. During our time with ECI his speech has come along very well (though he is still behind)...and during their observation there were not enough behaviors for them to say he was autistic, but enough quirky behaviors to say there is something "different" about him. They suggested we get him evaluated by an OT. We did recently and she diagnosed him with Sensory Integration Disorder. Around the same time (at his 3rd birthday) he was also evaluated by Keller ISD and he is currently tagged as PDD (with some suspicion of autism) and he attends a wonderful preschool program though KISD. We still have plans to get my son evaluated by Child Study Center in Fort Worth but are on a wait list. He has enough great behaviors that are atypical of an autistic child, but still a few quirky behaviors that leave me on the fense as to whether he is or is not on the autistic spectrum.
In regards to the repetitive speech behaviors you mentioned...There are times when my son will repeat certain words, but what I have noticed is that he will just repeat a word until I confirm for him that he is correct. Example: We are driving and he sees a big truck and he will say - truck, truck, truck, truck... until I say "Yes, Kelton, I see the truck". You might try this if you think your son might be looking for validation of some new word he learned. He may also just be saying the word out loud because he is experimenting with language and has learned something new and likes the way it sounds. I think they call this repetiton of words, phrases or sounds "echolalia".
This is an excerpt from one of the Sensory Processing Disorder websites I've visited describing echolalia:
Echolalia is when the child repeats verbal information stated by others (e.g., people's conversational exchanges, videos, books read aloud, songs, etc.).
Echolalia can include repetition of part of the utterance as well as an identical repetition of the entire spoken utterance, sometimes including an exact replication of the inflectional pattern used by the speaker.
Echolalia can be both immediate (a repetition of something they have just heard) or delayed (a repetition of information heard previously - minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years!).
Echolalia occurs in normal language development yet decreases as the typically developing child gains more spontaneous generative language. In children with autism, echolalia occurs with greater frequency and lasts for a longer period of time as the child with autism typically experiences significant difficulty developing spontaneous, generative language skills
I don't think that's normal. I would ask the doctor at the next visit (if it's not too far away) to evaluate him for OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) or maybe Asperger's Autism.
There's a video on cnn.com about how to identify "possible" signs of autism in toddlers. I'd check it out and see if you recognize any other similarities.
Sounds fine to me. I think all 2 year olds get to be annoying at some point. He is probably just practicing words and enjoying the way they sound coming out of his mouth.
Just wait until he gets older and decides to play the "copycat" game with you. The game where he repeats back EVERYTHING you say. Or the "i know you are but what am I". I have a little brother and I remember these annoyances vividly when we were young. I wanted to KILL him. :)
Hi K.,
I work with kids with autism and the repetition of words is called perseverence. This is not typical for typically developing children but it is for kids with autism. I would get him screened just to rule that out. You can also go to www.autismspeaks.com and they have videos of what to look for just to be sure.
T.
I am not sure if typical kids do this or not. My son does, but we are pretty sure he is autistic (very mild). There were quite a few things that he was doing that were typically autistic characteristics that were subtle and I missed them. Although there were also quite a few red flags that I could see.
If you get your son assessed and he is okay, then you have peace of mind. If you get him assessed and there is a problem, the sooner you start to work to fix it, the better off he will be. So, there really is no downside to getting him checked out.
Every county/city in Texas has a Early Childhood Intervention office. They are a state run program that is designed for helping children from birth to age three. They can help with all types of problems. They have developmental specialists, speech therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychioigists, and probably others. You can call them yourself, you do not need a referral. They will come to your home and do an evaluation for free. If you do need services, they can bill your insurance (they did this with my first son), or they will charge you a monthly fee based on your income. With my youngest son, we are paying $20 a month.
ECI has been wonderful for us. They helped my son and they taught me how to help him. However, every office is a little different. I have heard of other people who have not liked ECI. Your milage may vary.
Once the kids turn three. If they still have special needs they are served by the local school district. Now that is a whole new ball of wax. I have only gotten trouble from our district.
If you have any questions, let me know.
