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Good Evening SIR, I Have A Five Year Old Son

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Posted on Sun, 29 Dec 2019
Question: Good evening SIR,
I have a five year old son that is having a speech difficulty. He does not talk up to now.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Olsi Taka (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
Should be evaluated by speech pathologist and child psychiatrist for autism

Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern about your son.

Some more information might be useful, does he seem to understand you, respond to his name, does he point at things or use other signs to communicate? Anything notable with his behavior such as avoiding eye contact, not smiling, prefer playing alone, excessive repetitive behavior, irritation by minor changes etc which might indicate autism spectrum disorder?

Causes for communication disorders may be different. Having his hearing evaluated is a good initial step. I assume oral cavity abnormalities would have been noted by the ENT specialist as well.

Now I think developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders should be evaluated. The next step would be to see a speech-language pathologist. Other consults which the speech pathologist will probably recommend a psychological evaluation by a child psychiatrist.

I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Olsi Taka (6 hours later)
Good morning,
He responds to his name, and can even go for an errand. I normally ask him to get a bottle water for me and he does that. initially he prefers playing alone but now I noticed he plays with his siblings especially in solving a puzzle games. He is very good in arranging a puzzle game. .He can look straight into our eyes, no problem with eye contact. He points at things and sometimes demonstrates with his hand if he needs something especially when he is hungry, he will drag you to the kitchen and point at what he want and be pointing to his mouth with his finger. At the Initially stage he repeats certain action like moving round or jumping and shouting in the sitting room. He smiles and laugh and he can read from 1 to 10 and indicate same.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Olsi Taka (2 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Read below.

Detailed Answer:
Thank you for the additional information. It is much heartening as I was under the impression that the issue was more severe. While still a developmental issue falling into the autism spectrum is possible, disabling autism is unlikely after your description.
I still think that the next step should be to see a speech-language pathologist. He/she will conduct specific standard tests and is the best specialist to determine whether it is an articulation issue, speech or language disorder, as well as whether other evaluations are needed.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj
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Answered by
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Dr. Olsi Taka

Neurologist

Practicing since :2004

Answered : 3673 Questions

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Good Evening SIR, I Have A Five Year Old Son

Brief Answer: Should be evaluated by speech pathologist and child psychiatrist for autism Detailed Answer: I read your question carefully and I understand your concern about your son. Some more information might be useful, does he seem to understand you, respond to his name, does he point at things or use other signs to communicate? Anything notable with his behavior such as avoiding eye contact, not smiling, prefer playing alone, excessive repetitive behavior, irritation by minor changes etc which might indicate autism spectrum disorder? Causes for communication disorders may be different. Having his hearing evaluated is a good initial step. I assume oral cavity abnormalities would have been noted by the ENT specialist as well. Now I think developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders should be evaluated. The next step would be to see a speech-language pathologist. Other consults which the speech pathologist will probably recommend a psychological evaluation by a child psychiatrist. I remain at your disposal for other questions.