Not responding to name.

Good evening everyone.  2yr 2m toddler does everything that a toddler at this age should do.  Runs, climbs, plays with her sister, sings songs, counts to 10, knows her colors, able to tell me months of the year BUT she doesn’t respond to her name. She doesn’t converse with me. Doesn’t ask for things. We don’t have a dialogue. She will say “let’s go outside” when she sees me put on my shoes. She will say “let’s go upstairs” when she sees us go up to sleep. She will sings songs with words.  Her memory is superb!!!! But she doesn’t use all these words that she knows in a conversation. I spoke to her early intervention counselor and she said that it looks like all that she knows is memorized and learned and that she doesn’t come up with anything new herself.  Tomorrow we will have our very first EI meeting. They will evaluate my daughter tomorrow and will give me the verdict in couple of weeks.  My question is, will the therapy help her? Will she be able to have a conversation with me one day.  Will she answer to her name eventually? She is so smart but just doesn’t connect words to its meaning.  

Parents
  • it’s impossible to say but probably yes. It may not occur to her  a conversation is a way to get what she wants or to express herself. it may not occur to her that you might have anything interesting to say or might be interested to think about anything she might say.

    autistic people tend to bond over their special interests. I would say if you can find a special interest that she has the chances of you having a meaningful conversation about it go up considerably.

Reply
  • it’s impossible to say but probably yes. It may not occur to her  a conversation is a way to get what she wants or to express herself. it may not occur to her that you might have anything interesting to say or might be interested to think about anything she might say.

    autistic people tend to bond over their special interests. I would say if you can find a special interest that she has the chances of you having a meaningful conversation about it go up considerably.

Children