Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-228) and index.
Contents:
A stage or a symptom? -- What do we know about late talking children? -- Late talking and autism -- Lessons from autism: charlatans, causes and curses -- The Einstein syndrome -- Diagnosis and dangers -- Early childhood services -- Services: the law versus the practice -- Navigating schools: education -- An overview: putting it all together.
Summary:
"When children are late in hitting developmental milestones, parents worry. And no delay causes more parental anxiety than late talking, which is associated in many parents' minds with such serious conditions as autism and severe intellectual disability. Hearing and speech physician Stephen Camarata points out that children are late in beginning to talk for a wide variety of reasons. Late talking may be a symptom of other, more serious, problems; for many others, however, it may simply be a stage with no long-term complications. What science knows about the characteristics and causes of late talking. Today's greater awareness of autism, as well as the expanded definition of autism as a "spectrum" of symptoms, has increased the chances that a late-talking child will be diagnosed -- or misdiagnosed -- with autism. But, late talking is only one of a constellation of autism symptoms. Although all autistic children are late talkers, not all late-talking children are autistic. Camarata draws on more than twenty-five years of professional experience diagnosing and treating late talkers -- and on his personal experience of being a late talker himself and having a late-talking son. Valuable guidance on seeking treatment, getting second and third opinions if necessary, and warnings about false diagnoses, unqualified practitioners, and ineffective therapies. Information to help parents navigate the maze of doctors, speech therapists, early childhood services, and special education; and he describes the effect that late talking may have on children's post-talking learning styles. Stephen M. Camarata is Professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at Vanderbilt School of Medicine"--Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.