Ava's speech is very clear, but at the same time, we and our OT are very concerned about her "functional use of language". Most everything she says is simply parrotting whatever she last heard, phrases she's heard us use or heard on TV, or "silly stuff" related to her obsessions, which are SpongeBob, dirt day (birthday) cake, and the ice cream man.

She can tell us if she wants juice or if she's pooped, but as for holding any sort of "conversation", she's essentially blank. She even has a blank look on her face, which really, really concerns me...it makes me wonder just how much of what we say she even understands. She'll be 3 in May, and I know her comprehension and speech are really lacking.

She will NOT let us read to her, at all...she will scream if we start reading or even just singing a song. We talk to her all the time, and she's been exposed to a rich vocabulary. She has a huge variety of words, but they're all basically said in isolation and not in context.

It is suspected that she is on the autistic spectrum, but we don't see development until 3/31. She has a speech eval coming up, as well as hearing and a swallow study, b/c we're in transition with Early Steps and the school board.

I have so many concerns...but without meeting her, I know you can't really tell me much, BUT...what's your opinion?