ABOUT OUR KIDS 8

Not Talking: A Sign of Autism?

By Robert Needlman, M.D. Provided by: DrSpock.com

Every month I see a few toddlers who are not talking. Most are boys; all are worrying their parents. Some have autism, and others don't.

There are so many children with autism now, that almost everybody knows somebody who knows somebody who has an autistic child. Parents, daycare providers and teachers are all on the lookout. Ten years ago children with autism were often diagnosed as late as age 4 or 5. These days, it seems that most are diagnosed by 3, if not before.

People are also more aware of related diagnoses on the autism spectrum, including Asperger syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). As the "not otherwise specified" part of its name implies, PDD-NOS does not have a very clear cut definition. Children often qualify for PDD-NOS, even though they don't meet the full definition for autism itself.

All of this awareness -- which is a good thing -- and the open-ended nature of the PDD diagnosis makes more parents feel even more insecure. If something is not quite right with their child developmentally, the possibility of autism looms large.

Fear of autism worried the parents of two little boys I saw recently. I'll call them Jack and Tom. They were both around two years old.

Jack did not speak or use sign language, and did not turn to me when I called his name. When I offered him crayons, he took one, but he wasn't interested in scribbling or in playing give-and-take. He opened and closed the door of my toy car, and spun the wheels again and again, but did not "zoom" it across the floor. Jack's mother said she had a hard time getting him to play with her. "He does sometimes," she said, "when he wants to."

Tom looked very different. "I can ask him to get something from another room," his dad explained, "and he goes right there and gets it." He also could point to lots of pictures in books when his parents asked him to. He only said a very few words. But he did make a sound that seemed to mean "What's that?", and he would point at things with his index finger -- a sign that he expected his parents to look where he was looking. We played catch back and forth with a rolled up paper towel, and Tom could have played all day, giggling.

I think that Jack probably has a condition on the autism spectrum. It will be important for him to have a thorough assessment. He is already in speech therapy, but he will need additional therapies to help him with social interactions, attention and play.

Tom probably has a condition that is sometimes called Specific Expressive Language Delay. In other words, he is a late-talker. In general, late talkers do well. Some of them have difficulty learning to read when they're older, and it's not clear that speech therapy helps late talkers much. On the other hand, it can't hurt. I also encouraged his parents to teach him some sign language, and was pleased to learn that he already knew some signs.

Two toddlers who are not talking. Two very different problems.

P.S. My 4-year old isn't talking properly yet and the doctor found out that she has hearing problem. So, if your child isn't talking properly at after 2 years old, consult the doctor. Don't IGNORE.

WHAT SAYS THE TABIB? 7

Slow Down, You're Eating Too Fast

Adapted from Health.yahoo.com by Lucy Dazinger

It's tough not to rush through your meals; some days, I barely have time to sit down for lunch till 3 p.m.! But slowing down can help you slim down: Researchers from the University of Rhode Island at Kingston found that people who ate more slowly consumed 70 fewer calories per meal than speed eaters.

Instead of plowing through your meals, pace yourself using this soothing breathing technique before you start to eat: Inhale deeply through your nose, then exhale slowly. Repeat several times, says Yvonne Nienstadt, nutrition director at Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico.

As for me, I find that pouring myself a glass of red wine and sipping it slowly throughout dinner helps me savor my meal even more. (Plus it has health benefits!) And of course, part of what makes mealtimes stressful is figuring out what to eat! For easy, quick ideas, search Self.com's database of fast, healthy recipes, then roll up your sleeves and hit the kitchen.

"When you've had a bad day, cooking can have a calming effect," says psychologist Mark R. Vogel, who also studied at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Whether you're peeling or pureeing, the repetitive motion relaxes your nerves. Don't I know it; baking my signature meringues almost puts me into a trancelike state! (Or maybe it's a sugar coma.)

Try this easy recipe:
In a bowl, whip 6 egg whites and 2 cups sugar, then add in a bag of chocolate chips. Cover a cookie sheet with brown paper (you can cut up a bag) and drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the sheet; they should be the size of a regular cookie. Bake for 40 minutes at 275 degrees, then turn off the heat and let them cool in the oven. Dig in!

P.S. Susah gak nk kurus semula ni tauuuuu......