• Language may be slow to develop
• Speech may be delayed, or there may be no speech at all
• May be no effort to use nonverbal communication (pointing and gesturing)
• May use fewer gestures, and those they use are limited in function
• May struggle to receptively or expressively label places, people, objects
• If verbal, might not know how to start, sustain, or end conversations
• May frequently use echolalia (repeating words of others), which may also be delayed
• Content and grammar may be delayed, while speech skills might not be delayed
• May display unusual tone of voice (e.g. monotone, robotic, or high pitch)
• May have a rigid understanding of words, and have difficulty with the concept that objects can have more than one name
• Less likely to share experiences
• Less likely to make bids for social attention (e.g. “Watch me!”)
• May reverse pronouns
• May not respond to name consistently
• Might not be able to express wants and needs
• May not follow directions
• May appear not to hear at times
• May not point or wave “bye-bye”
• May not accurately interpret puns, sarcasm, idioms, etc.
• Less likely to make comments (e.g. “Look at that”), or ask questions (“What’s your name?”)
