Pervasive Developmental Disorder Symptoms Related to Speech, Language, and Communication
About 40 percent of children with
pervasive developmental disorder do not talk at all. Others have echolalia, which is when they repeat back something that was said to them. The repeated words might be said right away or at a later time. For example, if you ask someone with a
pervasive developmental disorder, "Do you want some juice?" he or she will repeat "Do you want some juice?" instead of answering your question. Or a person might repeat a television ad heard sometime in the past.
People with pervasive developmental disorder symptoms might not understand gestures such as waving goodbye. They might say "I" when they mean "you" or vice versa.
Other pervasive developmental disorder symptoms related to speech, language, and communication can include:
- Speaking with a flat-sounding voice
- Inability to control how loudly or softly they talk
- Standing too close to the people they are talking to
- Sticking with one topic of conversation for too long
- Speaking well and knowing a lot of words, but having a hard time listening to what other people say
- Talking a lot about something that they really like, rather than having a back-and-forth conversation with someone.
Pervasive Developmental Disorder Symptoms Related to Repeated Behaviors and Routines
People with pervasive developmental disorder symptoms might repeat actions over and over again. They might want to have routines where things stay the same so that they know what to expect. They might have trouble if family routines change. For example, if a child is used to washing his or her face before dressing for bed, he or she might become upset if asked to change the order and dress first and then wash.
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