If your child sees or has been seen by Dr. Stephen Camarata...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the therapy that they prescribe for your child isn't going well and you have questions they just ghost you.
I don't know of any other clinics that do that.

They were hard to get ahold of but did not ghost us. Camarata phone conferences into two IEP s, Mary helped us several times with the school district. Their language disorder expertise is hard to come by elsewhere.

How long ago was this? There are lots of great clinicians in this area.

Mary Camarata and Stephen practice separately now. She's in private practice but she generally only takes the easier cases as she referred us to her husband. He is doing way to many things to keep a good focus on clinical practice.

Not our experience at all. No one helped with any IEP process or even returned our phone calls or emails.
I don't think that they advertise that as an actual service that they typically provide - your family just got lucky.
I think a trip to see them is good for a parents piece of mind but it doesn't do much to benefit the child because there is little follow up.

That is exactly why we went for piece of mind. I think they pick a select group of kids/parents and go out of their way to help those who have been with them for years. Mary is probably better about it. I had heard it is a service they provide but I think either only Mary does it or it is something they did years ago as they used to practice together before he went to Vanderbilt. We went to have an outsider review what we and the providers were doing to make sure we were doing everything we could for our child and see if they had any adjustments or suggestions to do it in a way better for our child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
At 8 years old not speaking to peers is slightly problematic. He won't be 8 forever and at 13, 16, 21--what a dismal future.

I agree kids need help but how can you say for sure that he won't outgrow the issue with age(13, 16, 21) even without any help?

Because meanwhile the other kids' skills are advancing, while his aren't. As kids get older it gets much harder to catch up.

I think it's not a race , who talks/communicates more wins! Kids should have good enough communication to succeed in life, not like they should be in 80-90 percentile!

Language is a huge issue as they get older. Our child gets marked down, which isn't fair, because he cannot articulate what he has learned even though he knows it. It sounds like yours is struggling more than mine, so just understand that it only gets harder the older they get, especially when things like reading levels are judged by the kids reading out loud.

This can be addressed in your IEP goals. There are ways kids can show knowledge

Agree, but its not going to happen at our school. We met with them and tried to redo the IEP and they refuse to address any of our concerns. We then tried to drop the IEP as why have it if it doesn't meet your child's needs nor do the services they provide and they refused to drop it. The only way they even acknowledge anything is because the test scores were good and above their norm. So, my kid is stuck in a much lower reading group than they should be in. They clearly don't understand his needs nor are they willing to try.

A school can't make anyone keep an iep. It doesn't sound like you have a good understanding of your rights. I would look to an iep consultant to help you build a more effective IEP.

That is what they said and they refused to drop it saying it was too hard to get it back later on. We gave up. Its not worth the money to pay for a consultant when child is doing well. We considered it. The wouldn't follow it even if they put it in place so there is no point. Rather save that money for private school if we need it later on.

Call the Central Special Ed Office and tell them that the school is forcing you to have an IEP that they aren't following anyway. You can also file a state complaint (not due process). You don't need a lawyer. You just write a letter to the State Dept. of Ed.

Thanks.. we'll deal with it eventually. At this point there is no harm as we got it reduced but we don't want child pulled out of main work. They refused to do it during recess or a special. Child is doing well so not worth the fight or drama. We just need to wait for more of the test scores to prove he is doing much better than they think he is. I'm more inclined to fight if we wanted services and supports. We would like them to work with us more but its never going to happen.

You’re right that getting pulled during recess or specials is not going to happen. They aren’t allowed. Specials may seem like throwaway classes but they are a mandatory part of the curriculum and are basically impossible to make up because they are only once a week. They are not allowed to just not give your child part of the curriculum. And they are not going to take away his social/break time at recess to give services, either. I’ve heard of social supports during recess, but never missing it entirely and I think that’s not a reasonable expectation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the therapy that they prescribe for your child isn't going well and you have questions they just ghost you.
I don't know of any other clinics that do that.

They were hard to get ahold of but did not ghost us. Camarata phone conferences into two IEP s, Mary helped us several times with the school district. Their language disorder expertise is hard to come by elswhere.

How long ago was this? There are lots of great clinicians in this area.

Then name them!

By name, not clinic affiliation.

ITS-DTS. Anne Reynolds runs the SLP program. She has good people working under her.

She's a speech pathologist, not a full evaluator. Also crazy expensive and doesn't take insurance.

A "full evaluator" is almost always a neuropsychologist, not a special in language disorders. An SLP will be a specialist in language disorders, but will typically be not a full evaluator. The Camaratas are SLPs by training and the majority of their experience. I think National Speech takes insurance. KKI definitely does, and they have people who can evaluate almost anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the therapy that they prescribe for your child isn't going well and you have questions they just ghost you.
I don't know of any other clinics that do that.

They were hard to get ahold of but did not ghost us. Camarata phone conferences into two IEP s, Mary helped us several times with the school district. Their language disorder expertise is hard to come by elswhere.

How long ago was this? There are lots of great clinicians in this area.

Then name them!

By name, not clinic affiliation.

ITS-DTS. Anne Reynolds runs the SLP program. She has good people working under her.

She's a speech pathologist, not a full evaluator. Also crazy expensive and doesn't take insurance.

A "full evaluator" is almost always a neuropsychologist, not a special in language disorders. An SLP will be a specialist in language disorders, but will typically be not a full evaluator. The Camaratas are SLPs by training and the majority of their experience. I think National Speech takes insurance. KKI definitely does, and they have people who can evaluate almost anything.

Only dr. C can "fully evaluate." His wife isn't certified to this. SLPs can do full evaluations, but they need special certification, which most do not.

[Anonymous]

Also pp, pysychologists can do full evaluations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
At 8 years old not speaking to peers is slightly problematic. He won't be 8 forever and at 13, 16, 21--what a dismal future.

I agree kids need help but how can you say for sure that he won't outgrow the issue with age(13, 16, 21) even without any help?

Because meanwhile the other kids' skills are advancing, while his aren't. As kids get older it gets much harder to catch up.

I think it's not a race , who talks/communicates more wins! Kids should have good enough communication to succeed in life, not like they should be in 80-90 percentile!

Language is a huge issue as they get older. Our child gets marked down, which isn't fair, because he cannot articulate what he has learned even though he knows it. It sounds like yours is struggling more than mine, so just understand that it only gets harder the older they get, especially when things like reading levels are judged by the kids reading out loud.

This can be addressed in your IEP goals. There are ways kids can show knowledge

Agree, but its not going to happen at our school. We met with them and tried to redo the IEP and they refuse to address any of our concerns. We then tried to drop the IEP as why have it if it doesn't meet your child's needs nor do the services they provide and they refused to drop it. The only way they even acknowledge anything is because the test scores were good and above their norm. So, my kid is stuck in a much lower reading group than they should be in. They clearly don't understand his needs nor are they willing to try.

A school can't make anyone keep an iep. It doesn't sound like you have a good understanding of your rights. I would look to an iep consultant to help you build a more effective IEP.

That is what they said and they refused to drop it saying it was too hard to get it back later on. We gave up. Its not worth the money to pay for a consultant when child is doing well. We considered it. The wouldn't follow it even if they put it in place so there is no point. Rather save that money for private school if we need it later on.

Well that's illegal. All you need to do is not sign an IEP. You do not need to pay anyone money to do this. It's your right. If th school isn't following the IEP that's also illegal. If your kid is doing well you and the school isn't following an IEP, just don't sign.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the therapy that they prescribe for your child isn't going well and you have questions they just ghost you.
I don't know of any other clinics that do that.

They were hard to get ahold of but did not ghost us. Camarata phone conferences into two IEP s, Mary helped us several times with the school district. Their language disorder expertise is hard to come by elswhere.

How long ago was this? There are lots of great clinicians in this area.

Then name them!

By name, not clinic affiliation.

ITS-DTS. Anne Reynolds runs the SLP program. She has good people working under her.

She's a speech pathologist, not a full evaluator. Also crazy expensive and doesn't take insurance.

A "full evaluator" is almost always a neuropsychologist, not a special in language disorders. An SLP will be a specialist in language disorders, but will typically be not a full evaluator. The Camaratas are SLPs by training and the majority of their experience. I think National Speech takes insurance. KKI definitely does, and they have people who can evaluate almost anything.

Only dr. C can "fully evaluate." His wife isn't certified to this. SLPs can do full evaluations, but they need special certification, which most do not.

What exactly are you looking for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
At 8 years old not speaking to peers is slightly problematic. He won't be 8 forever and at 13, 16, 21--what a dismal future.

I agree kids need help but how can you say for sure that he won't outgrow the issue with age(13, 16, 21) even without any help?

Because meanwhile the other kids' skills are advancing, while his aren't. As kids get older it gets much harder to catch up.

I think it's not a race , who talks/communicates more wins! Kids should have good enough communication to succeed in life, not like they should be in 80-90 percentile!

Language is a huge issue as they get older. Our child gets marked down, which isn't fair, because he cannot articulate what he has learned even though he knows it. It sounds like yours is struggling more than mine, so just understand that it only gets harder the older they get, especially when things like reading levels are judged by the kids reading out loud.

This can be addressed in your IEP goals. There are ways kids can show knowledge

Agree, but its not going to happen at our school. We met with them and tried to redo the IEP and they refuse to address any of our concerns. We then tried to drop the IEP as why have it if it doesn't meet your child's needs nor do the services they provide and they refused to drop it. The only way they even acknowledge anything is because the test scores were good and above their norm. So, my kid is stuck in a much lower reading group than they should be in. They clearly don't understand his needs nor are they willing to try.

A school can't make anyone keep an iep. It doesn't sound like you have a good understanding of your rights. I would look to an iep consultant to help you build a more effective IEP.

That is what they said and they refused to drop it saying it was too hard to get it back later on. We gave up. Its not worth the money to pay for a consultant when child is doing well. We considered it. The wouldn't follow it even if they put it in place so there is no point. Rather save that money for private school if we need it later on.

Well that's illegal. All you need to do is not sign an IEP. You do not need to pay anyone money to do this. It's your right. If th school isn't following the IEP that's also illegal. If your kid is doing well you and the school isn't following an IEP, just don't sign.

We were told that we didn't need to sign it. I know from everything I've read here it is all wrong but my energy is better focusing on my child than focusing on a system that doesn't care. Maybe I should take you to my next IEP. You may be more helpful than anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


We saw Dr.Camarata with our son in August 2013 and then again in August 2015. We had concerns beginning in 2012 when our son was 3, as he would not talk much. Our son would memorize books at a very early age, and when he did speak, often it would be a recitation of pages from books, or repetitive statements like pointing out a window and saying "That's mommy's car, and that's daddy's car."

Dr. C told us in 2013 that our son was not autistic, that he had an expressive disorder. 2 years later, he told us that while some people MIGHT diagnose him as autistic, he personally would not classify him as such.

Our son is now 8, in 2nd grade in a Catholic school, a class of 8 kids. He does very well in most subjects especially math and Spanish, but has some difficulty in art and reading comprehension. Often he will read paragraphs, but he cannot seem to articulate what he read.

He is a cub scout, and takes swim lessons, plays basketball, and rides horses.

Unfortunately, he does not have any friends. He does not know how to engage in "normal" conversations with other 8 year olds. But he is not lonely at all, as he plays every day with his younger brother, who is 5, and they are best of friends.

When he approaches other kids or adults to talk, it consists of him asking them where someone is, or how old they are, or when their birthdays are. He does not know what else to say beyond that. Inevitably, he will talk to them about something odd, like how he needs to adjust his basketball net to make it higher, or he will ask them about a generator that he saw down the street across from a river. Or he will talk about stuffed teddy bears at home

We've done floortime and he's been to several speech therapists, but most have made him depressed and irritable

Back to this. OP, give up on the Camarata's as they are not the right fit now. You need to find a better SLP fit and interview a bunch. Ours did all kinds of things including reading comprehension. If your child is struggling that much it does sound like something more, such as autism at this point. I would get him into speech with an SLP who can also do a multi-approach including reading comprehension, find a reading specialist as it gets much harder in 3rd with far more demands on reading comprehension and do workbooks at home to address it. This isn't just an expressive issue. If it were your child could change topics easier but will probably have a lot of pauses and need more time to think through the answer or just get stuck. I agree with neuropsych parents at this point because of the reading comprehension issues to get a full one done for the educational component but also get a full language assessment done, maybe at one of the local universities. Your child might also like speech better at a University where the student SLP's can make it more fun. Also, remember just because a child tests out of receptive issues meeting low average it doesn't mean that they will not struggle with them longer term. Its just once it hits low average, schools no longer recognize it as an issue even though it is. I would expect "normal conversations" but that goes a little beyond a regular expensive issue at this point. It is more around 5-6 for kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the therapy that they prescribe for your child isn't going well and you have questions they just ghost you.
I don't know of any other clinics that do that.

They were hard to get ahold of but did not ghost us. Camarata phone conferences into two IEP s, Mary helped us several times with the school district. Their language disorder expertise is hard to come by elswhere.

How long ago was this? There are lots of great clinicians in this area.

Then name them!

By name, not clinic affiliation.

ITS-DTS. Anne Reynolds runs the SLP program. She has good people working under her.

She's a speech pathologist, not a full evaluator. Also crazy expensive and doesn't take insurance.

A "full evaluator" is almost always a neuropsychologist, not a special in language disorders. An SLP will be a specialist in language disorders, but will typically be not a full evaluator. The Camaratas are SLPs by training and the majority of their experience. I think National Speech takes insurance. KKI definitely does, and they have people who can evaluate almost anything.

Only dr. C can "fully evaluate." His wife isn't certified to this. SLPs can do full evaluations, but they need special certification, which most do not.

What exactly are you looking for?

She generally refers people to her husband if they need or want that testing. She did for us. Either way, they've been twice and they need another perspective. National speech is good as is Maryland. But, they need more than an speech evaluation. They need a speech evaluation but they need full testing at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


We saw Dr.Camarata with our son in August 2013 and then again in August 2015. We had concerns beginning in 2012 when our son was 3, as he would not talk much. Our son would memorize books at a very early age, and when he did speak, often it would be a recitation of pages from books, or repetitive statements like pointing out a window and saying "That's mommy's car, and that's daddy's car."

Dr. C told us in 2013 that our son was not autistic, that he had an expressive disorder. 2 years later, he told us that while some people MIGHT diagnose him as autistic, he personally would not classify him as such.

Our son is now 8, in 2nd grade in a Catholic school, a class of 8 kids. He does very well in most subjects especially math and Spanish, but has some difficulty in art and reading comprehension. Often he will read paragraphs, but he cannot seem to articulate what he read.

He is a cub scout, and takes swim lessons, plays basketball, and rides horses.

Unfortunately, he does not have any friends. He does not know how to engage in "normal" conversations with other 8 year olds. But he is not lonely at all, as he plays every day with his younger brother, who is 5, and they are best of friends.

When he approaches other kids or adults to talk, it consists of him asking them where someone is, or how old they are, or when their birthdays are. He does not know what else to say beyond that. Inevitably, he will talk to them about something odd, like how he needs to adjust his basketball net to make it higher, or he will ask them about a generator that he saw down the street across from a river. Or he will talk about stuffed teddy bears at home

We've done floortime and he's been to several speech therapists, but most have made him depressed and irritable

Back to this. OP, give up on the Camarata's as they are not the right fit now. You need to find a better SLP fit and interview a bunch. Ours did all kinds of things including reading comprehension. If your child is struggling that much it does sound like something more, such as autism at this point. I would get him into speech with an SLP who can also do a multi-approach including reading comprehension, find a reading specialist as it gets much harder in 3rd with far more demands on reading comprehension and do workbooks at home to address it. This isn't just an expressive issue. If it were your child could change topics easier but will probably have a lot of pauses and need more time to think through the answer or just get stuck. I agree with neuropsych parents at this point because of the reading comprehension issues to get a full one done for the educational component but also get a full language assessment done, maybe at one of the local universities. Your child might also like speech better at a University where the student SLP's can make it more fun. Also, remember just because a child tests out of receptive issues meeting low average it doesn't mean that they will not struggle with them longer term. Its just once it hits low average, schools no longer recognize it as an issue even though it is. I would expect "normal conversations" but that goes a little beyond a regular expensive issue at this point. It is more around 5-6 for kids.

This is not about a child's receptive language or reading skills. This kid may have a language disorder but being unable to interact with peers is a big problem at age 8. This could be autism, selective mutism, anxiety, OCD. This pp needs an evaluation that's more comprehensive than speech.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


We saw Dr.Camarata with our son in August 2013 and then again in August 2015. We had concerns beginning in 2012 when our son was 3, as he would not talk much. Our son would memorize books at a very early age, and when he did speak, often it would be a recitation of pages from books, or repetitive statements like pointing out a window and saying "That's mommy's car, and that's daddy's car."

Dr. C told us in 2013 that our son was not autistic, that he had an expressive disorder. 2 years later, he told us that while some people MIGHT diagnose him as autistic, he personally would not classify him as such.

Our son is now 8, in 2nd grade in a Catholic school, a class of 8 kids. He does very well in most subjects especially math and Spanish, but has some difficulty in art and reading comprehension. Often he will read paragraphs, but he cannot seem to articulate what he read.

He is a cub scout, and takes swim lessons, plays basketball, and rides horses.

Unfortunately, he does not have any friends. He does not know how to engage in "normal" conversations with other 8 year olds. But he is not lonely at all, as he plays every day with his younger brother, who is 5, and they are best of friends.

When he approaches other kids or adults to talk, it consists of him asking them where someone is, or how old they are, or when their birthdays are. He does not know what else to say beyond that. Inevitably, he will talk to them about something odd, like how he needs to adjust his basketball net to make it higher, or he will ask them about a generator that he saw down the street across from a river. Or he will talk about stuffed teddy bears at home

We've done floortime and he's been to several speech therapists, but most have made him depressed and irritable

Back to this. OP, give up on the Camarata's as they are not the right fit now. You need to find a better SLP fit and interview a bunch. Ours did all kinds of things including reading comprehension. If your child is struggling that much it does sound like something more, such as autism at this point. I would get him into speech with an SLP who can also do a multi-approach including reading comprehension, find a reading specialist as it gets much harder in 3rd with far more demands on reading comprehension and do workbooks at home to address it. This isn't just an expressive issue. If it were your child could change topics easier but will probably have a lot of pauses and need more time to think through the answer or just get stuck. I agree with neuropsych parents at this point because of the reading comprehension issues to get a full one done for the educational component but also get a full language assessment done, maybe at one of the local universities. Your child might also like speech better at a University where the student SLP's can make it more fun. Also, remember just because a child tests out of receptive issues meeting low average it doesn't mean that they will not struggle with them longer term. Its just once it hits low average, schools no longer recognize it as an issue even though it is. I would expect "normal conversations" but that goes a little beyond a regular expensive issue at this point. It is more around 5-6 for kids.

This is not about a child's receptive language or reading skills. This kid may have a language disorder but being unable to interact with peers is a big problem at age 8. This could be autism, selective mutism, anxiety, OCD. This pp needs an evaluation that's more comprehensive than speech.

Receptive language can interfere with the expressive and ability to speak. It sounds like autism or a language disorder. At this point it sounds more like autism than a language disorder if child is 8. It doesn't sound like selective mutism as child is talking or OCD nor anxiety. Articulating what you are reading is common in kids with language disorders. But, what isn't common is the random comments that don't belong anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


We saw Dr.Camarata with our son in August 2013 and then again in August 2015. We had concerns beginning in 2012 when our son was 3, as he would not talk much. Our son would memorize books at a very early age, and when he did speak, often it would be a recitation of pages from books, or repetitive statements like pointing out a window and saying "That's mommy's car, and that's daddy's car."

Dr. C told us in 2013 that our son was not autistic, that he had an expressive disorder. 2 years later, he told us that while some people MIGHT diagnose him as autistic, he personally would not classify him as such.

Our son is now 8, in 2nd grade in a Catholic school, a class of 8 kids. He does very well in most subjects especially math and Spanish, but has some difficulty in art and reading comprehension. Often he will read paragraphs, but he cannot seem to articulate what he read.

He is a cub scout, and takes swim lessons, plays basketball, and rides horses.

Unfortunately, he does not have any friends. He does not know how to engage in "normal" conversations with other 8 year olds. But he is not lonely at all, as he plays every day with his younger brother, who is 5, and they are best of friends.

When he approaches other kids or adults to talk, it consists of him asking them where someone is, or how old they are, or when their birthdays are. He does not know what else to say beyond that. Inevitably, he will talk to them about something odd, like how he needs to adjust his basketball net to make it higher, or he will ask them about a generator that he saw down the street across from a river. Or he will talk about stuffed teddy bears at home

We've done floortime and he's been to several speech therapists, but most have made him depressed and irritable

Back to this. OP, give up on the Camarata's as they are not the right fit now. You need to find a better SLP fit and interview a bunch. Ours did all kinds of things including reading comprehension. If your child is struggling that much it does sound like something more, such as autism at this point. I would get him into speech with an SLP who can also do a multi-approach including reading comprehension, find a reading specialist as it gets much harder in 3rd with far more demands on reading comprehension and do workbooks at home to address it. This isn't just an expressive issue. If it were your child could change topics easier but will probably have a lot of pauses and need more time to think through the answer or just get stuck. I agree with neuropsych parents at this point because of the reading comprehension issues to get a full one done for the educational component but also get a full language assessment done, maybe at one of the local universities. Your child might also like speech better at a University where the student SLP's can make it more fun. Also, remember just because a child tests out of receptive issues meeting low average it doesn't mean that they will not struggle with them longer term. Its just once it hits low average, schools no longer recognize it as an issue even though it is. I would expect "normal conversations" but that goes a little beyond a regular expensive issue at this point. It is more around 5-6 for kids.

This is not about a child's receptive language or reading skills. This kid may have a language disorder but being unable to interact with peers is a big problem at age 8. This could be autism, selective mutism, anxiety, OCD. This pp needs an evaluation that's more comprehensive than speech.

Receptive language can interfere with the expressive and ability to speak. It sounds like autism or a language disorder. At this point it sounds more like autism than a language disorder if child is 8. It doesn't sound like selective mutism as child is talking or OCD nor anxiety. Articulating what you are reading is common in kids with language disorders. But, what isn't common is the random comments that don't belong anywhere.

Random? I don't disagree that receptive and expressive abilities influence one another, but a kid who can play with his brother but can or will not initiate/communicate with his peers could definitely have selective mutism, anxiety, or OCD. Have a language disorder or autism doesn't preclude any of these.

Bottom line: no one can diagnose your kid over the internet. That's why the pp with the 8 year old needs to get a neuropsychological evaluation pronto.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


We saw Dr.Camarata with our son in August 2013 and then again in August 2015. We had concerns beginning in 2012 when our son was 3, as he would not talk much. Our son would memorize books at a very early age, and when he did speak, often it would be a recitation of pages from books, or repetitive statements like pointing out a window and saying "That's mommy's car, and that's daddy's car."

Dr. C told us in 2013 that our son was not autistic, that he had an expressive disorder. 2 years later, he told us that while some people MIGHT diagnose him as autistic, he personally would not classify him as such.

Our son is now 8, in 2nd grade in a Catholic school, a class of 8 kids. He does very well in most subjects especially math and Spanish, but has some difficulty in art and reading comprehension. Often he will read paragraphs, but he cannot seem to articulate what he read.

He is a cub scout, and takes swim lessons, plays basketball, and rides horses.

Unfortunately, he does not have any friends. He does not know how to engage in "normal" conversations with other 8 year olds. But he is not lonely at all, as he plays every day with his younger brother, who is 5, and they are best of friends.

When he approaches other kids or adults to talk, it consists of him asking them where someone is, or how old they are, or when their birthdays are. He does not know what else to say beyond that. Inevitably, he will talk to them about something odd, like how he needs to adjust his basketball net to make it higher, or he will ask them about a generator that he saw down the street across from a river. Or he will talk about stuffed teddy bears at home

We've done floortime and he's been to several speech therapists, but most have made him depressed and irritable

Back to this. OP, give up on the Camarata's as they are not the right fit now. You need to find a better SLP fit and interview a bunch. Ours did all kinds of things including reading comprehension. If your child is struggling that much it does sound like something more, such as autism at this point. I would get him into speech with an SLP who can also do a multi-approach including reading comprehension, find a reading specialist as it gets much harder in 3rd with far more demands on reading comprehension and do workbooks at home to address it. This isn't just an expressive issue. If it were your child could change topics easier but will probably have a lot of pauses and need more time to think through the answer or just get stuck. I agree with neuropsych parents at this point because of the reading comprehension issues to get a full one done for the educational component but also get a full language assessment done, maybe at one of the local universities. Your child might also like speech better at a University where the student SLP's can make it more fun. Also, remember just because a child tests out of receptive issues meeting low average it doesn't mean that they will not struggle with them longer term. Its just once it hits low average, schools no longer recognize it as an issue even though it is. I would expect "normal conversations" but that goes a little beyond a regular expensive issue at this point. It is more around 5-6 for kids.

This is not about a child's receptive language or reading skills. This kid may have a language disorder but being unable to interact with peers is a big problem at age 8. This could be autism, selective mutism, anxiety, OCD. This pp needs an evaluation that's more comprehensive than speech.

Receptive language can interfere with the expressive and ability to speak. It sounds like autism or a language disorder. At this point it sounds more like autism than a language disorder if child is 8. It doesn't sound like selective mutism as child is talking or OCD nor anxiety. Articulating what you are reading is common in kids with language disorders. But, what isn't common is the random comments that don't belong anywhere.

Random? I don't disagree that receptive and expressive abilities influence one another, but a kid who can play with his brother but can or will not initiate/communicate with his peers could definitely have selective mutism, anxiety, or OCD. Have a language disorder or autism doesn't preclude any of these.

Bottom line: no one can diagnose your kid over the internet. That's why the pp with the 8 year old needs to get a neuropsychological evaluation pronto.

My child is very funny about who he will talk to. Its not selective mutism but an understanding who will be accepting and who will not be. Its pretty typical with kids I know with language issues. My child is very different at home, private speech, and other places. With some teachers he has talked non-stop, with others he barely speaks at all. Kids are good at gauging reactions, especially at that age. Having a language disorder autism doesn't preclude any of those, but playing with a sibling is not equal to his peers, especially with a 3 year age difference. Either way, I agree they need a full neuropsych and not with with the Camarata's but I would do a separate language evaluation as well.