nephew speech problem or not?

[lula]

I just spent a week with my 3.5 year old nephew. What is "normal speech" like at this age? I can only totally understand about two things he says and that is because of repitition. His words are very garbled and at most he puts three word sentences together. He never uses I or really any pronoun but me. His parents seem to always know what he wants and do not speak for him they just seem to comprehend his speech. It is not just me, my husband and in-laws cannot understand him either. His comprehension is ok, he understands direct commands and simple statements but pays no attention to a conversation that other people are having etc. He seems like he is in his own world all of the time. I do not have a lot of experience here as my daughter is 2 and highly verbal multiple word sentences, nearly always correct pronouns verbs etc and she understands everything etc so my nephew seemed odd to me. He also screams a lot over anything and some other social skills seem a little off. Is it just me or does this seem odd to anyone else? Oh and his hearing has been tested and is fine. I am the only one who thinks this something is strange and so I have obviously not mentioned it.

Lula

[wemberly]

Hey lula,

Although the range of developmentally appropriate skills is wide, in general, a stranger should be able to understand 75% of what a 3.5 yr old says. It definitely sounds as if somewthing needs to be addressed, especially because it sounds as if your sweet nephew is frustrated by his inability to communicate efficiently. Please encourage his parents to seek an evaluation (there's a service called Child Find that helps to identify delays and needs in preschool aged children, 0-5). The local school system should be able to tell the parents when the next evaluation date is planned. If they seem reluctant, tell them that the evaluation will be free, play-based, and may really help with the nephew's frustration level.

Good Luck Auntie Lula!