You or Me?

A cute, endearing habit of Diego's could also be a bit of a problem. His using the pronouns incorrectly, as it turns out, could be less of a cute thing and more of a sign of something that's not happening developmentally. After my parent conference, where his teachers expressed concern, we've been drilling it into our little guy that he is not you but I. It's not your pants but my pants. He's right here singing, Me myself and I. Sigh.
Who ever knew it would be like this? Something as silly as pronoun reversal could be a red flag for something sinister and serious, not just a cute little way of expressing himself. Coupled with his obsessive lining up of his animal figurines, his seeming indifference toward other children, and his repetitive statements, these could be the harbingers of something on the spectrum...the dreaded spectrum that seems to be arching over so many of the kids in our times. Or it could just be something he'll grow out of, like diapers, crawling, and babble.
I'm a bit of a mess reflecting on all this. Although we're not going to label him or get him evaluated yet, he's now on a very close watch and it's kinda getting to me. Trying to explain pronouns is a little tricky--I am starting to feel as overwhelmed as a three year old, muddling through the nuances of our language for the first time. I always thought this little thing would fix itself, the way he started walking all by himself. It was nothing I did--one day he just went from crawling to walking. The next day, running.
I am getting myself so tongue twisted with this. It's like, each time I call Diego "you" I think I am setting him back. So I am trying to cut "you" out. So instead of "Do you want your breakfast?" I'm saying things like, "Wanna eat breakfast?" This is getting insane. I'm watching every word I say. Then, each time he says something like "You want your gummy bears." I shoot back, "I want my gummy bears." Pointing to my chest, I'll say, "I" and he'll point to his and say "I" again. But is this more of the dreaded repetition or is it sinking in? I suppose I'll have to find out through the next few months.
After talking to several pediatricians, and watching him closely (like a hawk, let's be frank) I'm slowly coming out of my panic and into a place where, though I can't say I'm 100% fine with things, I feel better that people outside his school find his behavior totally normal for his age. Two doctors have confirmed what my friends and family already told me: this kid is not in any way displaying behaviors to be alarmed about. Let's hope one day we'll look back on this wistfully, remembering how cute it was to hear Diego say, "Mama to pick you up?" or "You want to hug." Until then, I'll be the "I" nazi and continue to drill the proper pronoun usage into my adorable, perfect, and amazing little boy...whatever he turns out to be. Because no matter what, he is Diego. I love him for who he is, and I accept him as he is. One of a kind. And a part of me.