It’s a long road. Early intervention isn’t something many qualify for. My son started with it before he was two. We started private speech too. The opposite though as he’d only talk around me and never around doctors, therapists or teachers. We ended up with a diagnosis of autism about 5 months ago. The diagnosis opened up for coverage for services. He just turned 4 and is talking so much. 8 months ago he said, “I love you mom” for the first time! Regardless of whether it’s a developmental delay, speech disorder or something else, maximize speech services and ask them how to generalize so he’ll talk more at home. It will get better at some point. For my son, there was a big jump around 3 and again at 4, but every kid is different.
I have two kids. One is autistic. The one that isn’t her speech delay was very severe that she started school pre verbal. She’s now 7 and you wouldn’t know and doing very well at school. I think with her it’s to do with the muscles in her mouth being underdeveloped. Just wanted to point out that some kids with autism make very good eye contact. It’s also a wide spectrum. It’s worth pursuing for your own peace of mind.