Non Verbal ASD Children

[moira199]

Does anyone know if there are any statistics on the age by which ASD children start speaking? I have a non verbal son who is three and was wondering if there is an age by which I should stop hoping for the odd word or two? Does anyone have experience of the late development of speech?

 

Thanks

 

Moira

[oxgirl]

Does anyone know if there are any statistics on the age by which ASD children start speaking? I have a non verbal son who is three and was wondering if there is an age by which I should stop hoping for the odd word or two? Does anyone have experience of the late development of speech?

 

Thanks

 

Moira

 

 

I knew of a lady with a non-verbal son who was told by a 'professional' that if he hadn't spoken by the time he was seven then he would not. I'm sure there are many people here, though, who will be able to disprove this.

 

Never give up hope, he may just surprise you! <'> <'> <'>

 

~ Mel ~

[NikkiSmith]

Ds2 is now 4.5 yrs and is just starting to try and say words (ie "hamitch" is orange juice & of course "barbarm bam" fire fireman sam!) he has always had his own language, but never anything anyone actually undetstood so was put under the non-verbal heading!

Slowly we are making progress, so don't give up hope yet. <'>

 

No idea if there is a set age, as all the professionals I've met just tell me it's a wait & see game!

 

Nikki.

[V1971]

My son started saying words 3 months ago, when we introduced him to PECS. He was 3.5 and he is getting better and better, in fact now he is putting two words together!

Edited March 20, 2007 by V1971

[smiley]

I cared for a little girl who didn't attempt speech until she was seven.

Donna Williams (autie) was also a late talker - nine i think.

 

<'>

[Kathrynh]

My 5 year old in non-verbal - I live in hope!!

[forbsay]

Hello

 

My little boy was diagnosed with autism when he was 2.5 years old. He had little speech. He is now nearly 7 and he can chat away which is priceless.

 

He started doing PECS (picture and exchange) when he was first diagnosed and this helped him.

 

Take care

 

Forbsay

xx

[Elisa]

Putting a limit on when children have reached their deadline to achieve speech is a myth.

 

Research shows that the brain is plastic, and always capable of learning new things and making new neuronal connections between synapses. This includes learning communication and language.

 

Put your efforts into helping your child become an effective communicator and the speech may come. There is so much more to communication than just language and speech, most typical communication is 70% non verbal!

 

There is more to it than hope, there's science!

 

 

Elisa Al Malah

RDI Program Consultant

****

Edited in line with forum rules and guidelines

Edited June 15, 2007 by baddad

[shortie]

When my DD was 3 she was only saying about 4-5 single words but now a yr on after using PECS and Makaton she now says sentences of 4-5 words,answers questions with mainly yes or no,apart from if i ask if she's ok,she says"i'm fine"and sings whole songs along with the tv such as FIFI,Backyardigans and the new one today is Wonder pets(all on nick jr)!!!So proud of her,so don't be too disheartened it could still happen!!Alittle boy in her class was non verbal until 2mths ago and is now saying as much as my DD!!!

[Mumble]

My brother (ASD) was completely non-verbal and appeared to have no communication (gestures or anything) of any sort until he was 4 years old. He is 32 now and is very verbal and communicates well, if a little differently. I on the other hand (I have AS) had no language delay but I now communicate far less than my brother, and very much on my own terms (and I'm very thankful for electronic communication, email etc). I think it's a case of everyone being different, and what people are able to do at one stage not being indicative of what they can do later. I think the worst thing anyone can do in this respect is label a very young child as having reached the maximum of what they'll ever be able to do - which is why I find many of your posts so positive

[Noetic]

I on the other hand (I have AS) had no language delay but I now communicate far less than my brother, and very much on my own terms (and I'm very thankful for electronic communication, email etc). I think it's a case of everyone being different, and what people are able to do at one stage not being indicative of what they can do later. I think the worst thing anyone can do in this respect is label a very young child as having reached the maximum of what they'll ever be able to do - which is why I find many of your posts so positive

I completely agree, and I was the same as you (I started speaking at ca. 14 months, although I had some speech problems and used single words for a long time, and very short sentences until kindergarten - my parents thought anything under 2-3 years was very early to start speaking so they never got me assessed for my speech difficulties) and am today as well.

 

I suspect personality has a lot to do with how much you effectively want to communicate, in the end

[Noetic]

Donna Williams (autie) was also a late talker - nine i think.

I'm not sure that is true, you know. She refers to not using language with meaning until that age but she also talks about how nobody paid attention to when her milestones were and about repeating long phrases and "making blah-blah" from a much younger age onwards. (Just because you talk doesn't mean you understand it or use it to communicate )

[sams mum]

My son is almost 16 and has a diagnosis of classic kanners autism, he was for the most part a silent child except for when he would have the most awful meltdowns due to the immense frustration he experienced in his day to day life. We thought he would never talk but at the grand old age of 9 years and 3 months he started to speak, his first word was "doobiedecoom" and it meant anything he wanted it to mean. <'>

 

When he wasn't having meltdowns he could be very calm and would sit for hours just drawing, drawing, drawing, I think he used up quite a few rainforests in those early days. Drawing was his way of expressing himself, it was never anything he'd imagined for himself, it was always something he'd seen on the tv or outside. He had a fantastic memory and could capture the most intricate detail, he was like a baby steven wiltshire, I know that sounds conceited but it's true. As his speech developed his art work dried up and now that we have up to 8 words in a sentence, along with a few sentences at a time, he will occasionaly colour in the most basic of pictures, usually thomas, and that's very rarely. He really doesn't need his drawing now.

 

Years ago I spoke to a teacher who'dspent her life teaching our children, she was of the opinion that 8 was about the cut off age for speech developing and that after that there was very little chance it would. As it happens I also know of a boy on another list who started to speak at 8, he is also profoundly autistic, more so than my son.

 

hth

[smiley]

I'm not sure that is true, you know. She refers to not using language with meaning until that age but she also talks about how nobody paid attention to when her milestones were and about repeating long phrases and "making blah-blah" from a much younger age onwards. (Just because you talk doesn't mean you understand it or use it to communicate )

 

I stand corrected

[stillwaiting]

Hi,

My son is 5.5yrs old and completely non-verbal all of these comments give me great hope that he might talk one day.

[chriss]

Can I just ask if your cildren babbled as babies? i know a 2 year old who has only just stareted to walk and is eerily silent most of the time. He does ,however, chuckle a lot.

[Noetic]

I stand corrected

Or, according to your avatar, you "groove along" corrected

[moira199]

Thanks for all the encouraging replies - actually my son said 'Bye Bye' to his Nursery Teacher today and waved so who knows what it is the start of - normal conversation or echolalia! He has said one or two other words recently too 'Daddy' and 'Banana' so here's hoping !

 

Moira

[Lynden]

Oooh I like these kinds of threads because they give me hope. Logan is 3.5 and non-verbal - he's never talked and wasn't really taht vocal till recently, though he definitely laughs a lot too. We tried Makaton with no success becuase he doesn't have the manual dexterity to do it, but we're having good success with PECS so far. Still no speech but I dont mind as long as he can community. He doesn't really gesture either atm - no pointing/waving etc

 

Lynne x

[sams mum]

Can I just ask if your cildren babbled as babies? i know a 2 year old who has only just stareted to walk and is eerily silent most of the time. He does ,however, chuckle a lot.

 

 

My son was a slilent child, no babbling, no crying for the boobie, no chuckling, no nothing except for the dreadful screams when having a meltdown. In his baby days he was often described as the perfect child..............but his perfectness scared the bejesus out of me. He didn't gesture either, he would use our hand as an extension of himself and would take us to what he wanted and put our hand on it, if he wanted to go to another room etc he would get behind us and push us along.

 

Now he is older my son can manage his day for himself, his independent within the house but needs round the clock care, has a great sense of humour, cares for his wee neice, does his own shopping when we go to the shops, phones us when we're out and tells us to come home becasue its late, cooks a few simple meals for himself and others if they're lucky, helps cleans the cars, picks the litter up in the garden, is totally independent when it comes to bathing and toiletting etc, and pinches his dad aftershave/belts/hairbrush just the way his big brothers did. Oh and he likes a good fight with his siblings, I never thought I would have seen the day. 8>)

 

We've done home ed since day one as we felt his needs were so very great that had he been sent to school much would have been missed out on in his development, as it is we have gone at his pace. If it took him 3 hours to dress himself then so be it because we didn't have to worry about the transport being at the door. Well, it worked for us. 8>0

 

hth 8>)

Edited March 22, 2007 by sams mum

[charliesvoice]

Hi my son was dx with ASD when he was 2.5 he's now is 6.5, he's still non-verbal, we just found out that he also has articulated dyspraxia and thats the reason he's found speech so difficult! Just a little advise to you to investage other reasons as it may not be the autism stopping the language development! - not wanting to panic you all! my son's been without an NHS therapist for 1 year now so 7 weeks ago we started seeing a private one and she's picked up on this.

[Little Monster]

Can I just ask if your cildren babbled as babies? i know a 2 year old who has only just stareted to walk and is eerily silent most of the time. He does ,however, chuckle a lot.

 

My son didnt Babble, but did giggle alot especially at our light fitting