Stephanie Report post Posted September 6, 2006 My son is five, he has recently started to babble constantly - not to anyone specifically. Usually he is talking about his toys (all very imaginative stuff) but constantly talking ... like he is thinking out loud. I tell him not to say it, and just to think it, but he is going on and on and driving me bonkers! He has had a really bad couple of days (sometimes has good days, sometimes has bad ones), this morning it was like he was living on a parallel universe ... went into the wrong door at school, total lack of concentration, crying and reacting to the smallest insignificant thing when normally he copes fine. This morning I heard a big scream from upstairs and he was shouting "Mummy, somebody HELP ME, please help me" ... thinking he was half dead or something I ran upstairs, only to find out that he had lost one of his toys and couldn't find it - then he cried and told me that he was already having a bad day because of it. Yesterday I was sorting out the top of the wardrobe and fell off a stool really badly, I shouted to him to come up and help me as I had really hurt myself and he said "I'm watching TV" .... this has really made me think ... what if I had of really hurt myself, or if my other child was hurt, what would he/could he do and how would he react. He wouldn't be able to call 999 or anything. He can't even get out of the house to tell anyone and probably wouldn't think of doing so. Anyway I am ranting on because he has had two bad days (maybe the change of class at school - he seems to like it??) and it has really affected me after a 6 week break from school, where he has been with me and has not been judged by anyone else. When I took him into school this morning, he was standing there ranting on in the playground as normal making him stand out. Is there anyway you can minimise this thinking out loud stuff, can stop him babbling on, will he grow out of it etc? I don't want him to grow into the man on the back of the bus talking to himself who people avoid ... I know I am a bit previous with that, but you know what I mean? .. Now I am babbling (sorry!) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jb1964 Report post Posted September 6, 2006 (edited) Hi Stephanie, My ASD daughter did this when she was younger - probably up until around 7 or 8 - if she wasn't babbling she would be singing non stop all day long - also lying in bed til the small hours - not being able to switch off at all (now she just reads quietly til the small hours!!!). Having said that my little girl who's 3 - is even worse for babbling as she's very loud with it too and it is constant - no singing - just constant babble babble babble - usually about non significant things - it's almost like she's talking aloud every single action or thing she does (and she's NT). She (eldest ASD) also thinks everything is now - and even the most trivial things end up with her screaming mam mam mam mam - only to find she can't find her pen or something is normal occurance for her - as it is the other way around for totally not realising the importance when you shout in a different tone etc - she doesn't respond to her name being called. I too have the worries like you said about hurting yourself. Only last year I fell down part of the stairs and hurt myself quite badly - I couldn't move or talk for about 5 mins - she was talking to me at the bottom of the stairs as it happened and she came up the stairs still talking and asking questions as normal - after a few minutes of getting really annoyed with me for not answering her - she must of suddenly realised I'd hurt myself and started getting hysterical to the point of nearly losing control (she's 13). I really tried to talk to her afterwards about this - but I'm not sure that she really took it in. Take care, Jb Edited September 6, 2006 by jb1964 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baddad Report post Posted September 6, 2006 Hi stephanie... The 'babbling' you're describing is fairly typical for many on the spectrum (my son included), and I think trying to stop it would cause more harm than good... If it's really fraying your nerves at any point it's reasonable to ask for a little respite from it for brief periods, but in real terms it is probably far more 'important' to your son than it is irritating for you. From my experience with older kids (nephew and his peers/clients I've supported) what often happens is that the running commentary dialogue will gradually be replaced by a 'whispered' running dialogue, which then becomes more managable and only appears in stressy situations. For many, i think, there's a sort of internal dialogue going on even when the visible clues are 'managed'... I don't know whether there's a connection, but this kind of dialogue is a fairly standard milestone for NT kids as they develop their language skills at around 3 yrs, and it's considered to be an important part of language acquisition. Maybe for our kids it just starts later/lasts longer because of the underlying complications with expressive language and comprehension(?) L&P BD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flora Report post Posted September 7, 2006 Stephanie Don't worry about the 'babbling'. My 9yo, who had significant language delay, did this constantly until the last couple of months. He has now stopped the thinking out loud commentary but talks non-stop to me! As baddad said, it's an important part of the language acquisition process. As for the incident when you fell off the stool. When my 12 yo was 4, I was dropping my dd off at school and as I opened the car door my head got in the way and I knocked myself out . I was lying on the ground with ringing in my ears and birds tweating round my head (literally) and the one thing that I remember is when I 'came to', lying by the car with blood streaming down my face, was Bill saying 'I'm glad that didn't happen to me'!! He's 12 now and couldn't be more caring (for a boy with AS). He asks me so often 'are you alright mum?', that I've started to think it's a stim or a tic Your son is only 5, and I'm certain that as he gets older many of these little quirks will disappear or be replaced by other coping mechanisms/quirks. Flora Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stephanie Report post Posted September 7, 2006 I hope so Flora, thanks for your reply. On the plus side of all this talking he is doing, his imagination has come on in leaps and bounds - he is writing stories, seeing shapes in clouds, making up scenarios, surnames, ages etc for all of his toys. Some of it is copied from things he has seen on TV or read in books, but not all of it. I just imagine him at school babbling on about all his toys "it's Eddie's birthday today, he's 73!" etc and the school thinking "who? what?" shut up Asa!" Of course, he would struggle to tell them that Eddie is actually one of his stuffed elephants. He is so preoccupied with the lives of his soft toys at the moment (I know it will be another short lived phase because that's how he works). I think the constant talking has made his vocabulary increase but it is really doing my ears in! The only time he doesn't do it is when he is on his PC. I told his SALT about the problems we are having, she was as unhelpful as usual just giving me the "oh yes, that's the way AS kids are" thing. She isn't interested in what problems we have at home with him, she only cares about the things she witnesses herself when she visits the school and how his problems will affect the curriculum. But then she thinks she knows it all ... just from her four 20 minute visits per year. Mental! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bramblebrae Report post Posted September 7, 2006 (edited) Hi my son has gone from always yapping at me to sometimes yapping at me and talking constantly whilst playing with his toys. He also reads alot and used to only read out loud this has changed and he reads to himself now, I think he realises he gets through the book even quicker this way. I made the mistake perhaps of asking him who he was talking to when he was constantly talking whilst playing alone and after awhile he found an answer he says he is talking to Stephen TV viewers. He often gets up late on a weekend and apologises to the viewers for being on late. I have discussed it with him and he does admit that its imaginary and there isn't anyone watching but then he talks about it as if there is. I think I pushed him into finding an answer becasue I kept asking who he was talking to so he invented Stephen TV so he would have a reply. I don't ask anymore and the references to S 'tv' are still there but far fewer. I feel you though the constant talking is very distracting, I gave up watching tv when he was about long ago or doing much that involves my concentration as I just found it so frustrating and kept losing my own thoughts but I think it has lessened over time and the dialogue whilst playing has become much quieter, he recently turned 7yo but all our kids develop differently as you know. His imagination has definitly grown in leaps over the last year too, maybe aided by the constant dialogue perhaps. We now spend time together doing stuff like board games or watching movies (currently half way through all the james bond films!) usually I get to a point where I just need peace and admit this loudly and then he will play on his own entertaining the 'tv' viewers...it seems to work better now for my sanity at least and he is becoming more symphathetic towards my needs too. Lorraine Edited September 7, 2006 by bramblebrae Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LizK Report post Posted September 7, 2006 Hi Stephanie He's still very young so try not to worry too much. The babbling is pretty normal and I think may well be serving a purpose so I would let him get on with it. It may reflect some pragmatic difficulties in his language or he may be anxious beause he's settling back into school. Equally it could be aiding his language development in other ways allowing him to practise speaking or imagination. Because of the issues with theory of mind children on the spectrum struggle to 'think' things and develop an internal dialogue hence why they say it so he just simply may not yet be developmentally able to do that. Hopefully over time as he matures it will come. Adam quite often has a melodramatic reaction to somethig quite mior. He couldn't find his teddy the other day and was beside himself weeping and utterly distraught unti I found it. I think it's just a sign of his developmental and emotional immaturity. He's often burbling away to himself or me about something or other utterly random. Never thought I'd think that after all the heartache we had with his delayed early speech development but occasionally I've wondered where his 'off switch' is Lx Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
