Hello Everyone - will my 6yo with ASD ever talk?

lety

I am lety and mummy of Pierre who is 6 yrs old and autistic. He has no verbal speech which I find very difficult to cope with. I haven't found speech therapists very helfpul so far.. and wonder if Pierre will talk one day or shall I just accept that he won't..I am interested by the "touch to talk" - I think it was Val who posted this tip in July 2010. Sorry I don't mean to be negative or depressed and I will be very happy to share any tip or advice... Thank you.

AleB

Hi Lety! I also have 6 year old with ASD and one day my dream of having him talking took my breath away. Now i believe everything is possible, so never give up! x Having said that, there is more to communication than just talking. Just because child dos not talk dos not mean he has nothing to say. I give my boy all possible forms of communication available including PECS, Choice board, makaton, IPad (few different apps) so that he is able to express himself and make choices. Soon i learned that just because he is not talking dos not mean he doesn't understand. ASD is an developmental disorder, meaning that the child develops in slower motion or some parts like the oral area is very underdeveloped. My boy's voice is very baby like and he also have trouble to swallow. That tells me that he will need more time and more work before he is able to talk like children his age. Don't wait for the talking, find other way to communicate and most of all talk to your child in any way you can. If he cannot understand the words, he will get the affection in your voice and feel connected with you that way. As for IPad apps..... Before you spend money on this, what is he able to do on IPad? Can he navigate it? Has he been using PECS at school or at home?

Heather

Hi. I share the pain you feel Lety. When I first sought help with my son at the age of 3, I was told to learn sign language....my instinct yelled "HE'S NOT DEAF!" But now he is 11 years old and has the speech assessment of an 18 month old. Severe dyspraxia has held him back enormously, but he wants to communicate and the frustration is unbelievable at times. But we found the Itune applications fantastic, Proloquo2Go has been our saviour. Picture freindly, it can be used on computers, Ipods, iPads, telephones etc and as our son grows he will learn to type more and write his sentence down. He recently came upto the bedroom with his "voicebox" and had found the words "Mum stop phone. Hug".....I cried! Don't give up, your son will find a way to tell you the important things he wants!

Natasha Brown

my son began with PECS adn ahsnt looked back - now uses ipad with predictable typing and ahve just downlaoded his Grid2 grids - get an ip[ad and a protective cover (!) eg griffin military duty and download the grid player which comes wi three sample grid sets from beginner to typing.

but ideally a good SLt/communication expert will help you and your child - and school as well.

sometimes SLTs have to move beyond trying to talk with speech and focus on other methods . get onto low tech such as PECS then move to apps and hi tech AAC

Natasha Brown

ps my son "talks" v autistically eg repetitive and using third person "he likes sausages" but what he communicates with his ipad (previously an aid from smartbox) is far removed from his noises he makes verbally

without AAC his communication was very limited - now he can certainly talk.

Natasha Brown

pps you can see babies of 12 months using ipads - apps aimed at their level - they are very intutitive and today's children/babies/toddlers learn the IT quickly so even if your child is delayed cognitively, i would say invest in an ipad (i dont like to promote apple this way but have to say the range of apps is fantastic) and you can get refurbished ipad 1 models from apple.co.uk much cheaper than new top of the range.

JimJams

Hi I agree with ALeB, never give up hope, my son is only now starting to use more sentences, he is also aged 6 asd, all his phrases are learned from tv , but he can use them appropriately and change a word or so in them to make it fit the situation, the hanen programme helped me to get his speech going, create opportunities for him to say something, like putting something unusual in a silly place or giving him the wrong thing when he lets you know he wants something, do something silly or act out of character, or imitate him to get his attention, he may then start to imitate you as part of the game. My boy amazes me on a daily basis and he is so brave as all our children are to be getting through each day with the difficulties they face, they are amazing , keep thinking positive and never give up trying.. Good luck