If your child had a speech delay when did they become conversational?

[LemonLadybird]

Hello!

Feeling quite anxious, my DS is 3.5 with speech delay and we are also awaiting an ASD assessment. He stims constantly both vocally and physically (for example he will often repeat words over and over with no context.)

He’s such a lovely little boy and I’m so proud of how far he’s come but I can’t help but feel a little sad when I hear children his age chatting away to their parents and my son isn’t even able to answer simple questions or initiate any kind of conversation. His understanding is excellent though and he is amazing with numbers - he can even do some sums and knows up to 1000.

He is good at telling us what he wants in very simple terms (for example “more juice please / nappy change / hungry”) but doesn’t use connecting words like “I” or “am” etc, which we model back to him. We are under speech and language via the NHS but we’ve only had a couple of sessions so far and have been doing what they suggest anyway. We have looked into private SLT but they all have waiting lists at present.

Apologies for the long OP! Just looking for any tips or advice or … hope I guess! Thank you for reading.

Hi. My son is autistic and was non verbal. He would repeat words and sentances out of context like your boy, 'echolalia' its called. They started using PECS at nursery, he also did music therapy, saw salt and we repeated simple sentances to him daily. He also loved youtube channels like 'Steve & Maggie' and nursery rhymes, and adored videos like Micharl Rosen reading 'We're going on a bear hunt'. I think youtube is useful for modelling without the pressure of a person bring in the room. I remember someone saying at the time (it may have been on here) to just keep saying things like 'Goodnight, I love you' every night and one day you could well hear him say it back. He did say it back! He had an asd diagnosis and ehcp by the time he was around 3.5, a fantastic 1:1 at nursery then again at mainstream primary. By the time he was in year 1 he was talking a lot more and he just kept progressing year after year. Have patience and hope and keep at it, work with the therapists and nursery/school, all consistent, and one day he'll be communicating clearly with you! They have so many methods, even for children who stay non verbal. Autism brings lots of difficulties and hard times, but it also brings some amazing, wonderful things that you can't imagine until you have an autistic child! All the best to you & your boy x

My son is autistic and was non verbal. He had speech and language therapy from the age of 2-6. Around aged 4 he started doing echolalia and used that as a form of communication. By 6 he was talking more but had a handful of stock questions/answers rather than free flow language. He’s now 10 and can talk for hours about his interests, he still struggles to answer when put on the spot or spoken to by someone he doesn’t know. But he has recently started making small talk.
I’ve learnt a lot about communication over the past ten years, it’s far more than just words.
oh and he still makes noises/copies sounds.

I was fully non verbal at 3.5 years old and said my first word shortly after. By 5 my parents were complaining that I never shut up.

My DD has apraxia of speech & didn’t start talking until she was 3.5 & then only had about 15 words. She was understandable by 4.5 & is now 12 & still struggles with language. Her descriptive language is limited & pronunciation very hit & miss & she will lose all her words if very stressed out.
She’s in mainstream school & although has no other diagnosis is being assessed for ADHD & Dyslexia.
Despite her language difficulties she’s always been a good communicator & is social & happy. SALT was amazing & we always modelled language to her, reading, commentating on everything that was happening etc.

Following with interest as my nephew is 3yrs 4 months and not talking. He can say a few words and I did hear him say a few words in a row the other day. But usually he is just pretty silent. Hopefully he starts to talk soon.

Friend’s almost 7yr DD who is autistic is non verbal. She can hum nursery rhymes and says maybe 1 or 2 words you can understand but she babbles a lot / talks away but no actual words.

My ds does not have an asd diagnosis but he had a bad speech delay until 3.5 Only a handful of words and would muddle up and forget words he’d known previously, missing lots of consonant sounds.

I read everything I could about speech development so I could try to help him.

At age 5.5 he was chattering more - still lots of basic grammar errors and often getting stuck for the right words, but could basically communicate.

Now he is 6.5 and he is talking much more fluently - still not as good as his peers but vocabulary is improving . Yesterday he was playing with a toy bbq and said, “Mum I am cooking you a piece of steak because it is a good source of protein.” I was so proud that he got such a complicated sentence out without really having to stop and think.

So just to let you know - speech delays can slowly improve even without therapy.

Oh thank you so so much everyone, loving hearing your stories and how well your lovely DC have come on. It’s nice not to feel so alone as it feels like all his peers are chatting away and my son is struggling with his basic sensory needs and constant vocal stims. Truthfully when he wasn’t saying a word at 2.5 I never even would have thought we’d get to this stage where he can communicate simple wants and needs - so I do need to remember where he was even from just a year ago to now. I am feeling so eager to have a conversation with him, I’d love him to be able to tell me about his day at nursery etc, especially as he’ll be starting school next September. Thank you for the advice and tips too I really appreciate it