To ask for your very late talker success stories?

[YoucancallmeBettyDraper]

I don’t know if I’m being foolish to hope. My child is nearly 2 1/2 and basically non-verbal, and probably autistic. I’d love to hear stories of children that talked very late, especially autistic children. I mean are able to hold a conversation.

I just need to counter my feeling that my child will never speak to me, which is my dominant fear at the moment and which feels inevitable.

Thanks in advance

My DC is 9 and has only just started talking this summer. Single words mainly, asking for things (sweets mainly). Never had speech therapy, diagnosed with autism. I never thought it would happen!

How is his speech now?

Relative is 7. Extremely late talker, didn't even babble as a baby. Had no speech. Language absolutely exploded at 4/5 and dc is so bright, chatty and sociable and is absolutely flying at school
We were really concerned as ds was so late and almost silent when v young but all fantastic now.

Thank you. We also have late talking in the family, as well as autism and ADHD. I found your post very interesting.

I think my son is listening, too. He seems to understand a lot of what is being said, even if he can’t yet communicate his needs. It’s like I’m waiting for the neurons to connect and for him to get the fact that to get stuff he wants he needs to ask for it!

Some of these posts are making me cry. It’s just so lovely to hear of these children eventually finding their words. And for the ones that haven’t, or have different ways of communicating, it is clear they are just as loved

My close friends daughter has autism and also global developmental delay. I met her when she was 3 and she wouldn’t even turn round when you said her name and had never said a word, only noises. Now at almost 5 she responds to her name every time, can say the names of people in her family and favourite TV show, and say things she would like to do next as part of a routine. It’s truly incredible how much she’s progressed. I hope that gives you a little hope.

OP I'd love to know how your son is doing now?x

Hi worriedmum, thanks for asking.
He’s now 3 and has got his diagnosis.
Still doesn’t talk but is a happy little boy who is thriving at nursery. He understands much of what is said to him. This morning we played hop little bunnies and he was hop hop hopping, it was very sweet.

It’s hard to imagine him ever talking, but as this thread demonstrates, and as the autism specialist told us, it is still quite early days as autistic kids acquire language differently. I wonder if he might be a gestalt language processor because although he has not said much yet he has shown a keen interest in particular sentences being read to him over and over.

Time will tell. His challenges worry me, but I would never trade him for another child. He feels like a miracle to me.

I think the cleaning hinch lady, her oldest is autistic and spoke late. She’s got some videos on it

All the boys in my family were late talkers with ADHD and or ASD. My sins first and only words was beans from age 2-4 and then suddenly started taking in sentences ( with poor word order). He’s now 25 and is over of the page I love to talk to the most. His vocabulary is vast. My nephew is now 9 and he talks with an American accent but it can be hard to understand him if you don’t know him. He had the most unusual way of thinking though and it’s always a delight getting his opinions etc. my other Dnephew only said a certain word related to a Disney movie but used that for everything with different inflections etc to get his point across. He’s also fascinating to talk to and sees things that others wouldn’t and has a unique viewpoint. Honestly, I know it’s worrying but SALT can be fantastic. And it’s not a Givenchy that he will never talk. Just do your best to not talk for him. Children still communicate, even without words.

My cousin didn't speak until 4. He now works in investment banking. Autistic.

My DS2 spoke less than 10 words aged 2.5 and it was difficult to work out what the word was. He was very quiet as a baby. He's now 9 and there's no shutting him up when he's with me. Also Autistic.

‘I didn’t talk until I was 3’ is something I’ve heard said by a few people I know- not even necessarily neurodivergent people either! And I once worked with a little boy with Autism who was 2.5 when I started and he was more like 3 when we began to get some words from him- with intensive therapy.

as a teenager, he goes to a mainstream school and does incredibly well.

DH hardly spoke a word till he was 4, he has a PhD from Cambridge and is a University Prof and was a head of dept till retiring last year. Never diagnosed with autism but it’s pretty obvious he has multiple personality traits and backwards bendy thumbs that are linked to being ND.

When he ‘decided’ to speak it was like a tap turning on with full long and complex sentences. He got lost in central London aged 5 and his distraught Mother said he looked at her and said ‘don’t be ridiculous I knew exactly where I was and wasn’t lost’.

I think you'll find most of those people are ND and just not diagnosed.

I can think of two people very close to me who didn't talk until they were 3/4, and I am very certain that both of them are autistic, although neither has a diagnosis.

My godson, who is my best friend's kid, didn't speak till he was 3. He was in a special SALT group for children with SN.

I never thought he was anything other than quite bright. I used to take him shopping with me and he was clearly very switched-on, he just didn't verbalise it.

Anyway, fast-forward to 11, when he gained a place at our local super-selective grammar, and now, in his 30s, has a really good job as a Financial Controller.

He was never diagnosed ASD, but I think it's likely. He's not quite like his very 'normal' brother, and his first child was diagnosed with autism at 3. But it's definitely a success story.

My child said nothing at 2. Neither did she walk until around the same age. Very quiet/ selective mute in most of primary. Didn't read until around age 6, didn't 'get' phonics. She's now 13 and top in all sets at school, very capable with her language and has a great group of friends.

My niece, well great niece, never spoke until she was 4 and a half. She was engaged, responsive and liked to sit beside an adult relative and give you the colouring book.
Then just before P1 she started talking. I used to joke that up until then everything was perfect and she had no need to talk ,😁