Will DS 3.8 years (ASD) learn to talk

[mompa]

I hope someone can give me some hope. Will DS ever talk in sentances and be able to tell me what he wants, like etc? DS can lablel certain things eg bike car and can say Mummy but does not intentially communicate with language. He has had private SLT and had a year at private specialist ASD placement but no progress. About to start state specialist unit and am praying that will help with language and behaviour. Any one else's experiences very welcome

DS (ASD & lang delay) is now 4.11, he made his first two word combination in April 2010 (3.7 at the time). He was pretty much completely mute before that - he had about 100 labelling words in total (colours, shapes & animal names) but never used more than 10-15 any any time & we'd never get more than a word or two a day & many days he wouldn't say anything (or even make any noise).

18 months later he's talking in very long complex sentences - too complex sometimes! - his vocabulary is nearly two years ahead of peers but his grammar/sentence structure still 6 months behind. He still has language issues (particularly with receptive language) but we can have a conversation now, he plays imaginative language games, asks questions & talks about his ideas. He talks all day. I am amazed at the progress he has made, I really did doubt he'd get to this point.

Over the period where he made his most rapid language progress he was having 21 hours of ABA (VB) a week, I don't think anything else would've got him talk - even now I see how difficult speech is for him. We started signing with him when he was 2.5 & that gave him a way to communicate before he could speak.

Thanks so very much for sharing that - will think about ABA again if new specialist nursery does not help

Hi mompa- I was thinking the same thing!

Graciousenid- that is so nice to hear. How long did you do ABA before you saw results?

So glad i opened this thread. mompa I have been thinking the same thing, my dd is 3.7 and not speaking at all. We have the odd word here and there but not enough to say 'she's speaking'. Everybody keeps saying it will come, but like you I just cant see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks to graciousenid for helping us see that there is....

PS What is ABA?

yes, yes yes, he will talk, don't give up hope.

Dd2 was non-verbal until she was 3.5, she started music therapy as well as learning PEC's and within a few weeks she sang 'twinkle twinkle' to me . She's now 5.5, her speech is still behind, she doesn't talk unless it beniffits her but when she does her speech is clear and understandable.

we started the ABA in September 2009 (just before dx) - so it was quite a long time before we saw big language gains. But we were only doing 6 hours a week until December, then we had the whole of January off - once we started getting longer, more regular, daily sessions (end of Feb 2010) the improvements were rapid. We did have improvements in other areas before then too & after a couple of months his signing was incredible.

ABA stands for applied behavioural analysis - it's a teaching method that breaks skills down to small parts, uses reinforcement to motivate the child & analyses what exactly is going on with behaviours. VB is verbal behaviour & works from the premise that speech is a behaviour that can be taught like any other.

ds2 (ASD with MLD) didn't string more than 2/3 words together until he was 7. he was at a specialist nursery and then an ASD unit. Now (15) he can talk fluently albeit with some grammatical errors but definitely able to get his point across.

Hang on in there, you still have plenty of time. Have you heard of PECS? (picture exchange communication system - it can be very useful. Also we used makaton although for ds2 it wasn't until he started music therapy that he really took off. I swear by it and think every special school should have it as part of the curriculum. Google apmt for more info or get hold of a copy of this Its expensive but you can get it second hand by sticking it through the Book Butler price comparison website

eatyourveg could you tell me any more about music therapy - it is something that I'd really like to pursue for ds. Did you have group or individual lessons. DS is home educated so I need to find someone who works outside schools.

It was signing for us... ds had 7 spoken words up to 4 yrs 3 months, (didn't add any new ones from about 20 months).But had signing vocab of 100 plus signs (using 3 or 4 sign sentences).

Since Jan speech has been exploding from him, he now chats away, (yes still some echolalia, not very clear pronounciation, and some sterotypical speech patterns, but he is un recognisable from where he was last yr).

His SLT agreed that for DS the signing gave him 'language', (the idea that communication worked and was useful) and he added in speech when he was more ready (He has ASD and LD).

Ask your SALT about Hanen, it's a course that parents can go on. It really helped me extend my DS sentences. IIRC ABA can be a struggle to get hold of (I'm sure others can tell you more though), whereas if your area has a Hanen-trained SALT they'll probably run regular courses, so it's something you'll be able to do quickly, hopefully. The book for the course is called 'More Than Words' so you can even do some stuff on your own, but I found the course incredibly helpful.

Don't give up hope! Our DCs still grow and develop - they will grow up and learn more skills, just at a different pace to other children

ds2 has 1:1 sessions, we were extremely lucky to have it put in part 2 and 3 of his statement so it is funded by the LEA. they see him in school. He is the only child in school who has it. As you can imagine, the LEA have tried to take it out but so far every time, I have been able to fight successfully to keep it in. I am sure that they see children in all settings so being HE won't make any difference.

See here for the NAS info on it or here for where to get someone. be sure to get a registered therapist, not someone who just wants to have a sing along session. They are few and far between and like gold dust. The association though is great and will send you out tons of gumph if you give them a ring.

Good luck and I wish you well

Couldn't read and not comment. DS1 is now 4.10, ASD and, until Xmas last year, had absolutely no language at all. I was very depressed, thought it would never come. (Not helped by comments like "did you know Einstein didn't speak until he was 4") Around Xmas and New Year things started to change. Started with counting and numbers, then "mummy", then it just started coming thick and fast.

He repeats a lot and is not responsive to questions (you often have to say "... yes or no?") but by george he is transformed. He chatters, he picks up phrases he likes the sound of, he is beginning to use people's names and understand pronouns and on Tuesday - his second day at Reception - he (sort of) told me he played with the microwave at school. He is amazing.

This without any ABA or, indeed, any SLT interventions (she was the last one to notice he was speaking - doh!). I really needed someone to tell me all this last year. HTH.