"What" .....? (and not "why"?)

[signandsmile]

Just wanted to pick your brains, lots of you will know ds nearly 5 has ASD & Mild to mod LD, has been signing for ages and speaking for about 10 months,

he has never done anything like the NT "why?" stage, (and I' m not sure he ever will, as 'why' questions are quite theoretical IYSWIM) However he has yesterday started asking "what are you doing mummy/daddy/nanny?" He doesn't seem to be using it as a verbal stim, (he asks a lot, but only when what I am doing has changed, and he does seem interested in the reply, rather than wanting to control the response.)

I am wondering if this is his version of the 'why....?' questions most kids go through. Any one else had the same?

I don't really have a n answer to your question, but ds 5.5 has only just started the 'why' thing.

I was dreading the why thing with DS1. It never came. Waiting for DS2 - have a feeling it will be a different story (NT - seemingly)

my ds didn't start speaking until he was three - we had a long period of what? for everything. Then he started where? & who? and only know is he starting when? how? and why? (he's 5.1).

I notice your user name OP - we taught ds the signs for questions words & use those as silent prompts when he asks questions, even though he's talking well it is extra support for something that is difficult. The SALT said lots of people use cards with the question words on but ds can't read & I think the sign is a bit more naturalistic (& I don't have to worry about losing them/forgetting them when we go out) and it has the great secondary affect of improving eye contact/attendance because ds now looks at us for the siagn if he's getting confused.

We tried to set up situations where he would want the information. My ds didn't responded to ABA type discret trials where you drill away at the table - if it wasn't functional (to him) he wasn't interested regardless of reinforcer. Now he's older he is willing to do a bit of 'work' - 10 practice questions for 5 minutes on the computer etc.

My nt daughter who is 2.5 hasn't got to why questions yet, but asks what is itwhat are you doing constantly (even when she knows the answer). I'm not sure what age the whys start with nt children.

The 'why ????'may come later.
My DS's favourite questions are 'What you going ?' and ...........'WHY????' He has just started the latter and he is 8

Ds1 and dd ended up doing the 'why' at the same time. Drove me mad. I thought she was genius early developing child copying NT brother... Think it was the other way round really.

Ditto op's. Ds nearly 5 has started what questions, eg what's hate, what's a wedding. What does mean mean? Ds 2.5 nt asks 'wot you doin'?'
Her q's are a bit more real life and joint attention than ds's abstract ones.

Looking forward to why.

One child (nt) I knew had the "where" questions. They never went through the "why" stage.

ds wouldn't ask the kind of abstract questions that oodles ds does - what's hate? Wow! That's really good.

We were excited when ds starting asking questions about things that weren't actually there - what happens to poo? What does X do? What is X for? etc It felt like we had a small peak into his world & his mind iykwim :)

thanks guys, that's really useful, ds has used 'what' and 'where' signs for ages (when he was signing and not talking) and understands me signing other questions, (when, who etc) but the constancy of the what questioning seemed to mirror that stage where (most) toddlers are why why why, so I wondered it he had swapped them, I will look out and see if 'why' comes later... .

Wow it is such a positive question for him to ask in a functional way.. I don't think it is necessarily the same as the why phase, it typically precedes it, but it will be providing him with really good input into how verbs work in sentences and how to frame events in words that it is to be celebrated!

thanks working, appreciate the input.

DS2 (12) says 'why' in a whiney way as a joke. Never went through it in a NT style, though.

Sounds very similar to my ds 5.2 (asd) he has speech delay too. I don't think he will ever do an NT-style why stage. He asks lots of 'Whats' at the moment, but also uses it incorrectly (what is that? instead of who?). I have always wondered if he would go through a why stage, and recently have thought that probably not as it just doesn't seem to be an expression of his thought processes.

So lovely to get some positive moments among all the crap, zzzzz.

zzz I like the idea of the 'magnificant why' . and for zzzlet!