Is there hope?!

[Msqueen33]

Dd is three and spent the firs few years poorly due to an autoimmune disease. But she doesn't really talk. The odd word here and there but no sentences. Salt see her once a month and won't increase sessions as apparently other kids need it more and are progressing quicker. My question is does anyone have any hopeful stories of a child with asd who has very limited vocabulary at three gone on to speak "normally". Her asd sibling speaks fluently aside from a slightly odd tone.

Thank you. In my head I know it could all change but then part of me fears she may be non verbal forever and I'll be destined to a life of screaming, shrieking and crying.

Mummy, oh dear, milk, banana, wise old elf, she has said I love you before, it's not fair (accompanied with a footstep), boots, bath, toilet, all gone, hello mummy, bye, happy, hungry, Peppa.

She seems to have also gotten more autistic if that makes sense.

Just harder to go engage and lots of verbal stimming. And she doesn't sleep. At this point i would like a crystal ball

Does she go to nursery or anything? I found that helped Ds develop language a lot.

She sounds quite similar to my DS, he is now 4 and had a lot of the same first words, said oh dear all the time, he also says it's not fair with a stamp of the feet, I suspect it comes from Peppa. Around 3 he started to quickly build vocabulary with nouns and was good with shapes, numbers etc and is able to get all his demands met with 1/2/3 words but progress has been slow with sentences. He is getting there but learning speech in chunks and phrases, in context but I can often trace it back to a TV programme. With an increase in language there is also an increase in echolalia/scripting from TV and he is terrible at sitting for carpet time, makes lots of noises, not sure if a sensory or stimming thing, trying to get to the bottom of it. He is now able to answer very short basic open ended questions or choice questions. We do private SALT as not been offered anything from NHS yet but in all honesty I'm not sure if it is making that much difference. I know a few other similar children who seemed to really develop language by age 5 so I am living in hope!

My DS is 8 and has asd. He was non verbal at 3, couldn't make any consonant sounds at all. So everthing was a-a-a-a, although he knew what he was trying to say. He finally had his first clear words at nearly 4, no and mama. He had regular SALT input and was discharged at 6 with language within the normal range. He is now very well spoken, quite wordy and formal at times!

Stitch that's fantastic. My middle dd has asd and is six and speaks really well now though her language was so much better than my youngest.

Sparkle, I can trace a lot back to tv. My middle dd does this and occasionally still does but I always figured at least it's language.

Progress is just so slow. It's like she hasn't twigged that language isn't to do with tone but to converse if that makes sense. She seems to understand exactly what we are saying but there's no desire to speak it feels. Though I do love to hear her say mummy.

DD was very much like that at 3. She also had very delayed understanding.

She is 8 now and talking. still very delayed but she talks and understands (more at the level of a 4 year old though).

Salt didn't do much for us and neither did nursery. we did some Aba when she was younger and it got her talking.

I've been told by a few professionals that before your child can speak they have to WANT to communicate with you. There has to be that motivation to speak and to understand the power of using their voice to get what they want.

Does your DD go to nursery, have any SALT or other services?

She's just started a new preschool. Her previous nursery were a nightmare and we think were cross contaminating her and making her sick. I do think it's trying to find that motivation.

Speech see her once a month as they don't feel she's progressing so other kids need speech therapy more.

My son is almost 3 and was diagnosed with ASD in April. When he was two he couldn't speak a word but now he's able to put small sentences together . However that happened because I started teaching him to talk. His speech is still learned and it's not in a full flow. However I took it a step at a time. Building it up one word at a time. I don't find SALT helpful at all. I'm now looking into ABA therapy which u hear is really good in helping children with ASD in all areas and building life skills for them. The only problem.. It's expensive . But worth it I hear.

stitch thanks for sharing, gives me hope!

DS2 is ASD. Had a handful of words age 1, then lost them all. No babbling, just silence really until age 3. He started making noises at 3, 3.5 he was having a good go at lots of words, age 4 he was talking perfectly, you'd never know his speech was delayed. He used Makaton and PECS from age 2 until age 3 which I think helped a great deal as it taught him how useful communication is, I think it made the penny drop that communicating with us gets him what he wants! He does often choose not to speak to us these days even when he wants something, but that's a far better problem to have.

Wow Emperor how remarkable the change between 3.5 and 4!

Your DS sounds v similar to my DT1 (3.7) I really wish for something like this to happen with him soon.

Is your DS in a mainstream or ss?

Wow that's amazing! I'm hopeful. We've got a behavioural therapist coming next week and she has said we may well look at pecs.

He is in mainstream and manages really well. It is a tiny village school (15 in his class) and his teacher is just fantastic with him.

The dramatic change was facilitated enormously by SALT - he learnt every single sound in speech one by one. His babbles had rapidly turned into the correct number of syllables but no correct speech sounds except sometimes the middle vowels, so 'da da doo' might mean 'want a spoon'. I realised he was sometimes saying 'dada' when I was nearby, usually while looking at the floor not me, but I wondered if it was meant to be mama. We worked on 'mm' in SALT and I was thereafter called 'mama', I literally sobbed the first time he said it.

We then did every sound in turn, SALT once a week but practicing daily. Because the sounds were written by the pictures we used, he learnt his phonics at the same time, so started reading just shortly after he started talking. He just started this September in reception but has been going to the year 2 class for his reading lessons and to pick books since last Christmas when he was in the school nursery class.

I used to work as a behavioural/play therapist with children with ASD before having kids so used this daily with him and taught all the grandparents etc to use it too. Hopefully the behavioural therapist will be really helpful.

I really recommend regularly filming your DC, I did this and last week I looked back on the videos and it is very moving to rewatch him developing, and helps keep the faith with all the current issues (toileting for us, argh!).

Amazing, so pleased for his progress!

I've taken videos of my twins and I also recently looked at the first videos. It's actually quite humbling to witness the progress made as it's so easy to think things are improving just because everything is moving slower than I would have liked.

I would have thought she should be getting quite a bit more SALT. They should be giving it to her in accordance with what she needs, rather than in accordance with whatever time they think they have to spare. If the SALT service can't do it, they should bring in independent SALTs. It could be worth asking for an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment.

I applied in October and we had no one behind us and nursery were useless. We were turned down to lack of evidence and the team that gets involved doesn't until the October before they start school. Thankfully specialist team are involved. And will help push an ehcp through I've been told there's no chance we won't get one. I'm furious with salt as they said as she isn't making progress other kids need seeing more so I can just do the exercises. The specialist team weren't happy with that answer.

Send in another request for an EHCP now, and if it's refused again, appeal. There is no lower age limit for EHCPs.