Background. My son has been dx with mild autism. Not sure I believe this. He does have a severe speech delay, and some quirky little behaviours and isn't GREAT at transitioning, but he's not terrible either. We arrive early and can manage.
Anyway... The SALT rang and asked how the PECS was going. My son isn't interested in PECS. I can't MAKE him do it. He's very certain of what HE wants!! And in this regard, I don't blame him. He can now say about 50 or 60 words and even though they aren't that clear, I can guess. I think that it'd be madness to try and make him miserable by pushing him into using this PECs folder. Especially as now, at the stage he's at now, when he can't make himself understood, it's a more complicated idea than a pure noun. ie, he wants me to leave a door ajar, or I've put too much water into his juice, or put it into the wrong cup... NOT something that can be expressed by a picture.
I took on board what the speech therapist said about his being a visual learner and we do go through some very good picture dictionaries and I prompt him to say words. He is coming along.... I feel now, finally, that he will talk eventually.
The speech therapist clearly feels that I'm ignoring her and I'm foolish not to respect her superior knowledge ........
I saw an ABA tutor recently who said that he wouldn't use PECs with my son, that his speech has gone beyond the point of needing PECS; that he'd only use PECs for a child with NO speech.
It 's a bit complicated but at this point I don't want to mention to the SALT that I was talking to an ABA tutor (not through her). She is supposed to be arranging that for me.
Any thoughts..? My son is 3 btw.