To sum-up, although speech delay can come hand-in-hand with autism spectrum disorder, it is not always the case. A speech delay by itself does not mean a child has autism and, by working with experts and doing the right research, you can ensure your child gets the best support.
Significant speech delays are always a cause for some concern, but they are by no means always an autism trait.
Some children with autism may start talking at 12-16 months. Most don't start talking until later. Some will start talking between the ages of 2-3 years. Other children talk even later, and some children never learn to talk.
No Speech Delay, But Substantial Problems With Nonverbal Communication and the "Art of Conversation" While classic autism is marked by either a failure to acquire speech, or a speech delay, Asperger's syndrome is not. Language is acquired on time, or even early.
Late Talkers with Autism
Published in 2013, the study may bring hope to parents who worry that children who are not talking by age 4 or 5 are unlikely to develop speech at all. Some children with ASD develop language after age 5.
Some may develop language and communication skills at later ages than their peers, and some may develop their language in a different order. Some autistic children will develop spoken language in a typical way, but they may need support in other areas of communication, such as social communication or fluency.
Researchers published the hopeful findings that, even after age 4, many nonverbal children with autism eventually develop language.
To sum-up, although speech delay can come hand-in-hand with autism spectrum disorder, it is not always the case.
Your child may have a speech delay if they aren't able to do these things: Say simple words (such as “mama” or “dada”) either clearly or unclearly by 12 to 15 months of age. Understand simple words (such as “no” or “stop”) by 18 months of age. Talk in short sentences by 3 years of age.
If your child isn't yet verbally communicating, but is actively engaging with people and communicating in these other ways, it is unlikely that their speech delay is due to autism.
For example, children might collect only sticks or play only with cars. For example, children might: make repetitive noises like grunts, throat-clearing or squealing.
There are many possible reasons why someone with autism might not speak, including difficulty processing language, anxiety, or lack of interest in communication. Nonverbal communication can be just as important and effective as verbal communication.
Level 1 is the mildest, or “highest functioning” form of autism, which includes those who would have previously been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Individuals with ASD level 1 may have difficulty understanding social cues and may struggle to form and maintain personal relationships.
Uneven language development.
Some may be able to read words before age five, but may not comprehend what they have read. They often do not respond to the speech of others and may not respond to their own names. As a result, these children are sometimes mistakenly thought to have a hearing problem.
If your child is over two years old, you should have your pediatrician evaluate them and refer them for speech therapy and a hearing exam if they can only imitate speech or actions but don't produce words or phrases by themselves, they say only certain words and only those words repeatedly, they cannot follow simple ...
According to The Hanen Centre, a late talker is a child between 18 and 30 months with a good understanding of language and typical development in other areas (hearing, vision, motor, and cognitive skills) but has a limited spoken vocabulary compared to peers for their age.
Children with speech delays will often have difficulty producing specific speech sounds. Autistic children may also have trouble making speech sounds, but they may also use persistent repetition of words or phrases (echolalia).
Children with high functioning autism or HFA demonstrate some type of delay in their communication skills, whether in language, speech, or both. Some areas of language involvement include pragmatics (use of words) and semantics (meaning of words).
Most people with autism (though by no means all) do have the ability to talk. Most of the time, though, people with autism talk differently from their neurotypical peers.
Type 2 autism, or level 2 autism, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects how an individual communicates and behaves. They are compromised in social communication, exhibiting atypical social behaviors, and may even walk away in the middle of an interaction.
Children with autism spectrum disorder have good vocabularies but unusual ways of expressing themselves. They may talk in a monotone voice and do not recognize the need to control the volume of their voice, speaking loudly in libraries or movie theaters, for example.
We do know that children with autism don't always naturally generalise skills. They may only follow instructions the person who normally gives them or they may only follow them in the situation where it normally occurs.