How Autism Affects Speech Language And Eating
With so much information out there in recent years about autism I thought it would be beneficial to get back to the basics.
Much of the information in todays news usually relates to causes, treatments, and statistics.; I want to talk more about how autism affects speech and language and often eating in individuals who have an autism spectrum disorder.
While many of you reading this article are dealing with autism first hand, many of you are not and only know what you have read.
Autism and Language SkillsFirst lets talk about language.; Language can be divided into 2 main parts: expressive and receptive.
Expressive language is our ability to convey our thoughts into words with meaning. Basically our ability to talk.; Receptive language is our understanding of what is being said to us.; Both expressive and receptive language skills are necessary to be an effective communicator.; When either is impaired our ability to communicate is impacted.; Children on the autism spectrum will always have some sort of a language deficit depending on their actual diagnosis.
Very often expressive language is impacted to a greater degree than receptive language.; This is the reason why augmentative communication with these children is so important. Augmentative communication is another means of communication which can involve pictures, picture boards or talking computers .
One exception to this is found in children with Aspergers.
Gluten Free Casein Free Diet
One of the easiest options for treating a number of medical problems that cause speech issues in autism is to modify your child’s diet. In fact, for over twenty years parents and clinicians have been reporting that the gluten-free, casein-free diet is the most beneficial intervention speech. Years ago, they were ridiculed for saying this, but that is no longer the case. This is because, today, you will find many studies that not only support those clinical experiences, but explain the science behind them.
To clarify, the GFCF diet is merely a change of food. It is not invasive or dangerous.; Furthermore, research shows it can help with cognition, sleep, focus, anxiety, behavior, and gastrointestinal issues in addition to speech. All things considered, if you can do something at home that is safe and may help your child, it is always worth a try.
Find more information about the GFCF diet in the following articles:
How You Can Advance Your Childs Language Beyond Echolalia
Although research has found that echolalia is part of normal childhood development and a big part of learning communication, you still need to understand how your child is trying to talk to you. By doing so, you can focus on ways to help your child expand their communication skills.
Family plays a big role in overcoming echolalia and helping children to talk themselves . If youre concerned about the echolalia, reach out to a speech pathologist to find out how functional the echolalia is. With functional echolalia, you can make changes to how you talk to your child to help them speak and communicate better.
Make sure to use evidence-based methods that are geared to your childs age to see progress. What can you do? Here are some ideas:
- Instead of asking questions, make a statement. Dont ask them if they want to go to the movies; just tell them, Were going to the movies.
- Teach I dont know to your child, so they know they can use it when they dont have an answer to a question. ;
- Start a sentence and allow them to finish it. For example, say, I would like some ____ and allow them to give you the answer of what theyd like.
Every parent worries that there will be something wrong with their child, including autism. However, a child with echolalia does not mean they are autistic. Echolalia is common as children experiment with language and most children advance their speech and get past the echolalic stage, which usually ends around the age of three.
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Theres A Lot Of Unverified Information Floating Around About Late Talkers What Are Some Common Misperceptions Or Myths That Are Just Plain Wrong
There is this misconception that a baby that doesnt crawl will be a late talker but there is no scientific evidence to support that notion. Some people also think that its not that big of a deal if a child is a late talker. They think theyll catch up and be absolutely fine. And while its true that more than half of kids catch up during kindergarten, its also true that if you follow the late talkers to adolescence, that group on average will score below their peers on language and literacy tests they get into a normal developmental range but they might not ever be as good at language as a peer who never had a language delay.
What Causes A Speech And Language Delay
The most common causes of speech delay include:
- hearing loss
- Elective mutism .
- Cerebral;palsy;.
Living in a bilingual home also may affect a childs language and speech. The childs brain has to work harder to interpret and use 2 languages. So it may take longer for these children to start using one or both languages theyre learning. Its not unusual for a bilingual child to use one language for a while.
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How Can Autism Impact Speech Patterns
Instead, most autistic people will go on to face at least one or more challenges when it comes to speaking, such complications could include: tone, sentence construction, repeated language, or if youre as unlucky like me, all three, a speech impediment, a lisp AND being born and raised in Manchester its like I was made to be misunderstood!;
So, what are these additional autism speaking challenges and why do they persist?
Pronouns:;One area that I particularly struggled with when growing up was pronouns . This meant that I referred to myself as you and others as me a confusing slip-up which is easily explained in that, whilst learning to speak, I was mirroring those around me and so, when someone referred to me as you, I wrongly assumed that you was me and vice versa. Thankfully, in most cases, this fades with practice and further exposure to conversations.
Monotone Voice:;Sometimes autistic people may have perfect control over the state of their voice e.g. Susan Boyle or Owl Citys Adam Young. Other times, we may emphasise the wrong words, speak too loudly or talk in somewhat flat tones. This is often because the autistic mind struggles to register the unspoken rules when learning to speak and, as such, while we are great at registering the factual information of what words mean, we undervalue the importance of inflexion and so never use it ourselves .;
Speech And Language: Whats Normal
Theres no deadline for a child to start talking or using full sentences. But most kids reach speech and language milestones by a certain age. Let your childs doctor know if they cant do some of the following. Also, take note if your child loses skills they have already learned.
- Talk in short sentences, can identify body parts, and make words plural
- Can tell a simple story and recall short nursery rhymes
- Use sentences of about five words
- Use “me” and “you” correctly
- Can understand two-part commands with prepositions
- Can give their first and last names
- Can use plurals or past tense the right way
- Ask questions like Why? or Who?
- Talk about what they did that day
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How Is Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosed
Public awareness of the signs of autism and new screening tools have made early identification of autism easier. Doctors look for signs and symptoms at every checkup, ask about concerns parents may have, and do a screening test at the 18-month and 2-year visits.
If any concerns are found, doctors will suggest a complete evaluation. This usually involves a team of experts. The team may include:
- medical doctors who treat developmental disorders
- psychologists
- occupational therapists and speech therapists
They’ll observe and evaluate the child to understand his or her language/communication, thinking, emotions, development, physical health, social skills, and self-help skills. They’ll also ask the family about their concerns and the child’s birth, growth, development, behavior, and family history.
What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Children with ASD often have problems with:
- body language and eye contact
- social interactions
In toddlers, parents might notice:
- delayed speech
- using only a few gestures
- not responding when someone calls their name
- avoiding eye contact
- not sharing enjoyment or interests with others
- unusual ways of moving the hands, fingers, or whole body
- being very focused or attached to unusual objects
- little to no imitating of others or pretending
- unusual sensory interests
- rituals such as repeating things over and over or lining up objects
Milder symptoms may not be recognized until a child is older and has problems with:
- forming friendships
- knowing how to act in different social situations
- unusual, intense interests in specific topics or activities
No two people with ASD have the same signs and symptoms. Many things can play a role, such as language delays, thinking and learning problems, and behavioral challenges. For this reason, autism is described as a “spectrum.”
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Lexical And Syntactical Analysis
We first analyzed the number of words for different grammatical categories contained in the verbal reports in response to the various items of the questionnaire. A group by grammatical category ANOVA on the number of words indicated a main effect of group ;=;5.43, p;<;0.01, 2p;=;0.16) and grammatical class ;=;25.73, p;<;0.001, 2p;=;0.31), as well as a significant interaction ;=;4.70, p;<;0.001, 2p;=;0.14). Newman-Keuls post hoc comparisons showed that, overall, the most frequently used grammatical class was verbs followed by nouns ; the least frequently used grammatical class was adjectives. Although verbs were the most frequently used word type in the AS-NoSOD and non-autistic control groups, nouns and verbs were used at a similar frequency in the AS-SOD group. Otherwise, the three groups presented a similar distribution of responses as a function of grammatical class .
Table 2 Means and standard deviations for the number of words and grammatical category in the verbal reports to the interest questionnaire in function of group
What Age Does Autism Usually Show Up
Some children show ASD symptoms within the first 12 months of life. In others, symptoms may not show up until 24 months or later. Some children with ASD gain new skills and meet developmental milestones, until around 18 to 24 months of age and then they stop gaining new skills, or they lose the skills they once had.
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What Is Nonspeaking Autism
Because nonspeaking autism is not a specific diagnosis, definitions vary.
Some people consider nonspeaking autism to mean that a person does not spontaneously speak in sentences or words that others can understand. Others consider it as the ability to speak meaningfully at times but not being able to speak at all at other times.
Having nonspeaking autism does not mean that a person does not communicate, cannot communicate, or does not understand language.
Some people with nonspeaking autism communicate via typing or special communication devices. The absence of speech does not mean an absence of understanding. Indeed, some nonspeaking autistic individuals write and verbally communicate in other ways.
People should not presume that a nonspeaking autistic person does not understand speech based on their ability to speak themselves. They should also not assume that they are incompetent.
Autism is a spectrum diagnosis, which means that a person may have a range of symptoms that affect daily life in ways ranging from mild to severe. In one area, such as verbal communication, a person may have significant difficulties, even as other abilities remain intact and other symptoms are mild.
Nonspeaking autism affects a persons verbal skills. Some symptoms include:
Their lack of speech does not necessarily mean that a person cannot understand language. However, there is still much that researchers do not understand about nonspeaking autism.
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Are Siblings At Greater Risk For Autism Spectrum Disorder
The truth is that genetics do play a role in autism. When one child is diagnosed with ASD, the next child to come along has about a 20% greater risk of developing autism than normal. When the first two children in a family have both been diagnosed with ASD, the third child has about a 32% greater risk of developing ASD.
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What Is A Speech Delay In A Toddler
Speech and language skills begin with the cooing of an infant. As the months pass, seemingly meaningless babbling progresses into the first understandable word.
A speech delay is when a toddler hasnt met typical speech milestones. Children progress on their own timeline. Being a little late with conversation doesnt necessarily mean theres a serious problem.
How To Support Autistic People With Speech:
If communication is key, then speaking skills are the couch where autistic social opportunities get lost. Nevertheless, most autistic people will find a way to express themselves over time and, whether this be a long road which leads to words, or with the support of cutting-edge technology and techniques, there are plenty of options to ensure that no words means no problem.
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Autism Signs: Age One Through Three
The majority of children who are diagnosed with Autism are diagnosed soon after their second birthday. This is due to the fact that most developmental milestones are reached during this time. Autism signs can be observed in three specific areas of a childs life: social interactions, communication and repetitive behaviors. Please remember that ten children can have the exact same diagnosis and all ten children are completely different from each other. No two children with autism are exactly alike.
For this section we will list specific autism signs that parents should be watching for in their childs social interactions, communications, and behavior. If you notice these signs of autism in your child at any point in their development; please have them screened for autism. Early screening, detection, and intervention are crucial for improved outcomes for children with autism.
Hope For Improving Speech Skills
There is hope for a child with autism and speech delay to expand his vocabulary and speech ability through therapy. Even in cases where a child with autism remains nonverbal, there are effective methods of nonverbal communication that allow the child to express himself and communicate. Early intervention is essential to treating autism and speech delay for the best possible outcome.
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When Does A Speech Delay Signal Autism
Your child doesn’t seem to speak as often or as fluently as other children. Or your child doesn’t speak at all. Does that automatically mean that your child has autism?
Speech delays and autism often go hand in hand. In fact, delays in speech development are used as autism diagnostic tools. But many other conditions that have nothing to do with autism can also cause speech delays.
If you’re concerned about your child’s speech, talk with your child’s pediatrician, and ask for a formal screening. Early diagnosis of any type of speech delay can help to ensure that your child gets necessary and critical help from experts.
How Speech Acquisition History Influences Autistic Interests
Our results indicate that the history of speech acquisition influences the report of intense interests. Autistic adults who had a history of speech onset delay report their interest using terms that predominantly refer to the perceptual dimension. In contrast, autistic adults with a typical speech acquisition history emphasize the thematic aspects of their interests, using terminology mostly related to the verbal expression of their semantic content. AS-SOD people used a priori defined perceptual descriptors more often than thematic ones, whereas the opposite was true for AS-NoSOD participants.
The question arises to what extent the perceptual versus thematic dominance of the descriptors for autistic interest reflects deep differences between the nature of these interests. Both autistic subgroups were matched based on their score on the Raven Progressive Matrices. Thus, the limitation in verbal complexity evident in the AS-SOD group relative to the AS-NoSOD is unrelated to the complexity of the operations performed on the material of interest. Furthermore, the thematic versus perceptual dominance in the participants discourse, as well as for the grammatical complexity of language used, was independent of their current verbal knowledge as estimated by the EVIP.
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Talks Later Than Most Kids
It’s true that many children with autism are late talkers. Some never learn to talk at all. But if your child develops normally except for not yet using spoken words, autism is not the likely problem.
Speech delays can be the result of many factors. Your child may have hearing problems or other issues that impact the brain such as aphasia.
The pace at which children develop language skills can also differ. Many of these issues can be treated or even cured.
Meanwhile, there is a good chance that your child’s speech will progress in its own time just fine. But if this issue persists, talking with your child’s health care provider can help address these delays in a timely manner.
Autism Signs: Communication/language Development
- Lack of or poor eye contact. As stated above; the lack of eye contact is a strong indication of autism. When a toddler makes a request such as stating more, or reaching for an object the toddler should be making eye contact to make sure they have your attention. If this is not happening, this is cause for concern.
- Lack of conversation skills. The toddler with autism may have a difficult time starting or maintaining a conversation.
- The way that a toddler speaks may be abnormal in their tone or rhythm. For example, the child may speak with a sing song voice or a robot like speech.
- Talking begins after the age of two. By two years of age a child should be saying at least one word statements.
- A toddler may repeat words or phrases verbatim that they have heard; yet they may not understand how to use the words or what the words mean. Toddlers often repeat everything they hear; however, they should pass through this phase and begin creating their own statements with the words they have learned. Also, they should use the words to initiate their own conversations.
- Losing previously acquired skills or language. If at anytime a toddler seems to lose skills, a parent should have them screened.
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