Speech Delay Vs Autism: Understanding And Recognizing The Difference
By Leanne Sherred, MS, CCC-SLP
Youve noticed that your child isnt speaking as fluently as other kids his/her own age. Maybe he/she hasnt even said their first words. Could this delay in their speech development be a sign of autism spectrum disorder ? Not necessarily.
While speech delays, language delays, and learning differences are often a hallmark of ASD, a speech delay by itself does not mean a child has autism. In fact, there are key differences between communication delays caused by autism and other types of speech-language disorders.
Autism Treatment Center Of America
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NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.
Please note, this is a per-person registration
Pre-Requisites for this course are:
- You have completed one of the following: The Son-Rise Program Start-Up, The Son-Rise Program Online Course, or you have done Son-Rise Program Consultations.
NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.
Please note, this is a per-person registration
Pre-Requisites for this course are:
- You have completed one of the following: The Son-Rise Program Start-Up, The Son-Rise Program Online Course, or you have done Son-Rise Program Consultations.
NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.
Please note, this is a per-person registration
Pre-Requisites for this course are:
- Your child is 7 years or older.
- Your child uses sentences, asks and answers questions and might even be able to have back and forth conversations with other people.
- You have completed one of the following: The Son-Rise Program Start-Up, The Son-Rise Program Online Course, or you have done Son-Rise Program Consultations.
NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.
Please note, this is a per-person registration
NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.
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Answer The Five Questions At The End Of This Post And If You Answer No To Two Or More Begin Early Intervention Right Away But First Here Are Some Early Warning Signs Of Asd
Early Warning Signs: First Year
Even young infants are very social, so its possible to detect signs of autism in how babies interact with their world. At this age, a child with an ASD may:
- Not turn to a mothers voice
- Not respond to his own name
- Not look people in the eye
- Have no babbling or pointing by age one
- Not smile or respond to social cues from others
Babies who do not have autism can have these behaviors, too, but it’s best to contact your doctor right away with any concerns.
At 12 Months
- A child with typical development will turn his head when he hears his name.
- A child with ASD might not turn to look, even after his name is repeated several times, but will respond to other sounds.
At 18 Months
- A child with delayed speech skills will point, gesture, or use facial expressions to make up for her lack of talking.
- A child with ASD might make no attempt to compensate for delayed speech or might limit speech to parroting what is heard on TV or what she just heard.
At 24 Months
- A child with typical development brings a picture to show his mother and shares his joy from it with her.
- A child with ASD might bring her a bottle of bubbles to open, but he does not look at his mom’s face when she does or share in the pleasure of playing together.
ASD at any age might include the following signs:
- Repeated motions
- Avoiding eye contact or physical touch
- Delays in learning to talk
- Repeating words or phrases
- Getting upset by minor changes
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Children And Their Unique Timelines
While a child has milestones you expect them to reach at a certain age, delays can often happen. Your child might not talk, respond, or act like their peers, and that could be perfectly okay and normal. Your child might simply be biding their time and will catch up eventually.
Though we also understand how this might keep you from getting some sleep. And in that event, youd do well to get in touch with a speech language pathologist to help address the situation you suspect your child is in.
Teach A Child To Respond To Their Name
Instead, we want to pair the childs name with a positive response. They can be playing or stimming or whatever the childs doing alone, and we want to gently tap them from behind and say the childs name. We say, Johnny, and then we present a reinforcer. That can be an edible reinforcer, bubbles, an exaggerated face, or even peekaboo.
We can also do this throughout the day when we are delivering reinforcement. So, the child says push while on the swing. Then we can say, Johnny push, Johnny likes a push. I also used to make up songs for Lucas.
Pair names with good things, not with aversive control, not with no. Start pairing the name when the childs already happy and engaged. Use edibles or bubbles to reinforce it. Remember: tap, say the name, and reinforce.
Is your child not responding to their name?
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Autism And Learning To Respond To Ones Name
Grandparents seek advice on encouraging their grandson to look their way when they call his name strategies from an expert in the Autism Speaks ATN
This weeks Got Questions? response is by psychologist Kenneth Shamlian, director of the behavioral treatment program at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The University of Rochester is among the 13 sites in the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network.
My 4-year-old grandson has autism, doesnt speak and doesnt come or even look up when we call him. Can you give me some tips to teach him to respond to his name?
Editors note: The following information is not meant to diagnose or treat and should not take the place of personal consultation, as appropriate, with a qualified healthcare professional and/or behavioral therapist.
Thanks for your question. It speaks to many of the differences we see in children who have autism. I hear many similar questions from family members and teachers .
We dont have complete answers to these questions. We do know that many people affected by autism learn differently and have particular difficulty with the give-and-take of social interactions.
The good news is that we understand enough about autism and how it can affect the way people learn that we can often teach social skills that dont otherwise come naturally for those on the autism spectrum.
Meanwhile, I can offer some strategies that you and his parents can try at home.
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Autism: Symptoms And Characteristics
Autism Checklist
Consider your child in terms of the following behaviors/responses:
- When you call your childs name, do they consistently turn their head?
- Does your child make direct eye contact with you as much as other children do?
- Does your child look at toys you show them?
- When you play with your child, do they smile at you often?
- Does your child use body language and gestures to communicate with you ? If so, do they use eye contact at the same time as using a gesture?
- Does your child exchange sounds with you back and forth?
Many typically developing children will be using most of these social skills by about age 12 months. However, it is very important to be aware that there is a very wide variety in the way children develop in the first three years of life. Many children who seem delayed at 12 or 18 months will catch up with their peers by 36 months with common developmental milestones and then go on to develop typically. And some children who show significant delays in all of the above behaviors may receive a an Autism diagnosis later in life if the developmental path remains unchanged.
Signs that may indicate a developmental challenge include:
There is no downside to learning how to facilitate a childs language skills and social development. Developmental pathways are dynamic that is, they change in response to the social environment. You can change the developmental pathway your child is currently following .
What to do if you see early signs of Autism
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Neural Responses To Names May Underlie Language Difficulties In Some Autistic People
Laura DattaroSpectrumName calling:
Minimally verbal autistic people do not differentiate the sound of their own name from that of a strangers, according to a new electroencephalography study1. They also have difficulties filtering sounds from background noise.
And among minimally verbal autistic people, those with weaker neural responses to unexpected sounds also have more atypical auditory behaviors, such as humming or covering their ears in loud environments, according to a second study by the same researchers2.
Together the findings suggest that minimally verbal people with autism may have difficulty determining which sounds around them are important to focus on, says study investigator Sophie Schwartz, a postdoctoral researcher at Boston University in Massachusetts.
Typical infants turn their head toward a person who is saying their name at 4 to 9 months of age. Infants who are later diagnosed with autism, however, often do not. Until recently, researchers had not examined whether this lack of response appears in the brain.
The first study to do so, published in 2018, found that autistic adults brains respond differently to their names than typical peoples do3. The new study is first to explore the response in minimally verbal people with autism, which is crucial for the field, says Timothy Roberts, professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, who was not involved in the work.
Why Do People With Autism Not Respond To Names
They cant do it because no one has taught them in a way that makes sense to them. Wont do: At the same time, someone on the autism spectrum may not value social interactions and responses the way other people do. So he or she may lack the motivation to respond the way we expect.
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What Is Response To Name In Childhood
Response to name in childhood is the ability to look toward, motion toward, or verbally respond to someone when they call your name.
Even in infancy, we expect babies to orient to caregivers when their names are called. A baby should be responding to their name by six or seven months of age. Some babies start doing this at three or four months of age. It is concerning if your baby is not showing this skill by seven months.
If your childs hearing is okay, you can expect that they will respond when their name is called. This response may look like smiling, nodding, making eye contact, or saying what? when someone says their name.
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Do Babies Always Respond To Their Name
As parents, we do get alarmed when our children fail to respond to their names. Thats because this could be a sign of autism and other developmental delays we dont want our little ones going through. Needless to say, children also develop at their own pace, and what you might take as a sign of autism could simply be your youngster operating on their own timeline.
That said, remaining in the dark and hoping for the best is hardly a space that parents want to occupy when it comes to their children. And while we can never be one-hundred percent sure of the answer until we see understanding reflected in our childs eyes, it does help when we know the signs are mostly pointing toward a positive outcome.
So, do babies recognize their names all the time? No, they dont. But this shouldnt be an immediate cause for concern unless your little one is way past this milestone. Besides, you can help speed things up on your end by employing the speech-enhancing tips well be sharing today.
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Child Not Responding To Name: What To Do
Many parents worry when their child is not responding to his name. Children with significant social delays, such as those with autism, often dont respond to their name when called. This makes it difficult for adults to get their attention or call them away from what theyre doing. It also makes it difficult for them to participate in social interactions with peers as they may not be aware that someone else is talking to them.
Keep in mind though, that just because a child is not responding to his name, it doesnt necessarily mean he has autism. There are many symptoms of autism that must be present before that diagnosis can be made. Children without autism can also have difficulty with this, especially if they have significant communication delays or cognitive delays. These steps will help you increase your childs ability to respond to his name.
When To Seek Help For Response To Name Issues
The first thing to think about if your child is acting in an unusual way around peers is, Did something recently change? That is, sometimes your child may be uncomfortable due to situational factors.
For example, if you just moved to a new school or a new town, most children will take a while to feel comfortable around peers. This behavior is normal and most likely will improve over time with support and patience from loved ones.
Generally, though, the lack of response to ones name is a warning sign. Be aware that this is a basic social skill that will be expected and required for most social interactions.
If your child is struggling socially, get curious. Your childs teacher or daycare provider may be a good resource. This important social skill is worth investigating.
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Symptoms Of Response To Name Issues
- Hard to get childs attention:Your child may be slow to respond when you are trying to show them something or motion toward an interesting object in the environment
- Questions about your childs hearing:Your child may appear hard of hearing because of how slow they are to respond when their name is called
- In their own world:Your child may seem perfectly happy doing their own thing and may largely ignore the people in the room
- Focused on objects:Your child may spend more time engaging with objects and toys than with people
- Excessive shyness:Your child may get upset when people are trying to get their attention
- Crying when their name is called: Your child may find it aversive when people are trying to engage them in conversations
A child struggling with these issues may initially get along with a group but then quickly be excluded. Although your child is working hard to be friendly, their sincere efforts may be thwarted by the tendency to engage in a way that is aversive to peers.
Signs Of Autism At Infancy
Parents and pediatricians need to be alert to the signs of autism spectrum disorder in children, for early diagnosis. Early diagnosis of autism may lead to early intervention, such as the Applied Behavior Analysis , which significantly benefits children diagnosed with it. Autism involves various behaviors that are difficult to detect and diagnose at an early age. The signs of autism fall into three major categories:
- Behavior skills
Child Responsiveness to Name and Command
Children who do not respond to their names or to simple commands may be indicative of having autism. This sign of autism falls under the category social skills and calls for the intervention of a pediatrician for a response evaluation. Not responding or lack of a consistent response to names rules out the presence of other developmental delays and signals for a further diagnosis of autism in infants.
Failure to respond or lack of consistent response to name and commands does not warrant autism but is an early red flag indication for further assessment. The evaluation of the response to the name and commands serves as a useful indicator rather than a screening test for autism. This evaluation does not identify all children at risk for autism. A child who responds well to his name and simple commands may still be diagnosed with autism. Pediatricians, after thoroughly questioning parents about the childs social behavior, should relate their evaluation to autism.
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