Autism

Julie - posted on 10/26/2010

work on sign language and gestures ask about getting a dynavox from speech therapy....if like our son his brain has to be retaught and conditioned to speak. They can work with him on that. I've used mouth immitation with our son getting him to mimmic sounds/facial movements. Being nonverbal isn't the worst...there's a 10th grader here that is autistic...he's quite bright but ha never said a word he uses the speech asst. stuff (like dynavox) and is amazing at how he holds a conversation

Angela - posted on 10/25/2010

I have the same issue with my son... everything i've read on here so far we are doing. He is 3 1/2 was diagnosed at 22 mos.. he is doing much better, still has social issues.. up until he started saying the words here and there the simple signlanguage worked best for him..ex. more..eat..drink..no..yes..up..down..hey and bye. now he saya all those words and more and we dont use the signs anymore. He talks our head off but usually we can only understand the last word. He can say short sentences now like "more crackers please" and " I love MAMA" thats my favorite..You must have patience and repeat everything a thousand times.. when i pick our son up fron pre-k he is only there for 3 hrs a day rite now.. but every redlight thru town he tells me he likes/loves.every car he says same thing..i feel like some days i need earplugs.. i wake up at night hearing it in my head but it is practice so we go thru it every day and it is getting more clear the words he does say. It may help if u video tape ur son in his way of speech now and a month later tape him again.. sometimes it is difficult to see his progress when u live with him.. hope this helps.

Heather - posted on 10/23/2010

My son is 6 now and diagnosed autistic at 2. He regressed at 18 months after his vaccinations. He is listed as vaccine injured by the CDC. My Luke is talking now but he has brain damage in his central auditory nervous system. You can't even test for this until they are 6, but it answered a great deal of questions for us. Everything coming into his brain to be processed is a jumbled mess. I can't even imagine how frustrating it must be for him. My son used to scream as well, among other things. Here is what we did and we found success. But remember every child is different.

1. Strict Schedule that is on a photo board
2. ABA
3. I would photograph his fav food and put them in a bowl he could reach so he could have tell me if he was hungry and what he wanted for a snack.
4. On one wall I have @ 30 facial photographs of my son that he would go to, to explain his feelings/needs.
5. 1000s of hours of long repetitive therapies.
6. We had to figure out his sensory needs first in order for him to be comfortable in his own skin before he could attempt to speak again. This is trial and error and changes from day to day. He consistently loved being in the water. This is where he said his first words after vaccination.
7. Lots of prayer.
8. Tons of love and acceptance regarding the out outbursts your child exhibits. Remember he can't tell you his wants or needs. This would be frustrating for any person much less a 2 year old.

Our family is in a triumphant place now. Things aren't perfect. We are now trying to teach this child to read when he can't distinguish between sounds. It's new territory for everyone involved but after what we've been thru I know this is yet another blip on the screen.

Love and Prayers,
Heather

Michelle - posted on 10/22/2010

We did bi-weekly speech therapy and social language classes. They had kids at all ends of the spectrum in that class. It was really helpful for her at age 4.5-about 7.
Then ask your therapists what they might recommend. Ours actually recommended that since she did know words, at home we should wait for her to use one. Any word. "Jooze" (juice) could get my attention; scream could not. It takes every ounce of control but soon we got to "mommy" and then pointing for things wanted. And her behavior overall got better as she realized she had a way of attracting attention and then communicating that was more effective than a scream. But your speech therapist would help you know better where your child is at.

Brandy - posted on 10/22/2010

Hi Kristen,
My name is Brandy. I have a 3 year old daughter with Autism who's main area of difficulty is speech. We are in about the same boat as you as she is non-verbal. She to uses grunts or screams and we are left to figure out what she wants. I dont know how your son is with attention span (looking at faces, adknowledging your presence), but when we started with her, my husband and I decided started working on this first (social interaction) feeling that if she was not going to look at you she would not be able to be taught speech. For example we played games with her where we would tickle her (since she liked that) and would wait for her to look as us in the eyes before we would tickle her again. This began raising her interest in social behavior as she was very anti-social.
In the past few months we have begun using a Springboard device which allows her to touch a picture on a portable computer to talk. She also has begun using sign language she is picking up from Baby Einstien videos with Marlee Matlin. Before these videos she had no interest in sign language as they said she did not understand the function of speech and since sign is speech it made no sense to her. We also get weekly speech therapy treatments at the Childrens Hospital in Denver and she just started pre-school in a public school this year where she is getting speech therapy. She is just now showing some interest in speech and the there is emreging consist speech, but she is still non-verbal.
Please feel free to contact me as I to know what it is like to watch your child struggle and not even be able to tell you if they are in pain. uphouse@lbtdsl.com

Chloe Christine - posted on 10/22/2010

thanks, we r using flash cards and we have lots of boardmaker pictures and we also have visual scheduals as well. now my daughter is classed as electively mute as she will not talk unless she wants to talk. but in saying that she still only has about 15 words she can say. we have speech therapy once a week and have been going for 2 1/2 years now. my daughter will co opperate for about 5 or 10 mins of a 30 min session and then that is it she will not speak or try new sounds or even make eye contact with any body..

Misty - posted on 10/21/2010

Try flash cards writing sybols and a visual schedule, it is really frustrating my son regressed at the same and didnt talk untill he was 4ish

Barbara - posted on 10/21/2010

Please call me at 847-321-0556. I believe I can help. It is much easier talking than writing down everything I have to say.
Barb

Chloe Christine - posted on 10/20/2010

kristen I have the same problem, my daughter is 4 1/2 and is autistic with an interlectual disability aswell. she was doing really great with her speech until she was about 2 1/2 and then it all went backwards from there. we have done alot of speach therapy. we have also done a speech program called it takes 2 to talk and also more then words. we are now learning makaton sign language and my daughter in now 4 1/2 and she can say maybe 15 words. alot of them aren't clear but as her parents we have learnt what she means. my suggestion to you is ALOT of speech therapy and u may find using speech and sign helps as well. just remember u do need to be patient as it is alot of hard work and time.
I hope it all works out :)

Tiffany - posted on 10/20/2010

My son was taught some sign language when he was 3 because he as well lost the words he had previously used. Just a few months with sign language and he started using his words again. He is now 7 and he has a better vocabulary than most of the kids in his class.

Terri - posted on 10/20/2010

this happen to my son.. Did you have any shots may I ask??
My son lost all words after 4th DTaP shot..
Anyway.> PECS are what you need.. They are wonderful!!!
Then when he brings you the PIC of what he wants.. Say Oh I want Cookie.. And he should start saying them...
Also teach some sign language.. IT will help with frustrations....
HE will in time start up again I just know it....
Best of luck!!!
But MY SON had over 30 words.. and then shots lost all.....
over a year 1/2 later I got words back!! He sings now.... He is a hoot!!!
HUGS!!

Kelly - posted on 10/20/2010

Have you gone through child find? They can provide speech therapy and such. ST has helped quite a bit with my son - he said Mommy for the first time when he was about 3. They don't only work on speaking clearly, but how to process language and communicate. I would also look into a book called Relationship Development Intervention with Young Children. I know you may not have a lot of time to read, but I love how they have broken down RDI for parents so we can implement and build relationships with our children (RDI is the current trend of therapy for children with Autism). I purchased the book on Amazon for much less than it would have been new. They also have the RDI book . . . but it's expensive. I haven't gotten it yet, but I am looking into borrowing it from the library.

I was an in-home family support technician (I provided in-home therapy for a mostly-non verbal child). I have used ABA (Applied Behavoral Analysis), but I have seen quite a bit of progress with RDI where ABA fell short.

You can also try pecs and board maker. I downloaded the trial version of boardmaker and began saving as many of the pecs as possible in MS Word. =0) (shhh! don't tell anyone!) ;0) I also know a very inspiring person on FB - Sarah Stup. She is an amazing young woman who has autism - she is also non-verbal. She has learned to communicate through writing.
From her page:
"Sarah Stup, a critically acclaimed writer with autism, is the author of numerous books, gift collections, poems and essays for children and adults alike. Her work sheds light on autism as well as on our shared experiences of life, love, spirit and the need to belong.


Works by Sarah:

Do-si-Do with Autism (2006)
Are Your Eyes Listening? Collected Works (2007)
Heart and Spirit: Words to comfort, share and inspire (2008)
Nest Feathers: A celebration of family, home and memories shared (2009)


Personal Interests:"Because of autism, the thief of politeness and friendship, I have no sounding voice. By typing words I can play with my life and stretch from my world to yours." -Sarah Stup"

Hang in there.

Tammy - posted on 10/20/2010

Hi Kristen, I have a 19 year old son who did the exact same thing. He was totally fine until after a set of 3 immunizations & a severe reaction, he began to regress. We are still not sure if the combination of the 3 shots in one day was the cause but that is about the time he began to change. I got him into the early childhood program at the elementary school @ age 3. He was like a wild animal, couldn't communicate & was very hyperactive, running, screaming, no fear of anything. It has been a long hard road but he began to talk again at age 4 but didn't know how to communicate with his words, He would just blurt words out without knowing the meaning. He was in speech therapy until 4th grade and they worked on communication skills daily as did my family with him constantly. He had to learn communication skills that everyone picks up naturally by being around others. Today, I am proud to say, he is doing great! He drives, has a job at Goodwill Industries, who hires people with disabilities and recently got married! At 3 years old, I would never have thought he would have come this far, all I wanted then was to communicate with him. So, work with him everyday, he is learning things even if he can't communicate with you. School is the key. Good Luck and I will say prayer for your family.

Andrea - posted on 10/19/2010

i agree with jennifer. I had the exact same experience with my son and he did not talk untill he was 5 yrs and even when he did it was little to non verbal communication. His speech therapist started using sign language with him when he was 3 years and even though he was frustrated he sometimes could not get the point across it was still helpful in trying to get a better understanding of what he wanted.

Diane - posted on 10/15/2010

Our son only had about a dozen words by 18 months, and then lost all language at his 18 month vaccinations, not to speak again for almost two years. He was diagnosed with mild-to-moderate autism two weeks before his 3rd birthday, and by age four, he had 300 words. Speech steadily developed over time after that, and I think the things that helped his speech and overall cognitive development the most were:

GF/CF Diet (no gluten/wheat products, no dairy),
biomedical support under the care of his DAN Doctor,
DMG (most kids do better on TMG, but TMG made my son hyper and aggressive, where DMG did not affect behaviors but did help speech),
Methyl B-12 injections (every other day),
Tomatis Listening Therapy,
Home ABA therapy program (his therapists tracked spontaneous speech and encouraged appropriate interaction during sessions with lots of accolades and rewards.

We never used the PECs system for speech, but did have a full PECs set that we used for his daily schedule and rewards system. They helped minimize tantrumming because they gave him more control of his day, understanding what was happening throughout the day, fun stuff planned later, etc. During his ABA sessions, he could choose a PEC from his Rewards binder to work for.

The best part of our experience is that by Fourth grade, our highly verbal son won two blue ribbons (1st place) in his classroom's 4H speeches, including a demonstration on taking digital photos and emailing them to friends and family.

I don't know of any quick fixes to help speech, but there are many things that can help.

Madeline - posted on 10/15/2010

I'd recommend using PEC's, picture exchange cards - you can make your own. My two also regressed and PEC's helped a lot but it takes a lot of patience.

Kristen - posted on 10/13/2010

Yes Karen, my son loves books!!! Good idea! Thanks!!!

Karen - posted on 10/12/2010

Hi, Does your son like books ??? mine did and what we did was buy him read along books and listening to the cd's really helped him talk, he now sounds like an american but hey his talking and very smart, can read almost anything. All the best

Terri - posted on 10/12/2010

Wow.. ok 5 now I know that had this happen... If you dont have a DAN that is fine.. I will send you a message with a helpfull thing we do...

Kristen - posted on 10/12/2010

Terri, yes he did have that shot and yes he then regressed. I feel the same way as you!

Nidia - posted on 10/12/2010

PECS worked awesome with my daughter, she was totally non verbal until 4.5 years of age. But the most contributing factor to her speech, was our ABA therapist! Although my daughter was more behaviorally challenged, the one-on-one with the ABA therapist was more effective than with a speech therapist, Good luck!

Heather - posted on 10/12/2010

I dont know how to help you out. I have a nephew that was diagnosed with autism at the age of three and he is the type that would talk a few words but throw himself on the floor throw fits or beat up his new baby brother, laugh about it and he doesnt like to be in large crowds and always wants his way. \He would always make hand movements when excited and carrys around a catipilar for comfort. He is a very picky eater but we are working on him to eat more stuff. He attends school with a ea helping him and he is the smartest kid in his class for reading he sounds words out but other kids try to say the word. He was diagnosed with a specialist i believe but he is such a good boy now. all i can say is that ur doc can refere him to someone i guess. All i can tell u.

Terri - posted on 10/12/2010

So may I ask.. did he have a DTAP SHOT befor the words were taken away.. I know of 3 now who had a son who talked.. then boom.. words taken away.. screeeeem crying.. not sleeping...
the one is now 10 and is doing amazing.. My son is on the mend.. but ya.. HE wont ever get that 5th dtap shot.. NOT EVER.. call me what you want I am doing it for my son.. for his LIFE..

Shelly - posted on 10/12/2010

Please don't force it. Please?
Talk to your son normally, and let him observe that it's a natural component of life.
I do like the sign language idea - but please don't put him under any pressure. We hate that.

Julie - posted on 10/11/2010

my son was very similar...diag. @ 2 lost all comm., eating normally etc..., speech therapy began using sign lang. w/ him as well as the non-computerized version of a dynavox mach..(she worked with teaching him how to not only use the machine but that pusing a button (where each meant something) would get a response...be prepared for screaming fits and tempertantrums; this lasted till about age 5 or so decreasing while the dynavox "communication" increased eventually he did begin talking (he's 9 and has been "talking" for about 12-18 mo. be prepared though many autistics never gain normal effective communication. Our son still has a communication device/dynavox for school to use (many autistics don't write well either) but generally despite abnormal responding he tends to get his points across verbally w/o much trouble; good luck & God bless

Judi - posted on 10/11/2010

PECs Picture exchange, speach therapy, love, modelling, we had sucess with the Hanan program for communication "more than words". Good luck

Becky - posted on 10/11/2010

Hi Kristen, my son is 3 as well and had regressed speech. I was hopeless at first and felt completely alone and overwhelmed. My son had a developmental interventionist and speech therapist that did wonders for him. I tried a lot of the things they do with him before they started and my son would hardly give me the time of day. Since the therapists were new and always brought new toys and fun things, my son responded to them quite a bit. Now my son is progressing leaps and bounds in speech. He doesn't do well with expressive communication or social communication but is able to express his words enough to get his needs met, so the fits and yelling have gone down dramatically. I have been using some of their tactics with my son, and started with using sign language with every thing I said to him. It took a while but he finally started using some of it. I have also noticed that if I use an overly energetic voice and work on basic things such as "more", "no", "yes", "okay","off", "on" and "go" the short phrases I used the words in would often get repeated. You just have to be patient and use lots of happy happy repetition. If you can, get a speech therapist, they are great, but if not try some one on one with him and basic phrases. Keep the phrases short like "more cookie" and "shoes on". I have also used picture cards for my son so he can tell me what he wants, they were pretty great to. Make several picture cards and use them for everything, food, bath, bedtime, outside play, tv, juice, you get the picture. I even had one for the word no - i used it a lot to try to get rid of the 2 hour temper tantrums. It helped sometimes. Well I hope I have given you some helpful suggestions! Hang in there it's an unpredictable and bumby ride but the payoff will come. Good luck!

Jennifer - posted on 10/11/2010

i work at a school with a 10yr boy the same as your son. The only thing i can tell you is to look for other ways to communicate with your son. If it was my child I would look in to trying to teach sign language.