Question about Autism from those who knowm

everywoman

Well-Known Member
When a child has autism, does that child gain language than lose that language or never gain at all? I have a friend whose gs had a vocab. of about 20 words before age 1. Since turning 1 he has lost all but 2 words, hi and bye. He grunts and points when he wants something that he used to ask for vocally. Anyone experience this with their kids?
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
T has always gained and later lost some skills. Verbal was never one of them though. lol

If the child had such a large vocab and now isn't talking, it really needs to be checked out. It could be a wide range of things from hearing loss due to ear infection, neuro related, and the list could go on. (I'm guessing if the child had those words the family around it aren't the type to just give in to the grunts and such instead of getting the child to say the words.)
 

Janna

New Member
Dylan did not have then lose. He didn't have to begin with.

When he was 2, he had a vocab of about 10 words. Those 10 words all ended with a "y" (for example, trucky instead of truck, and he'd say jewwwwey for juice). At 3, there was no improvement.

I was lucky enough to get him into an early intervention unit with speech therapy. He did really well there, and by age 4, his speech was pretty well caught up.

Dunno if that helps or answers your question. When we finally got a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified diagnosis, this (along with the social problems) was one of the biggest indications.

Janna
 

needabreak

New Member
i noticed something with my angel when he was around two.he had started tosay ma-ma and dada and all of a sudden it just stopped.he then did not want to be touched or have people arond him.and for awhile thight he could not here.after we ruled that out that is when i got him into every thing i could think of.but i do know that no two children on the spectrum are the same.that is how it was for me others im sure was different i hope you can find a answer.god bless.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
If a child has language, then suddenly doesn't speak and acts in his own world, that is a sign of regressive autism. If it's not that (and that's what it usually is) it could be something else very serious and I urge your friend to get this child checked, both for autism and for other medical issues. 30% of all autistic kids start out "normal" and then regress at around 18 months of age. My son never had the language. He made steady progress, but didn't really speak until five. I can imagine how heartbreaking it is to see regression.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
Any kind of autism can improve with therapy and support. It depends on the child, it depends on how well you can connect with the child and it depends on how early you start. Basically, you give a try to whatever works, the sooner the better. Getting in early to work with a child may do little or it may do a lot. It's likely, however, to do far more than nothing, which is what can happen when you don't diagnose or you fumble in the dark (as we did).

difficult child 3 did not have regressive autism - he simply didn't develop communication until he 'connected' with reading. It is a communication rather than language disorder. There is a big difference.

difficult child 1 did not have any language delay, but he does have some communication issues although I think they primarily revolve around the problems he has in mentally multi-tasking. It's a memory thing.

We have known kids who developed normally and ten regressed. it's much rarer. Do encourage your friend to check this out ASAP. Sooner, if possible.

And if she's panicking about it and in denial, get her to read "Son Rise" (not sure of the author). It's about the author's son who was diagnosed with regressive autism. While it's not necessarily representative (and in my opinion is a bit waffly at times) it gives a lot of hope as well as some ideas to try while waiting for more specific support and information.

Marg
 
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