I have a friend who has a two year old autistic son

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QFT.

Just by the way, what other things is he doing that makes the doctor think he's autistic? Is it possible that he is just a late-talker?

Even if he is autistic - there's no way to predict whether he will ever be able to speak or not. A speech therapist may be helpful for that. But how old is he in months, anyway? My personal opinion would be that a 24 month old probably doesn't need speech therapy, but a 35 month old maybe could have some benefit from it.

That being said, being mute doesn't really stand in the way of many things. I had a friend who didn't learn to speak until she was like 10 years old - and even then she mumbled and slured her words. However, she communicated extremely well in sign language and in writing. She was also a good student and an excellent violinist. I know that her mutism and later speech problem caused some angst for her parents, but in the great scheme of things I didn't think it was such a huge issue.

Geez, that's pessimistic! Your friend might consider finding another doctor who is willing to work with her son to help him accomplish all he can, rather than just write him off. Autistics can do some great things, but they often need someone to help them find a way to communicate with NTs (if they don't speak).

Last edited by LostInSpace on 27 Apr 2007, 3:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

They should teach her some way of speaking without a larynx (unless she's not interested). People with complete laryngectomies can learn to use esophageal speech, tracheo-esphageal speech, or an artificial larynx. A speech pathologist should never leave a laryngectomy patient high and dry without a way to speak.

Actually, the earlier the better. A speech pathologist wouldn't just work on speech, but even such basic concepts as the idea that one's actions can influence the environment around them. For some kids with disabilities, they may not realize this until even as late as 7 or 8, and that will definitely hamper the development of language. But there's plenty you can do with young children. For children with a hearing impairment for example, the magic age is 6 months. If intervention begins by that point (being fitted with a hearing aid and getting speech therapy), they will most likely perform academically within one standard deviation of hearing peers. One of my professors is working to develop a communication system for a child with Down Syndrome who is also six months old, whose low tone and craniofacial anomalies will probably make speech difficult. That is why I suggest finding another doctor. Earlier is definitely better, and that doctor doesn't seem particularly motivated to work with the kid, or at least refer them to someone (don't know if the doctor is a GP, psychologist, or what).

What I meant (and I realize I didn't make this clear) is that a child who doesn't talk at 24 months and has no obvious physiological reasons for this may just be a late-talker. If he has a whole list of physiological things wrong with him, or if there are some more problems that are leading to the autism diagnosis, then speech therapy may be appropriate at that age (so could sensory integration therapy and occupational therapy - I had OT when I was 9-11 due to my really severe lack of coordination, and I wish I'd had more of it and earlier).

If the kid is just 2 and not talking, and the doctor is making a conclusion based ONLY on that criteria that he "might" be autistic and he "might never talk", I wouldn't get too upset about it. I'd just find another doctor because that sounds idiotic. But jdoll didn't give a ton of information other than the kid's age (in years, which for a 2yr old not meeting milestones isn't terribly helpful to me) and not talking, so I'm just throwing ideas around.

I'm also dying to know what, other than not talking, is going on with this kid. I mean, so much of an autism diagnosis has to do with social interaction. I'm having a hard time understanding how a doctor could be so certain with a two year old...?

Agreed. I would hope he has some other criteria to base his diagnosis on, but given his premature prognosis for the kid's communication ability, I wouldn't have too much faith in him. So, the kid may just be a late talker. I didn't think kids usually got diagnosed with full-blown autism at 2 anyway- don't they call it just PDD until they've had more time to watch the kid develop?

I worked at a preschool for language-delayed kids for a couple of summers, and there was this one little guy at age 2 who had no speech except for some echolalia- he would repeat "Hi, Max! Hi, Max! Hi, Max!" after we greeted him, and sometimes "A bumblebee! A bumblebee! A bumblebee!" (from a song we sang with the kids). That was the sum total of the language we heard that summer. No eye contact, low tone, sensory integration problems, and no participation at all in activities. Who would have guessed that two years later he would be talking quite a bit more, although still with some echolalia evident. And his echolalic speech was at least appropriate for the situation. He also made eye contact, and participated in classroom activities.