When did your kids start talking?

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Just happened to spot your thread; I'm not a parent so not applicable. But, I'm a HFA/Aspie, and do well so I shall respond. I spoke first when I was ~ 3.5 yrs old. Still, I am partly mute and prefer to write not speak. Apparently amongst HFAs &/or Aspies this trait may be more rare but still exists as a variant of the Autism Spectrum.

Umm...you could watch my video clip to see what, and how, I do this.

Mom_of_Lucas, just curious, but would your son feel more comfortable with writing? If so, I do have a suggestion. Many Aspies have atrocious handwriting, myself included. I use a NEO. You may wish to investigate AlphaSmart online, via Google, for their products and some are made for children! This can really help with communication and learning what may not otherwise be spoken. Sure, one *could* use a laptop but that's arduous to carry about and pricey! NEO or DANA are in leiu of a writing board and quite rugged.

Good the GFCF helps him and other techniques. Just to mention, I have a high genetic propensity to Autism and no Sylvian Fissure which may account for the speech part. My speaking voice is fine but writing is more natural for me to convey.

Hi LabPet. I enjoyed your video, and I laughed out loud at some of the book titles (Autism and Not You was my favorite).

Thanks for your suggestion about writing. Lucas loves the alphabet and knows his ABCs backward and forward, but I don't think he knows yet how to read or spell. At least, I haven't witnessed him doing it and we haven't tried to seriously teach it yet.

In the past few months, he's been spontaneously communicating more and more. As he does, his pronunciation also improves. We hope this means he will continue to use words to communicate, in addition with his various hand gestures.

This morning, for example, he grabbed my hand and led me to his closet. He took out his sandals, handed them to me and said, "sandals. help." He sat down and gave me his feet. I put on his sandals. Then he said, "outside. swing." So we went outside and I pushed him on the swing. Later, when we were back inside, Lucas told my husband "mama. swing." He was telling my husband about what we did! It was cool. And it's a mix of gestures and words. And it's unprompted.

I hope he's learning that saying words = getting what he wants/sharing his experiences. Maybe one day he'll figure out how to connect the words into meaningful sentences. That's be great.

Anyway, I thought your video was really encouraging because you seem very comfortable with your autism and have found a way to connect with others nonetheless. I just want my son to be happy and one day become independent.

^ Lucas seems to be a real sweetie; the fact that he connects is major. His showing and observational skills will be invaluable to him, perhaps in ways unknown to another. I still often point, gesture, and show. There is that maturational lag with Autism but in some ways this can reinforce and make his experiences richer...if that makes sense.

Glad you liked my video! I'm 1stly a Chemist, now in Neuroscience - pursuing PhD. Someday your son will too. Autism is hard, but a gift.

About his alphabet; I loved numbers (still do). Letter and numbers are tangible. One thought....those magnetic alphabet and numbers are great, then Lucas can piece together the words, sentences, and meanings as he progresses. Sometimes I would just make shapes. The Autistic mind is spatial in orientation. Hi to Lucas from the Lab Pet.

Lab Pet, that's amazing you're pursuing a neuroscience degree. Are you doing it to further understand autism? I wish I had that kind of background now that I have Lucas. As it is, I'm a writer and communications specialist. Funny how I make my living "communicating" and then my son comes along, and I have to learn all over again in a totally different format.

About the alphabet, we have the magnetic letters on the fridge. Lucas likes to point them out to us - or we'll make a game out of asking him to find certain letters. Based on your suggestion, though, I'm now going to try to string some together into a simple word and see if I can teach him.

Thanks again!!

That's a good question; for me, neuroscience is the upcoming field of science since it's an unknown - there is so much we are still learning. I am very analytically minded and neuroscience incorporates chemistry (of course!) and physics. I'm not pursuing Autism per se but it is a facet of neuroscience. I'm certainly not biomedical (not that field) but research. The physics of the brain is endlessly fascinating. Firstly I'm a chemist with emphasis in photochemistry and this does overlap.

That being said, I could not be the scientist I am without my Autism. The fact that many scientists, mathematicians, etc are/were Autists is not a coincidence. As if the Autistic mind is designed to think in this way; my lack of Theory of Mind is hard but in science this is advantageous. And my sensory modality (which can at times be a pain, literally) makes me that observer. Many Wrong Planet inhabitants are gifted artists, musicians, scientists, philosophers, writers, programmers, etc.

When I read what you related about Lucas I did envision what happened with A. Einstein (who did not speak until he was 5), and others. Maybe Lucas will like the magnets and colors of those magnetic letters best! Ironic you are a communications specialist since now you have a new way, via Lucas. He's showing the ability to connect which is a way of communication. Another possiblity (?) - sign language for Lucas. Plenty of Autists prefer sign and Makaton is a variant of British Sign for Autistics.

Lucas will learn, but maybe in his own way.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9REhdmJ36rg[/youtube]

My advisor really loves this video (Autistic student).....perfect. And no words to say this otherwise.

My mother says I started talking at 9 months. I was talking sentences by 11 months

I have two sons. F who is now 18 and Joshua who is 16. F has a tiny bit of autism - but not enough to have him diagnosed. He started talking at a really young age, but unintelligibly to everyone but mom. There were many bad things going on in my life and I want unable to get F help until he was three. At that time he was profoundly language delayed. He said things like hhhoat (with a hard t) for milk.

By the time F was in 5th grade his speech was excellent.

Joshua who has been diagnosed with Asperger's also had a great deal of trouble with speech. At first I was told that he was just mimicking his brother. Nonetheless, Joshua needed much more help than Forrest and did not really start talking to the family until he was in 5th grade when we refused to do anything for him with just sign language since he had proved at school that he could talk fluently.

I do have to mention that for a while (2nd grade) Joshua was speaking with British accent. (We live in the US and I have no idea where he got this affectation.)

To date, Joshua finds it difficult to find words to express himself. And has had a difficult time understanding the concept of communication in all forms - except in academic settings. I think this is because there are clear rules at school as to when to talk and when not to.

Both boys are extremely bright. F is 18 and a junior in college and Joshua is 16 has 12 college credit and entering his freshman year.

--Ellen

My son didn't say a word until he was exactly 3. He has been in speech for 4 years and he's doing pretty well. He has a disability in syntax, so his syntax is all over the place but he's getting there. He can get his point across, and when he slows down (which is another issue) he is understandable and has pretty good sentence structure. It's when he gets into longer dissertations he gets into trouble. He is also diagnosed with HFA, but he is way more AS like. I feel that way because I bought several childrens books on HFA and Autism, and he really doesn't have a lot of the issues in the HFA books, but the AS books he is right on. It's all language processing, social issues and anxiety. He doesn't have sensory problems, and although he stims he doesn't do it much and he is pretty good at picking up emotions from others body language. He doesn't always get the really subtle stuff.

Personally I don't think Language should be a criteria between AS and HFA, and I don't really think it matters. I focus on the challenges rather than the diagnosis and work on what is giving him the most issues at the time.
Right now I stopped speech and started working on the anxiety. I think he needs help more with that right now.
You're on a long road, and these kids take their time. It's OK though...be patient and keep plugging away. You are starting early, and your child will bring things together and blow you away...you just wait

My son was 3 1/2 and he had no 'real' words. He said 'gook gook' for cookie and a few other 'baby' terms. Then my mom got him a V-tech computerized type toy that was big and had every letter of the alphabet . It spoke out each letter and said words and it had games and such. In 3 months time he was talking in full sentences. He also grew up to love video games, so maybe it was the video game type element of the toy that inspired him to speak. He is now 15 and he is an excellent speaker and uses big words that some adults don't know!

I also have a son who is one year younger than my Aspie. He didn't talk until he was 3, but when he did start talking he could talk in complete sentences. He was a quiet child and still doesn't talk nearly as much as my other children. But when he does choose to talk, everyone listens because its usually significant!