How To Help Your Nonverbal Autistic Child Speak
There’s a special kind of joy in watching your toddler learn to talk that is sadly amiss in the case of a nonverbal autistic child. Watching them discover the world around them, learning to put words to objects and emotions; it’s really something else. When my daughter was eighteen months old, her oldest brother was four and a half. His latest obsession was what we referred to as “potty talk”. It involved anything poop or fart related.
One day he kept adding the word “poop” to the end of everything he was saying. We finally said: “if you say “poop” one more time, you’re going to have to go to time out”. He was quiet for a few seconds, and then our daughter promptly looked us in the eye and said: “doo-doo”. And we all laughed and laughed. She was still so little but she had learned that doo-doo and poop were synonymous and she didn’t want to miss out on the conversation. That’s the kind of joy I’m talking about.
When you have a child who is struggling with speech, whether it be a speech delay or completely nonverbal, it can be very difficult for the parent and the child. You are aware of the milestones they’re missing and they are frustrated and overwhelmed by their inability to communicate their wants, needs and feelings.
Our family is very familiar with these feelings and emotions since both my sons struggled with speech issues. Both my boys started speech therapy at two years old. One had a moderate speech delay and the other was completely nonverbal until he was four. We spent a ton of time and resources on therapy, but luckily for our family it has paid off.
No two children with autism are the same. What works for one child is never guaranteed to work for another. So you may be wondering how to communicate with a nonverbal autistic child. Below are some tips on ways to help your nonverbal child speak.
Speak Simply
When young children are nonverbal, it’s pretty much impossible to know where the disconnect is. Is it receptive (they’re not understanding what you’re saying) or expressive (they understand speech but have trouble forming it themselves)? The speech therapists will tell you to speak in one and two-word phrases. For example, point to objects and name them, like: “toy”, “ball” or “dog”. When doing activities, instead of saying: ”Let’s go outside and play”, say “go outside”. This helps to ensure that your child understands what you’re saying. It also gives them something easy to imitate instead of trying to pick words out of a full sentence.
Encourage Social Interaction
One of the best ways children learn is through playing and interacting with typically developing peers. Spending time with other children who will talk and interact with them is one key way for your child to hear and learn age appropriate language.
A lot of children with autism struggle with social interactions. So, if your children won’t really interact with peers, you can still work on the play and social engagement yourself.
Get down on their level and do activities and games that they enjoy and that will hold their attention.
Give Them Time to Respond
As parents, we quickly become cued in to our children’s nonverbal forms of communication. Although most of the outside world has no idea what our children are thinking, or what they want or need, we typically do. Sometimes, we find ourselves answering for them when others ask them a question, or not prompting them ourselves when we know they want something. But this doesn’t help them learn to communicate.
We still need to continue to prompt them to ask for what they want, and give them time to process and try to respond. The same goes when someone else asks them something. Sometimes their response may be a word, or a form of nonverbal communication; and sometimes, their response may be no response at all. But the best thing you can do is not answer for them and let them attempt to do it for themselves.
Use A Communication Device / Assistive Technology
There are many communication devices and assistive technology options for nonverbal children on the spectrum. While we would all hope our children will eventually talk, it is important that they find a way to communicate that works for them. Some parents worry that their children will learn how to communicate using a device and then never try to speak. However, these devices are designed to build a foundation for verbal communication and studies show it actually helps the child learn to speak. Many different types of therapists are actually trained on how to use these devices to help your child communicate.
Seek A Speech Therapist
How to communicate with a nonverbal autistic child in the “best” way changes from case to case, as no two cases are the same. Still, you can’t go wrong with a speech therapist if your child requires one. In fact, that’s usually the first referral your pediatrician will give you. They have many tools and techniques to be able to customize a treatment plan that works specifically for your child.
If you’re looking for a speech therapist in your area (or other types of autism therapists), we have a free tool that allows you to search for specialists.
