"AUTISM AND SPEECH DELAY"

Our child didn't start speaking till he was about 4.  From what I can remember he liked the word, "Fan."  It is easy to see why.  He is emotionally attached to fans.  I don't know why and I may never understand his attachment to fans.  He will turn on the ceiling fan and bring out every other fan we have available in the house and turn them on.

The Birth to 3 program would stop by my house 2 days a week for 45 minutes.  One was a occupational therapist and the other a speech therapist.  I had to deal most with the speech therapist.  The main goal of this session was to speak slow to commands and use 2-4 word sentences.  You cannot tell an autistic child; "Hey, go to your closet, get your pants and shirt on, it's time to go."  You have to cut it short and speak slow.  Tell them "Pants on, shirt on."   You may have to even cut it shorter than that and do one step commands.  Autistic people, especially children, have trouble multi-tasking.

Our son is doing especially well right now.  I think his little sister is doing much to help him.  She is 3 and he is 5.  I also think that having him in preschool and having daycare 2 days a week around children his own age helps.

For the most part, speak slow, short sentences across to your child to help them comprehend.  Getting him or her especially involved with children their own age I would recommend to help them learn how to do things more independently.