Language Development and Autism

Learning to talk is a fun milestone for parents and for children. It happens gradually, of course, but by age 3, most children have progressed from babbling to using a few words to short sentences to more complex ones. Most 3 year-olds can follow simple instructions and can be understood by most people. Not so for autistic children, though. Research shows that about half of autistic children are mute throughout their lives. Some infants who are later diagnosed with autism will babble during the first 6 months of life, and then stop. Still others may be delayed and not speak until as late as age 5 to 8.

Language Use in Autistic Children

Children withautism who do speak often have unusual ways of language use, speaking only single words or repeating the same phrase regardless of context. Some autistic children can only speak what they hear, parrot-like, and may never be able to speak in any other way without persistent training. Children without autism repeat what they hear, too, but it is usually a phase that passes by age 3. Just as children without autism confuse pronouns, so do autistic children, but again, children without autism grow out of this phase. Autistic children may fail to understand that “I,” “you,” and “my” change in meaning depending on who is speaking, for instance. Sometimes, children with autism will use the same phrase in different situations, and while it may seem very peculiar, there could be a meaningful pattern hidden in what the child says. If a child says “get in the car” randomly, he may be saying, “I want to go outside.” The tone of voice and lack of inflection in speech is a common symptom of autism. Children with autism may speak in a robot-like monotone or a sing-songy voice.

Body Language

Body language of autistic children can be hard to understand, too. Facial expression, gestures, and movements of autistic children usually do not match what the child is saying, making communication that much more difficult. Because of this inadequate communication, autistic children may scream to get what they want. In the absence of being taught how to communicate clearly, people with autism may do whatever it takes to make themselves heard by others.

When to Worry

If you child is not meeting developmental milestones such as using a few words around age 1, progressing to putting together noun/verb combination “sentences” around 18 months, or if he uses some words and then loses the ability to use them, you should check with your pediatrician. He or she will be able to further diagnose your child’s language development and may further assess him or her for autism.