We have worked with a speech therapist from the time the boys were diagnosed. Our primary way of getting this therapy is through the school system. In the state of Alabama, you can homeschool and still take advantage of speech therapy if approved for services. An autism spectrum diagnosis will get you approved for services. The boys go twice a week for 30 minutes at a time, but there is much more that we do at home to reinforce what is taught.
1. Communication is a huge challenge for kids on the spectrum; it is a core criteria for diagnosis
2. Communication is necessary for social interactions
3. Communication is necessary for independence
Communication is NOT JUST WORDS!!!! People will look at my boys and say, "well, they're verbal..." but I have to remind them that does not necessarily say much about their communication abilities. For the first year or so after diagnosis, our oldest child's language was about 80% echoloclic. We are grateful they're verbal and echololia gives you a great jumping off point but it DOES NOT mean they are effective at communicating. How effective is it if you ask "how was your day" and the child recites back half an episode of Blue's Clues?
When working at home (as well as when writing your IEP if you choose to get speech through the school system), it's important to focus on the four key language skills:
* vocabulary
* clarity of speech/pronunciation/articulation
* sentence length
* conversational give-and-take.
Take some notes and evaluate where your child is currently at in these areas and what area he needs the most help in. Start there.
Tips for Working at Home
*Remember your child learns to speak from being immersed in your home lanugage.
*Watch how you speak. Speak clearly and in full sentences. Being from Michigan, we tend to speak very quickly; it's been important for us to slow down so the boys can hear the full words we're saying and not just the beginning of the words.
*Emphasize (even OVER emphasize) with emotion - avoid sounding monotone.
*Use inflection in your voice and specific action words.
*Avoid generalities and over describing what your child is doing. You want the language to sound as natural as possible because that's what we want the child to mimic.
Use discretion and work with a therapist experienced and familiar with AUTISM. It does not help you if she's got 20 years experience...with stroke victims. Even if they work in the school system, the core of their students could be articulation cases and she might not work much on things more specific to autism, like inference.
Because autism is a spectrum disorder, your child will be at a variety of levels in each of the following categories.
Vocabulary
Expose your child to as many words as possible - by READING. Reading to your child is the best thing you can do for him education-wise. Also, don't dumb language down. Jump on the opportunity to teach a new word.
Clarity of Speech/Pronunciation/Articulation
This is where slowing down is really important. Make eye contact. Let him see your mouth when you speak. If he mispronounces a word, parrot back the correct pronunciation instead of a negative correction.
Don't:
Child: "It's my birf-day today!"
Parent: "No, hunny, say BIRTH-DAY."
This discredits his attempt at communication and instead of focusing on him expressing language, you're nitpicking. It will get daunting for him, especially if he really struggles here, to correct every little mis-clarity of speech. Wouldn't you hate being corrected all day?
Do:
Child: "It's my birf-day today!"
Parent: "That's right, it's your BIRTH-DAY today, Johnny!"
This keeps the focus on the context which is the core of what we're looking for anyway. It connects you through communication which helps with relationship which will make him want to talk more. However, he's still hearing the proper pronunciation of the word.
Sentence Length
Step 1:
When our oldest was first diagnosed, communication was next to impossible for him. He'd stand at the refrigerator and cry because he wanted juice. He knew how to say juice. He was able to say juice. He was not able to plug it in at the appropriate time to get what he wanted though.
We would walk up behind him and feed him the words. In the beginning it was just: "juice?" and then we'd reward him with handing the juice over, teaching language = power. Then we worked up to short sentences: "Juice, mom" and finally longer sentences: "Can I have juice?"
Step 2:
Now we work in manners and try to get as many words as possible out of him. We have a saying in our house: "Try it again." We use it when the boys express themselves in an inappropriate way (like forgetting their manners) or when we're not getting the desired speech out of them. This little phrase has worked wonders at lengthening our sentences. It works because he was first TAUGHT what to say. You cannot do Step 2 if they don't have a hold of Step 1. It's not fair and it doesn't make any sense.
He will still get lazy in his language some days (it's hard work!) and walk up to me, set his cup in front of me and either say "juice" or nothing at all. I will now look at him, smile, and say "try it again." He is usually able to say "Can I have some juice, please, mom?" I will only say "try it again" one - maybe two - times to keep him from frustration. Language is supposed to be a good thing. You want to push your child just outside his comfort zone, not off the cliff.
The best way we've found to work on this is on their terms, in their world. Our day is full of random facts about Lego Star Wars and Lego Batman and Lemurs and tornadoes. One thing about kids on the spectrum is they tend to have a limited interest in what they want to talk about and it's usually not what you want to talk about! That's okay - this is a great avenue for building give and take instead of numbly replying "oh yeah?" Work to engage them in the language and lead them to broader topics.
Child: "Lemurs live in the rainforest"
Parent: "That's right. Do you know what country they live in?"
Child: "Madagascar"
Parent: "That's right. Do you know what other animals live there?"
Continue to build on it by finding out about other animals, etc.
Also, as parents we often know what our child means even though he doesn't say it. Encourage him to give context so outsiders won't see the language as so random.
Child to visitor: "I want to live in Kansas"
You know he said this because he's really into tornadoes and he currently wants to be a storm chaser. Encourage the child to explain why he wants to live in Kansas.
Wonderful Resources:
Social Thinking.com: This is a GREAT site that I'm choosing most of our curriculum from.
What you Can Do Right Now to Help Your Child with Autism. Many of these ideas in this post are based on the book.
It's Raining Cats and Dogs is a great resource for our literal kiddos...and the parents who fumble language!
The Social Skills Picture Book
This post is a part of a series. To catch up, read:
Autism Therapy on a Shoestring Budget: Occupational Therapy
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