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Help! My Child with Autism seldom Talks at School

Problem

Samantha has difficulties with oral language. She does not have any hearing problems, but she is often unresponsive when others speak to her. On the rare occasions that she talks, she never uses more than one or two words. She struggles to express herself through language, and cannot formulate complete sentences. As a result, Samantha appears shy, or disinterested. Her parents have been told that she has developmental disabilities, and exhibits symptoms of autism spectrum disorders. Despite seeing a few speech therapists for help, and trying some programs designed specifically for early childhood language development, Samantha’s parents continue to see her frustration as she struggles to express herself. They fear that she really does have a developmental disorder, and will never be able to speak in complete sentences or include herself in social interactions. (1)

Most children talk more at school as their comfort level increases.

How to Help:

·         Socialize with some classmates outside of school.

·         Reduce requirements for a child to use eye contact and to answer questions.

·         Teachers can use a facilitative conversation style that matches a child’s need for either a soothing & gentle or an animated & lively tone.  Most children respond best to a friendly facial expression with some silliness and/or humor added.

·         Have materials or books present that a child likes and can talk about with other children or teachers / staff.

·         Provide opportunities to engage with others while one-on-one or within small groups at school.

·         Use appealing puppets and/or toy characters to entice a child’s verbal communication.

 

(1) (1)  lindamoodbell.com –Talkies®: Visualizing and Verbalizing® for Oral Language Comprehension and Expression

 

By Keri Vandongen, R. SLP, S-LP (c) who is a private speech-language pathologist in Calgary, AB