{"id":572,"date":"2018-11-12T21:09:23","date_gmt":"2018-11-12T21:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidstoysclub.co.uk\/?p=572"},"modified":"2018-11-12T21:14:46","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T21:14:46","slug":"how-to-help-autistic-child-speak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidstoysclub.co.uk\/how-to-help-autistic-child-speak\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Help Autistic Child Speak"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the biggest worries of parents with non-verbal autistic children is that they\u2019ll never talk. They become even more worried when the child hits 4 or 5 years and has yet to start talking. .<\/p>\n

The reality is that most non-verbal autistic children do eventually talk, though not all achieve fluent speech.<\/p>\n

A 2013 study<\/a> found that a majority of non-verbal children eventually developed speech by the age of 8.<\/p>\n

Around half of these late talkers were able to speak fluently while the other half developed phrase speech<\/strong> where they talk in 2-word phrases.<\/p>\n

The conclusion of the research team was that intensive speech and behavioural therapy efforts do pay off. You just have to be patient and persistent.<\/p>\n

So if your autistic child is still non-verbal, do not give up. In addition to therapy, here\u2019s what else you can do to help them along.<\/p>\n

Focus on Social Cognition<\/h2>\n

Dr. Wodka, a paediatric neuropsychologist involved in the study, explained that autism is not a language disorder.<\/p>\n

Rather, it is a social communication disorder.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that an autistic child cannot talk; it\u2019s that they don\u2019t understand the need to communicate with other people and don\u2019t even know how to.<\/p>\n

It is an inability to express their feeling and emotions to others.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why therapists focus a lot on teaching children how to be expressive and interact with other people.<\/p>\n

Over time, they begin to learn important aspects of social communication.<\/p>\n

They learn how to express their own feelings and ideas and how to interpret other people\u2019s expressions. They learn how to ask for something or reply to a question.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a lot of work but you\u2019ll eventually get there.<\/p>\n

Beyond therapy sessions, help your child at home to improve their social skills.<\/p>\n

The best way to do this is through interactive play. Do something fun together like drawing, painting, playing with toys or playing a board game.<\/p>\n

In fact, there are toys (check these\u00a0toys for autistic 5 year old<\/a>) and board games<\/a> that are designed specifically to improve communication skills in children.<\/p>\n

Here are other ideas:<\/p>\n