Why does my son not talk?

Question

He has ADHD which is under contol but he hardly talks sometimes he stares blankly he takes in everything you say to him but it might take a minute or even a week for him to answer depending on the question. He is very bright i would just love him to talk more any ideas please by the way he is 11 years old

My son has seen a specialist since he was 4 years old and they just put it down to his condition but i don't agree which is why i'm asking for some advice

We have tried taking him off meds but it makes no difference.

No never am seeing his Psychiatrist tommorrow worth a look into

Answer 1

I grew up hearing a story about a young boy who was the youngest of three brothers - he hardly spoke and his mother was really worried about him and had taken him to the doctor who stated he was a slow developer a specialist appointment was eventually made but it was for six months later during this time a new neighbour moved in with an only child - a daughter who's age was between the two younger brothers and the families formed a friendship. One afternoon the young girl sat down with the young boy with a book and went though every page saying each picture and demanding in a way that six year olds do that the young boy spoke the words - all afternoon she kept on at him not only at the book but other things in the garden - when he pointed at something she refused to get it until he said the words.

A few days later the mother of the young boy called at the young girls home and asked to see her and her parents stating how much of a difference she had seen in her son - he had started to talk more and was taking more of an interest in words and what there names were.

After a few months she cancelled the specialist.

The young boy hadn't bothered to learn how to speak as he hadn't needed to - both his older brothers inadvertently had been "talking" for him by picking up everything he pointed at and either saying it for him or just handing it to him.

I know this may not refer to your son but there are some things that neither drugs nor doctors can ever explain - when your child does talk how do you react ?

you have said your son is bright so he must be communicating with you in his own way - each of the brothers knew what the other meant - the two older ones knew how to speak and communicated the younger brother needs and wishes which meant he didnt have to.

I hope you find your answer - Good Luck

Answer 2

Hi, I'm a speech and language therapist and I work with a lot of kids with ADHD and various other difficulties. To be honest it's very difficult to say without seeing him, and I would never dare make a diagnosis of anything based on a brief description but there are many many reasons why a child does not seem to be communicative. I'm assuming that you have ruled out hearing problems such as glue ear etc. ADHD is a pretty broad diagnosis and covers a whole spectrum of difficulties, including social and attention difficulties. I would suggest that you talk to his speech therapist if he has one, if not then his ed psych ought to be able to give you more info - I'm afraid this isn't a simple question with a simple answer, and the reasons will depend on his individual circumstances.

Answer 3

i am not an expert but i have a son with ADHD iv`e never heard of that being a symptom mine used to talk all the time but never listen and he was really hard to understand cause his mind was racing faster than he could speak and every thing came out muddled up the only advice i can give you is never be fobbed of by doctors or therapists if you want to know about something keep on at them and ask and ask until you get to the bottom of the problem and your satisfied with the answers your getting

Answer 4

I have this same problem and my son is 10. You have to really keep asking and ask for an answer right then and there you can make them take longer than a few minutes to answer, well this is what we have to do with our son or we would never get an answer. We also have to give him some sort of consequence if he doesn't answer us, nothing big but something small so that he can understand that he needs to answer us then and not later.
So All I can offer is keep asking over and over and be patient but demand a answer then and there.

Answer 5

I'm the former LD Specialist for Binghamton University. My daughter had ADD and didn't talk much until she was about 10 and started Ritalin. Someone explained the inside of an ADD'ers thinking to me like this....It's like walking into an electronics store that has a wall full of TV's. There are 50 TVs, each tuned to a different channel, each TV set to the same loudness, and the person with ADD has to figure out which one is most important to pay attention to. I ran that analogy past my daughter and she agreed that was dead on.

What I used to do with her is to mute the TV or turn it off if I had to so she only had one thing to listen to...me. Another thing is to touch their shoulder or arm (I used to do this with my college students). The tactile sensation helps them to switch their focus to you.

He sounds as if he's zoning out which is really common for ADD'ers. You have to find external stimuli to get him to switch from the internal world (or TV, video game, etc) to paying attention to you. Then give it a little bit of time for him to process what you've said before he can answer. Pressure will just prolong the process.

Answer 6

Wow sweetie, it sounds like too much meds, wrong meds or he needs psychiatric help OR a combination of all of the above. I know how much you are hurting, but never stop trying to find the answer -- you will, I believe in you. Look up websites that cater to these types of kids - look for support groups for moms with similar conditions. Doctors do not always know, sometimes mom needs to do the detective work.

Answer 7

My son will be 2 in June and he can positioned about 4 or 5 words at the same time in a sentence. He did not commence speaking till about 19 mos., that's even as his words truly began getting sparkling and he discovered further and extra words. even as your son's speech might want to correctly be somewhat not on time, i do not imagine that's on the point the position you have to be nervous yet. all of them strengthen at diverse paces. as long as he seems healthful in all different parts, i'd not difficulty. in simple terms wait till his 2 twelve months examine up and see what the physician thinks. good luck!

Answer 8

Ive gone through the same thing with my son. They diagnosed him with ADHD at 4yrs old, last week after lots of frustrating years we got a diagnosis of High Functioning Autism. My son is now 13yrs old. Check out Autistic site to see if there are similarities between your son and symptoms of high functioning autism or asperger's syndrome (very similar). If you notice there are, find a doctor that will listen.

Answer 9

Stared blankly? Sounds like he's being over medicated!

Answer 10

If he is taking medication for ADHD, that could be it. Talk to his doctor about your concerns. Or maybe he doesn't have much to say to you.