My,son,3yrs - has just now started speaking, how to help in improve in speech?

Question

My son has been told by doctors to have autism, hyperactive and slight attention defecet. I feel all those characteristics are vanishing and he is becoming normal. He did not speak anything till 3 months back, but now he is using nearly 20-25 words, he is saying abc and 1,2,3 till 10 and correctly identifies them, in a jumbled form and anywhere he sees it. He repeates what we say. He is using only 1 word to communicate like he wants water, he will just say "water". Please advice how can I improve his speech. He has to join in pre-kg this year.

Answer 1

Most three year olds don't speak clearly and precisely, but you can do him a great service by reading to him often. Start with book that are age appropriate and read slowly so he can distinguish the sounds you are making. Run you finger along under each word as you say it so he sees the words you are saying. This helps him understand that the words you are saying are the words written. In books for little ones there are bright pictures to match the words. After you read a word, point to the picture and say it again. Don't talk baby talk to him. Call objects by there names and don't try to make up cute words for them. He will be able to comprehend the words better without having to stop and relearn the real names of things. If you have cable or satellite, check to see if you have Noggin (channel 298 on DirecTv) this is a great, commercial-free channel that teaches all the basic skills. You can use that and their website to help him learn more and get ideas for fun activities that have learning skills built right in. Best wishes!

www.noggin.com

Answer 2

Repeating things back is called echolalia, and while verbal, it is not communication. Interest in numbers and letters is not uncommon in the autistic population, I have met several children who could read almost anything by the time they were 6, it's not wholly a blessing. These kids get so tied up in the numbers and lettters they can't pull themselves away, nor necessarily comprehend the meaning of words once they can read them. It is a good skill to have, but it needs to be leveraged not relied upon. Asking for things is called manding and it is the foundation of real communication. You want to increase the number and frequency of his mands if you want to expand his linguistic repertoire. Every county in the country is different in how they deal with these things though the law varies very little. Your child is entitled to early intervention services, what those are vary wildly but what you want is ABA for your child with a focus on functional communication preferably informed by B.F. Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior. You'd think that speech language pathologists could help you, but often they're worthless. You need to engage your child as often as you can in games where he uses words and gets things/activities/attention that he loves.

Everyone in your child's life needs to be on the same page here.

If someone gives him TV because he screams he's going to scream to get TV, and it's going to be that much more difficult to teach him to say TV. The same goes for cookies and whatever else he's probably just yelling for, don't feel bad about it everyone goes through this just be consistent, love your child by teaching him how important it is to use his words, not by silencing him by giving him what he wants. Contact your local ASA chapter, and go to meetings, read books from the library and get to work on this kid. Lessons that you will learn soon:
Nobody really knows what to do for your kid but you.
No one is going to do anything but what you tell them to do.
If you don't hear/know what's going on, nothing is going on.
There are a lot of thoughtless people in the world.

Good Luck

Answer 3

The best course of action is to have your son interact with kids his own age. They may not have a complete grasp of the language yet, but they are highly adept at making other children talk. Once your son begans to talk a bit more he will pick up the language from you. Enroll him in a pre-k and he will be chattering in no time. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Try baby sign language cards. These have a word and a sign for the child. Repeat them, let him look at them. In any case, where he has a handicap, it will at least help him communicate his needs better either through words or signs.

Answer 5

Nothing to worry. Keep talking to him in your mother tongue and make him learn small words with clear pronunciation. Please check for his pronunciation., especially if you are a tamilian see that he is spelling correctly "la", "zha" "ra" "rra". This as a parent you can spend your time with him and make him learn. Or else call a Physiotherapist who can make him practise the pronunciation clearly. Physiotherapist's charge may be around Rs. 250/ - for a session. Honey is best homely medicine for your son. Make him lick a spoon of honey daily in the early morning as it sooths tongue and throat.

Answer 6

All the characteristics is common. Nothing wrong with your child. Try to talk more to him, answer his questions in sentences play games that involves more than a word and let him interact with other kids.

Answer 7

keep talking to him like u would with any grown up child i.e. be normal,dont try to force him tosay any thing.children learn at their own pace and by observation.

Answer 8

talk to him, answer his questions in sentences and not words, play games that involves more than a word and have him interact with other kids... reward him for saying a full sentence and encourage him to do it more of tern...etc.

Answer 9

Speak correct English to him, don't be like other people and talk baby talk to him. That is what i did for both of my boys.

Answer 10

talk with him corect words