As a speech therapist, I have observed that Aa some point in their lives, almost all parents of speech delayed children worry that their child might be autistic. Dealing with speech delay has its own challenges, but autism can be even more challenging.
If you are worried, ‘Is it speech delay or Autism’, this blog post might be helpful.
Is it Speech Delay or Autism
While both the issues may be closely related, they are not the same. Autistic kids have a problem of speech delay but speech delay is not always related to autism. There is a very distinct difference between autistic delays and other delays. Most of the times it is even evident to a non-expert; you don’t need to be a doctor to differentiate between the two. This post will help you self- assess your child.
Typical child
As most babies develop they tend to imitate the people around them; to communicate their emotions or needs. They may smile, hug, tug on your pants/sleeves, talk in their baby language, point or work on different expressions to make their point to their elders. A typical child is motivated by the responses he gets on his efforts. He is more inclined towards people and gets bored easily when left alone. They observe people more than things around them.
A child showing early signs of Autism
One of the very first signs I notice when kids are brought to me for a checkup is whether they are pointing at things or not. Not being able to point is a big red flag for autism. All these characteristics are not typical of an autistic child. An autistic child observes things more than people and is more content with himself than people around him. Autistic children have a harder time communicating whether it’s verbal or non-verbal communication. They’d rather keep to themselves.
A speech delayed child might have problems communicating verbally, but his non-verbal communication skills are often more advanced than his peers.
Autistic speech delay
A speech delayed child, two years of age, is able to let his parents know of his emotions and needs through other gestures or body postures. A speech delayed child enjoys playtime with his siblings, fighting with them; hugging and kissing his parents but is not able to form words. This could be a result of hearing loss, apraxia of speech or cognitive challenges.
On the other hand, if a child learns few words but does not know how to communicate them with his social environment or he is not able to make his parents understand his needs then he is showing early signs of autism.
How to tell if your child is speech delayed or autistic?
Working with kids as a specialist I have understood a few things which I would like to share with you so that you may identify early signs of autism and seek professional help.
Step one
We need not only to observe the language milestones but behavior patterns in our child as well. Observe. Can your child self-feed? Can he drink from an open cup? Has he learned basic self-regulation skills to calm themselves after a tantrum?
If the answer to the above is yes, then it’s not likely to be autism.
Step two
Check if your child is showing any other signs of autism. These could be using words for self-stimulation rather than communication. He might be having a hard time or being indifferent to using or understanding body language.
The chart below will also help you distinguish between speech delay and autism:
Step three
You need to teach yourself the science of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) so that you are able to detect early signs of autism. With a little extra care and the learned proactive strategies through ABA, you may be able to help the child recover and lead a normal life.
Conclusion
Speech delay is not the only sign of autism. Kids with speech delay may have a hard time communicating with his social environment even as he gets older but it is probably not autism. Though it’s best to consult a pediatrician and evaluate your child so that therapy for speech delay can be initiated.
I hope this article will help you to detect whether ‘it is speech delay or autism’. If you notice your is different and you are unable to cope with it and these strategies aren’t also helping, I would love to help you determine your child’s individual needs. Please reach out to set up a free consultation. We are here to support you as you help your child blossom!
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If you enjoyed reading Is it speech delay or autism, you might also enjoy reading:
Did I Cause My Child Speech Delay
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