Many people with ASDs have difficulties understanding speech and/or speaking. As with all aspects of ASD, the abilities of children on the spectrum vary vastly; some are completely verbally fluent while others cannot speak at all. However, all children on the spectrum have some degree of difficulty with communication. Thus, speech therapy can be very helpful for a large number of people with ASD. The following information is a teaching method to help the non-verbal or less verbal individuals with ASD to become better speakers.

 

The first step of the autism speech therapy is for you to find an object of great interest to your child. This object must be something so desirable that the child will be willing to make the effort to speak and verbally demand your attention during training. It is better to present an actual object rather than a picture or more abstract representation of an object. Most children who have autism take things very literally, so if you present to your child a picture of his interest, it may not trigger the same response as actually seeing their object of interest. This could also slow down the learning process, so abstract representations should be avoided.

 

Next, while holding the object where your child can see it, slowly say ONLY the name of the object to your child over and over again. Be sure to enunciate the word well, so that the child can learn to say the word properly. It is important that you say only the name of the object, because saying other words as well might confuse the child. In the beginning, it may be difficult to get your child to say anything, and the child may even cope with frustration by throwing tantrums or misbehaving. However, it is important that you do not give in to him. His or her misbehavior must not be rewarded. You must be strict in this training process in order for your child to realize that the only way to acquire the object is to speak. At the same time, don’t be too strict! In the beginning, just like any child learning how to speak, your child will struggle to pronounce the word correctly. The point of the exercise is to get him to begin to use words to ask for what he wants. In time and with repetitive practice, he will begin to pronounce the word with greater ability.

After your child has developed the ability to imitate a few words, it is time to help him say these words spontaneously. Find an object of interest that the child can easily name. Next, hold the object in front of the child, and wait to see if the child will name the object on his or her own. If your child does not say the word immediately, say the word a few times and see if he or she will then say the word on their own. It is important that you wait about fifteen to twenty seconds in between each time you recite the word in order to give your child enough of an opportunity to say the word. Don’t worry too much if your child mixes up one word with another, for now it’s good enough that he is attempting to speak at all. 

 

Making this activity interactive will speed up the process of this exercise and broaden your child’s development. You and your child should actively play with these objects in order for your child to learn the proper way to use them. Parents should also focus on activities that encourage sharing and turn-taking so the child will begin to learn how to play with other children. Now, here comes the fun part! At this point of the development, where your child has the ability to say a good amount of words on their own, you can begin to teach him or her how to string multiple words together. A parent should begin with very simple, frequently useful word combinations to jumpstart their child into this habit. For example, you can teach your child how to put the word “more” in front of another word your child has become comfortable saying to teach him to ask for more of a desired thing.

 

Example: “More Cookies”

 

To start things off, place a cookie in the child’s hand, and while holding a handful of cookies in front of him or her, say, “More Cookies” over and over again to model the phrase for your child. If he or she responds by saying “more cookies,” hand him or her another cookie in order to reinforce the idea that this word combination is the secret code for getting more cookies. As time goes on, gradually reduce the frequency with which you say “more cookies” and leave longer waiting periods between each time you say the phrase to your child. This will allow your child some time to attempt to say the words on his or her own. Once the child seems to be catching on, hold a bag of cookies in front of them, and see if they will say the word “cookie” to ask for one. If so, reward him or her with one cookie. After the child has finished the cookie, shake the bag of cookies in front of him or her to see if they will say, “more cookies” to demand another one. If the transition to spontaneously requesting cookies is not happening as smoothly as planned, don’t be discouraged, just keep back-tracking and applying the same strategies repeatedly until the child develops the skills. Remember: Don’t be too picky! Each attempt to say these words is a good sign and needs to be rewarded and reinforced appropriately. And in this case, it should be MORE COOKIES!

 

There are plenty of ways to teach the child how to ask questions as well. A great game to start off with is a game called, “What’s that?” Start by putting some of your child’s favorite objects (some of those the child knows the names of) into a large, opaque bag. (Make sure your child sees you putting these items into the bag.) Show the bag to your child, and say, “What’s that?” Keep saying “What’s that?” until your child can say the phrase on their own. Once they have said the phrase, pull one of the objects out of the bag and show it to him or her. If the child asks “What’s that?” pull out the next item, and keep going as long as the child keeps asking the question. This game also gives parents and caretakers the opportunity to familiarize the child with some new objects. Once the child has gotten the hang of the exercise, you can replace the objects in the bag with a few new items to keep the game exciting.

 

The trick for teaching questions is for parents to be creative and think of some of their own techniques for teaching their child how to learn and use other initiating questions. Some ideas are below:

 

Hide one of your child’s favorite toys and create a game that encourages him or her to find it. For example, you can hide an action figure, and ask your child, “Where is it?” Answer your own question (for example: “Behind the couch!”). Then, go behind the couch and bring out the toy. You can play this game with a number of different objects that your child likes, hiding these objects in a number of different places. Once he or she seems to understand the rules of the game, you and your child should switch roles. Encourage your child to initiate the toy search game. Once your child begins to understand how to play the game, he or she will be eager to do so.  As long as the hidden object is something that your child greatly desires, he or she will be motivated to find it.

 

 “How to ask, Whose?”

 

Begin by choosing one of your child’s favorite toys or objects, and ask the question “Whose is it?” over and over again until your child gets comfortable asking the question all by himself or herself. Once the child asks this question, the parent should respond by saying “Mine!” (Note: A parent must train their child to say “Mine” instead of “Yours,” at first, so that their child can learn how to refer to himself or herself when they are asked this same question). Once you have modeled the question, “Whose is it?” to your child enough times and he or she is able to ask the question on their own, you can begin to use their own belongings or the belongings of others, and respond to the question “Whose is it?” with, “Yours,” or with the name of any other person who owns the object. In the beginning, however, it is most important that your child understands that their own belongings belong to them.

 

Note: These tactics are only simple ways to introduce autism communication training in the home, and do not represent the entirety of what speech therapy is. In order for a child to get a well rounded, proper training in speech therapy, the child need to see a speech therapist.

 

[Koegel, Lynn Kern Ph.D. and Lazebnik, Claire. Overcoming Autism. New York: Penguin Books, 2004. pp. 41-56]