Toddler with PDD?

Question

my son started talking at a young age, at 5 months he was able to say his name(nate) at 10 months he said thank you, bless you, and was able to use 3-4 word sentences. By the time he was 18 months his vocabulary had dwendled to eeeat only. nathan now only has a few spontaneous words. he was diagnosed with pdd or possible autism. I was wondering was there anything I can do to enourage him to speak. I know that he can talk because he occassionaly says no, I'm the baby, eat, and and go bye-bye. besides his behavoir thearapy what can I do to make him talk more.

Answer 1

Early intervention, yes, but in most places your best bet will be a private speech therapist who has dealt extensively with autism.

Please contact your local autism support group, and ask if they have suggestions for private speech therapists in the area. She not only will work one-on-one with your son, but she'll also be able to help design a program at home with rewards and play so that he is learning in a natural, positive environment, all the time.

Good luck

Answer 2

As the other answer says early intervention is probably the best way to encourage him to speak again. A lot of children with PDD and autism do talk early and then seem to lose the ability to speak. If he is still capable of speaking I think you should try to encourage him to but don't pressure him. It would be helpful if you could get him to a clinical psychologist or a paediatrician who specialise in autism. Also try to talk to other parents who are in the same situation. They are very often the ones who know the tricks to get your son talking more. I wish you good luck.

Answer 3

speech therapy, playing with them, and time

http://www.autism.org/pdd.html

Answer 4

Get him a speech assessment by a speech pathologist, you may need a referral from your pediatrician. Eg my son has autism, he had a speech assessment done and has receptive and expressive language disorder. They will work with him using ASL (american sign language) and/or PECS (picture exchange communication system -a type of augmented communication program) along with the language he speaks. How his speech therapy is given, how often he receives it, etc  will be based off of his assessment.

If your child is younger than 3 years old, he is eligible for "early intervention" assistance. This federally-funded program is available in every state, but may be provided by different agencies. You can contact the local chapter of the Autism Society of America (ran by parents and professionals)in your area for learning about services in your community or you can contact a local CARD center (Center for autism and related diseases - usually at local universities) or  you can obtain a state resource sheet from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities, & your schoolboard should be able to provide you with this info as well.

This early education assistance may be available in two forms: home-based or school-based. Home-based programs generally assign members of an early intervention team to come to the home to train parents or caregivers to educate the child on the spectrum. School-based programs may be in a public school or a private organization. Both of these programs should be staffed by teachers and other professionals who have experience working with children with disabilities specifically autism. Related services should also be offered, such as speech, physical or occupational therapy, depending on the needs of each child.

Answer 5

Ask his therapists for advice and carry-over the therapy even when they're not around.

Take lots of pictures with him on it, or of places you visited, and give him words and names of those places and people.  Keep sentence simple and at a basic level.

Model language for him, such as commonly used phrases.  

Take him to places to socialize, preferably PDD friendly.

You don't mention his age. If he is about 2 years and has a few words, more likely he'll talk.  Be patient, loving, and accepting.  You're not alone, currently there are about 35 million people within the Spectrum worldwide.

2 April is United Nations World Autism Awareness Day.

Answer 6

I am going to assume you are in the US.  Have you contacted your local Early Intervention?  I would highly recommend this.  Through them he would receive speech therapy  (they may start off with sign language) and other much needed therapies.  It's been so long for me.  I think your pediatrician makes the referral but I could be wrong about that. Best of Luck.