Autism and Communication

Communication issues are one of the biggest symptoms of autism. These communication issues can range from very mild, delayed speech to the most severe, nonverbal throughout life. In Ashley’s case, at age 12, she is still nonverbal. She says words here and there on a daily basis, and sometimes we even get sentences. But she seems to not have any control over these utterances, and we cannot count on her to speak ever. It was very difficult when she was little, and she did not have any effective way to communicate. She was angry and frustrated most of the time, causing many tantrums. Things got better when she started using a picture pointing system to communicate her needs. But her thoughts were often too advanced to be communicated effectively through the system. And then life got so much easier when she got her talker at age 9. It is a computerized device with a touchscreen that speaks for Ashley. It is my single biggest regret that we didn’t get it much sooner. She uses it very well, and is able to communicate her needs and wants. She is so much less frustrated. She is still learning to use it for social communication, and hasn’t mastered abstract things like communicating thoughts, feelings, and ideas. For example, we can tell when she is hurting based on her reaction, but we aren’t always sure where she is hurting. If she has an infection or medical problem, it can take us awhile to figure out what is wrong with her. I always feel so bad when we realize something is wrong, and know that she has probably been suffering for a while. A recent example is last week she started having a lot of urinary accidents, we realized she had a UTI. We immediately got her on antibiotics, and within a day or so she stopped having accidents, and was so happy. Then I realized she had been cranky for about a week. And now I wonder how long she was suffering before it got bad enough for us to notice. A lot of times it is hard to tell by changes in her attitude because it will just be a slow downward spiral that we don’t really see until the end. Although I am so glad we live in a time and place, where we have access to things like Ashley’s talker, I will always miss being able to really talk to her, like I do my other children. I would love to hear her voice! I know it is so frustrating to her too. It is not always convenient to go get a talker or to carry it around. And there are times she can’t have it right with her, like when she is swimming. I will never give up hope that she will learn to speak, but with each passing year it becomes more and more unlikely. I know she is very smart, and is capable ofhaving a great life even without speech, but what a terrible thing to not have. Like Created In His Image on Facebook Originally posted April 2012