As a parent, it may be difficult not to notice the similarities and differences between your child and their peers. While you don’t make comparisons, it’s natural to recognise areas where your child excels and where they may be struggling, especially when it’s in contrast to others their age.
Children grow and learn differently at different times, so this isn’t necessarily a cause for concern! If your child hasn’t started talking yet while their classmates are chatting up a storm, they may be excelling elsewhere and may catch up in speech soon enough. However, this isn’t always the case. Whether your child isn’t speaking as much as their peers or hasn’t yet said their first words, you may suspect speech delay, autism, or both. But how do you tell the difference?
This article explores speech delay and autism, specifically how autism may affect speech. For personalised advice, contact our team at Chatterbox today.
Late Talker vs. Autism
Like any other milestone, some children learn to speak earlier than others, while some learn later. And while some children who speak later than their peers may have autism, others do not. Every child is different! However, there are some general guidelines regarding when you can expect your child to reach certain milestones.
There may be many reasons your child doesn’t meet the typical developmental milestones for their age. If you’re concerned about any of them, whether they’re speech-related or not, it’s best to seek medical advice.
What is Speech Delay?
Speech delay, or being a ‘late talker’, is when a child may have trouble speaking in an age-appropriate way, such as saying certain words correctly. In many cases, other people may still understand what they’re saying, while in others, their language is less clear.
Signs of speech delay include:
- At four to six months old: Not babbling
- By 12 months old: Not using gestures such as waving and pointing, not saying consonant-vowel combinations such as ‘Da’ and ‘Ma’
- By 18 months old: Not understanding what others say, using gestures rather than sounds to communicate, trouble imitating sounds, saying few (if any) words
- By 24 months old: Not combining small words like ‘Mum go’ or ‘hat on’, not understanding simple instructions
- By two years old: Using fewer than 50 words, difficulty interacting with other children
- By three years: Not using short and simple sentences, not using plural words
- By four years old: Not forming four to five-word sentences, difficulty understanding pronouns such as ‘me’, ‘you’, ‘him’, and so on
What is Autism, and How May it Affect Speech?
Speech delay may occur independently or in conjunction with other conditions or disorders. People with autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), may or may not have speech delay or other speech difficulties. In autistic children who do have speech delay, signs may include:
- Repeating words or phrases (echolalia)
- Not responding to their name
- Not responding to other efforts to get their attention
- Using a ‘robotic’ sounding voice
- Babbling in their first year and then stopping
- Avoiding eye contact
Some autistic children may also have difficulty with social cues, which may affect their communication. For example, they may have lower social awareness and not notice when somebody speaks to them. Meanwhile, other children may not know how to regulate how their voice sounds and talk in an ‘unusual’ way to others.
Other symptoms of autism may include:
- Preferring to play alone
- Having difficulty with change, including small changes such as transitioning from one room to another
- Repetitive behaviours and body movements, such as flapping their hands
- Difficulty sharing and taking turns
- Difficulty making and/or keeping friends
- Having strong attachments to objects
- Difficulty understanding facial expressions
Speech Delay vs. Autism
While there are differences, there are certainly many areas where speech delay and autism overlap. However, the key to remember is that with speech delay, delayed speech is typically the only symptom. (If the speech delay is caused by another condition, such as a tongue tie, this will generally be present as well, which is something your child’s doctor or speech therapist will discuss with you.)
As for how their speech appears delayed, this will depend on their age. For example, it’s normal for children under 12 months old to babble, but not for older children such as preschool-aged children.
On the other hand, autistic children tend to display more than one symptom. The particular symptoms differ from person to person; one child may have many symptoms while others have few. If you’re unsure whether your child displays any symptoms in addition to being a late talker, it’s recommended you seek professional advice.
Contact Chatterbox for Speech Therapy
Whether your child is a late talker, has autism, or both, our professional team is dedicated to assisting children through speech therapy. With five locations throughout southwest Sydney and the option for online services in many cases, we aim to provide therapy that’s as fun as it is educational! To find out more, contact us today.