Delays in communication and social skills
One of the hallmarks of Autism is impairment in social and communication skills. Communication is very essential for all of us but in children with autism it can be delayed or slow. Many of the children on the spectrum do communicate by using different modalities but never develop verbal speech and remain non-verbal.
Aarian started babbling around 18 months of age but never developed speech and became silent. This is when he got the Autism diagnosis. After the diagnosis he started vocalizing however there were no words or word approximations that were noted. He would imitate some sounds. He used to take our hand and lead us to what he wanted. He did not engage in any play activities but used to play by himself. It was very difficult to engage Aarian at this age as he needed constant adult supervision. If we left him on his own he would just run from one end of the room to another as he used to seek a lot of movement throughout the day.
We attended the More Than Words and Picture Exchange Communication systems workshops which are also called PECS in order to help Aarian learning to communicate. We were given some strategies to use at home in order to develop his communication skills. It was observed he was vocalizing on-demand within highly predictable routines which included familiar songs and counting activities. I was hearing new words every day. I had kept a running list on my fridge and it was very encouraging to see Aarian was finally making progress in communication.
In the meanwhile, we were introduced to PECS phase 1 in order to teach Aarian to communicate. We were very concerned at that time if Aarian will develop verbal speech so a decision was made to put a referral for getting a speech-generating device in order for Aarian to communicate.
Social Skills was another area that was very challenging for Aarian. He had limited eye contact and rarely responded to his name. He had no pretend play skills and loved to play by himself rarely seeking any social interactions. He never played or interacted with other children in school. He loved Thomas the Tank engine and was observed to carry it constantly and stare at his face. All his attempts to communicate and socialize were based on his motivation. to get something.
A program was put in place in order to develop his social and communication skills. He was given opportunities throughout the day to engage in activities with his peers at the water table, playground, and building blocks center. With support Aarian started participating in circle time at school where they used to sing songs, read books. A greeting program was also put in place.
We started noticing some improvements which were very encouraging. It was extremely tiring at the same time as Aarian needed constant adult supervision in order to engage him otherwise he would engage in stimming behaviors and ran from one end of the room to another.
Aarian started babbling around 18 months of age but never developed speech and became silent. This is when he got the Autism diagnosis. After the diagnosis he started vocalizing however there were no words or word approximations that were noted. He would imitate some sounds. He used to take our hand and lead us to what he wanted. He did not engage in any play activities but used to play by himself. It was very difficult to engage Aarian at this age as he needed constant adult supervision. If we left him on his own he would just run from one end of the room to another as he used to seek a lot of movement throughout the day.
We attended the More Than Words and Picture Exchange Communication systems workshops which are also called PECS in order to help Aarian learning to communicate. We were given some strategies to use at home in order to develop his communication skills. It was observed he was vocalizing on-demand within highly predictable routines which included familiar songs and counting activities. I was hearing new words every day. I had kept a running list on my fridge and it was very encouraging to see Aarian was finally making progress in communication.
In the meanwhile, we were introduced to PECS phase 1 in order to teach Aarian to communicate. We were very concerned at that time if Aarian will develop verbal speech so a decision was made to put a referral for getting a speech-generating device in order for Aarian to communicate.
Social Skills was another area that was very challenging for Aarian. He had limited eye contact and rarely responded to his name. He had no pretend play skills and loved to play by himself rarely seeking any social interactions. He never played or interacted with other children in school. He loved Thomas the Tank engine and was observed to carry it constantly and stare at his face. All his attempts to communicate and socialize were based on his motivation. to get something.
A program was put in place in order to develop his social and communication skills. He was given opportunities throughout the day to engage in activities with his peers at the water table, playground, and building blocks center. With support Aarian started participating in circle time at school where they used to sing songs, read books. A greeting program was also put in place.
We started noticing some improvements which were very encouraging. It was extremely tiring at the same time as Aarian needed constant adult supervision in order to engage him otherwise he would engage in stimming behaviors and ran from one end of the room to another.
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