How to Increase Language in Children With Autism

Communication problems are one of the core symptoms of autism. A child with autism may fail to respond to his name. He may be slow to develop communication gestures, and he may acquire language skills more slowly than his peers. He may speak only single words or repeat phrases. He may be unable to form complete sentences or may use odd or antiquated language. Even for those children who develop normal language skills, conversations tend to be self-centered and stilted. If your child has autism and struggles with communication problems, use these tips to help increase his language skills.

Instructions

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      Pinpoint areas of difficulty by having your autistic child evaluated by treatment professionals including language therapists, developmental pediatricians, psychiatrists or psychologists. Autistic children's communication problems tend to occur in one or more areas including the mand, or request for items; the tact, or ability to communicate what they see around them; the echoic, or repeating what is heard; and the intraverbal, or being able to respond meaningfully to another person.

    • 2

      Encourage children to use mands by rewarding them. Autism speech experts Marla D. Saltzman and Kathleen Kelly indicate that you should take rewards, such as tangible gifts, and place them in front of autistic children and have them earn the reward by expressing to you verbally what they want.

    • 3

      Reinforce autistic children's efforts at using tacts. When an autistic child sees another child at a park playing with a dog, for example, and he says, "Boy and dog," respond with something like, "Yes. That's right. That boy is playing with a dog."

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      Teach your child to identify common objects around him by echoing the word for the object after you say it. Point to a ball, for example, and say the word ball. If your autistic child repeats after you the word "ball," say something like, "Yes. That's right. That is a ball."

    • 5

      Practice having social conversations with older autistic children to build their intraverbal skills. Start with basic conversational etiquette such as saying, "I'm well. How are you?" when someone asks, "How are you?"

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      Use everyday environments and reinforce language skills throughout the day, rather than in concentrated lessons. Use toys and activities that stimulate your child so she's motivated to improve her language skills.

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      Motivate your autistic child by giving him expectations of rewards. Limit the number of times you prompt him to express his desire for rewards and allow him to make the connection between speaking and getting what he wants.

    • 8

      Verbally acknowledge what your child is doing, rather than simply watching him or relying on non-verbal communication cues. A study by Eileen Haebig, Ph.D., at the University of Wisconsin, indicated that autistic children with parents who verbally acknowledged what they were doing had language skills that were significantly improved over parents who did not use positive verbal affirmations.

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