Autism and language development - Bristol Autism Support

By Anna Chimenti, Independent Speech and Language Therapist

All Join In Speech and Language Therapy – www.alljoininspeechtherapy.com

How can language development differ for autistic children?

Autism is a lifelong, neurodevelopmental difference in the way a person processes information, communicates and experiences the world. It reflects natural variation in human brains and falls under the broader umbrella of neurodivergence.

As we learn more about autism, our understanding of autistic language development is also growing, and we know that some autistic children learn language differently from their neurotypical peers.

Often with young children, the first thing parents or carers notice is that their child isn’t talking or communicating in the way they expected.

Things you might notice include:

knowing some or lots of words but not necessarily using them to share a message with you e.g. letters, numbers and shapes
using “scripts”, “gestalts” or “delayed echolalia”. These are terms for phrases learnt as a whole from another person, book, song or TV programme. They are then used at a time that matches the meaning the child has linked to them. This meaning may not always be clear to others e.g. saying “What’s your name?” to mean that they want to start an interaction because this is how others have greeted them in the past
communicating with sounds or by taking your hand, needing adults to work out what they want in the absence of spoken words or recognisable signs
knowing and using lots of single words but not combining them to make their own phrases
Using fewer or shorter phrases or sentences than other children of their age

In older children or children who have developed their spoken language you may notice:

difficulties learning new words, especially abstract words like those related to time or quantity
difficulties sequencing ideas e.g. to tell you what happened
differences in back and forth conversation
difficulties understanding and using “why” and “how” questions
differences in identifying and discussing feelings and emotions

Some autistic children appear to be what has been termed “gestalt language processors”, which means they seem to learn phrases as a whole unit or idea before later breaking them down into single words/units of meaning. The more common and better understood alternative is known as “analytic language processing” where children start with one word at a time then gradually build up to sentences. The line between the two language learning processes is not clear cut.

What impact can this have?

When young children take longer to communicate with us, this can be frustrating for both them and us. We then tend to try to teach language in a more planned way (e.g. with flashcards) and ask them more questions, which is actually the opposite of what usually helps.

What’s more, use of learnt phrases or “gestalts” can lead adults to misinterpret what the child can understand based on what they say, and therefore not realise that they need to adjust their communication.

With older children, language differences can impact on learning at school which relies heavily on spoken and written language skills.

How can you help your child?

How your child responds to these strategies will depend on their own unique development and language learning process, so you may have to try a variety of approaches. Speech and Language Therapists can help you problem solve if you feel stuck or like your child is not making progress.

For all children, we have learnt that language develops best when we:

follow what the child is interested in doing
allow plenty of time for children to initiate or respond
look out for motivating opportunities for communication e.g. that match their particular play or sensory interests, or are a favourite topic of conversation
accept all forms of communication as valid e.g. spoken, gestures, signed or using pictures
model a variety of forms of communication e.g. spoken language, signs or picture-based
back up our spoken language with visual information e.g. objects of reference, photos and symbols

For minimally speaking children we can:

imitate to build connection e.g. their noises, actions or play
model consistent phrases not just single words
interpret their message by saying what you think they mean (when you can guess!)
model alternative means of communication such as pointing to pictures on communication boards (paper or app versions) while you talk
use simple and repetitive games and songs to build anticipation and connection

For children with lots of learnt phrases/”gestalts” think about:

interpreting their message by saying what you think they mean e.g. “What’s your name?” would become “Let’s play!” if that is what you felt the message was
modelling the useful phrases the same way each time, using language from their perspective e.g. “help me”, “what’s next?” or “let’s go”

For pre-school children with more spoken language that they have built from single words try:

expanding their message by repeating back and adding a word or an idea
modelling words and phrases while you play and go about your day together
reducing pressure by avoiding questions you know the answer to e.g. “What are you doing?” (questions we don’t know the answer to are of course still important e.g. “Do you need the toilet?”)
again, using simple games and songs

For older pre-school and school-age children showing this type of language development you can also:

use sequencing words in everyday life e.g. first, next, last
expand their message by repeating back and adding a word or an idea e.g. child: “it’s a bus”, adult: “it’s a fast bus”
model words and phrases while you play and go about your day together, aim for a little more complex that they can use themselves
in everyday conversations also try and use language where you explain things, predict what is going to happen and justify your decisions e.g. “We need a big trolley because we’re going to get lots of food today” or “I think it will be cold this evening so I’m going to pack our gloves”.

Older children may need direct teaching of the following to help them learn at school:

concept words like “empty” and “hard”
sequencing words like “before” and “after”
how to tell a story/recount what has happened
how to use language to explain something, justify an argument and predict what might happen next
ways to identify and explain emotions and feelings including the addition of visual support

The above information will also be applicable for children and families using English as an additional language. Learning their home language will also help children to learn English at school or nursery.