Communication Problems.
About 40% of children with autism don’t talk, and 25 to 30% can develop some language skills during infancy, but then lose them. Others, on the contrary, start talking later in life.
Most children with autism will have communication problems, such as:
- Delayed speech and language skills;
- Flat, robotic speaking voice, or, on the contrary, a singsong voice;
- Repeating the same phrase over and over (also known as echolalia);
- Not using or responding to gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language;
- Inability to modulate their own tone of voice (speaking too loudly or too quietly);
- Not recognizing jokes;
- Inability to answer questions or stay on topic, or being fixated on one topic;
- Difficulty expressing their needs or emotions.
Keep in mind developmental milestones and pay attention if the child:
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- Doesn’t smile by 6 months;
- Doesn’t imitate facial expression or sounds by 9 months;
- Doesn’t coo or babble by 12 months;
- Doesn’t gesture (point or wave) by 14 months;
- Doesn’t speak single words by 16 months and uses phrases of two words or more by 24 months. [5, 6]
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