I am fourteen and my brother is seven. Me and my sister are what people say "normal" because we don't have any learning difficulties and live a perfectly "normal" life. My brother on the other hand has autism and he still cannot speak. I have tried everything I can to help him learn but he just moans or runs away. Do kids with autism talk or isit in this rare case, that my brother will never be able to speak?

ylaira

My brother too has an autism. Yes autistic children will take long to speak. He's 10 yrs old now and attending in a special school for 4yrs. Till this time he cant speak clearly but since he's my brother, I do understand what he's trying to say. To compare him with his classmates, he's way far because he's hooked to TV and radio. he mimics commercials and listen to AM band radio 24/7 (even if he's watching TV. So I guess that helped him a lot on his speech. Also he's exposed to different people and treatd as normal because my stepmom is known businesswoman town.

Eileen2005

Hi,

Your brother is lucky to have a loving sister like you. it is good that you are helping him. Yes, unfortunately, children with autism have delay in speech. Do not give up, the more you try the more he learns. He might not show that he is listening to you, but he understands. You should make sure you talk at his level. start by labling things instead of teaching him long sentences. After he says a word add another word to it, for example if he says ball, say yes, a yellow ball. But before he says ball do not say, lick the ball. Start with something he likes. You can look at this book: More than words by Fern Sussman. It has step by step instructions to help him talk. No one like the parents or siblings can help an autistic child. You should be able to find thi sbook in a library. If you cannot find it, let me know. I can give you hints from the book and you let me know how it works.

speed797

autism, depending on the severness, can cause someone to be dumb(not stupid but unable to talk) forever. But that is only the most severe cases usually. Autism just makes things longer and harder for the people affected by it to learn and understand. They usually can't take much change because the get scared of it and can't seem to handle it. I hope this information helps you.

Leefield

May I say
thank you to all the replies, you have all been very helpful and informative, especially Eileen2005
I shall go to the Library today and find the book thank you very much
x

Eileen2005

You are welcome honey, let me know if you need any help. I have had the chance to be in workshops for speech therapy. I am not an expert but I can give you hints based on my experience with my own child who is autistic. Good luck!

fluffybunnymuff

my son is 4 years old and also has autism. some times they never learn. most often if the don't learn the use what is called the PECS (picture exchange communication system) my son just started a preschool which teaches children with autism to use it. it looks very cool and when they get older they can have complete conversations using picture cards on Velcro and a little binder.

some times though they do learn some words. right now my son has some but no full sentences.

i found a good site that is specific to teaching children who are nonverbal how to speak they have wonderful track record for autistic children.

Baby BumbleBee, Baby Videos, Baby DVDs & Baby Flash cards, for your Infant or Toddler

i don't know what your local state is but here is some information i found very help full from my local group.

http://www.autismsocietyofwa.org/Resources.html

they are PDF files so you will need adobe or foxit

hope this helps some

waqseua

Because of the nature of autism, it is usually difficult for a young child to form a satisfying relationship with a brother or sister who has the disorder. For example, child's attempts to play with his/her brother are probably rebuffed by his ignoring her, fall flat because of his lack of play skills, or end abruptly because his tantrums are frightening. How many of us would keep trying to form a friendship with someone who turned her back when we spoke to her, or, even worse, seemed angry when we approached?

It is not surprising that young children may become discouraged by the reactions they encounter and seek their playmates elsewhere.

The good news is that young children can be taught simple skills that will enable them to engage their brother or sister in playful interactions. Research has shown that siblings can learn basic teaching strategies to engage their brother or sister with autism. These skills included things like making sure they had their brother's attention, giving simple instructions, and praising good play. One research study showed that videotapes made before and after the children learned these skills showed in a very touching manner that, after training, they played together more and seemed much happier than they had been prior to training

RolloTomasi

People with autism vary widely in their ability to communicate. Unfortunately, some are never able to communicate verbally. Options for children liek your borther include using sign language, an augmentative communication device (rather like a small computer that can talk for him), or use of a picture based communication system like the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).

Statistically speaking, given your brother's age, it is unlikely that he will become a verbal communicator. I would highly recommend your family seek out speech therapy services for your brother (if he doesn't already receive them). His speech pathologist will be able to determine what kind of communication system would be right for him and would be able to give advice to your family on how you can help him communicate more effectively.