BY AIZA DELA CRUZ
MY son was already two years old and he could only utter dede for milk and mama which he barely used, and the alphabet which I taught him since he was a baby. He did not have eye contact and did not respond when his name was called. I guess he did not even know that it was his name.
A speech-language pathologist helped Lico to find his voice to talk and even respond to the shows he was watching on YouTube Kids. It was life-changing and a relief to us knowing that our child can speak but just doesn’t know how. He was taught how to use his mouth and his voice.
Our speech pathologist at the time taught us how to encourage our son to speak and verbalize his thoughts. Here are some of the tips he taught us:
Verbalize everything
The speech pathologist told us to say and describe what we are doing, especially when we are with our son. This was a bit challenging as we have to consciously and make an effort to describe what we are doing. It’s like telling our son what we are doing with our every move. I have to say it when I need to stand up or sit, or when I need to go to the toilet and say what I am doing in the toilet.
We have to name ourselves and use them at the beginning of the sentence. I would say “Mama, is going to stand up.” Using this method, especially when we say his name helped him identify with his name and learned to respond when his name was called.
This method helped my son to identify and differentiate things. It also helped him learn that there are different words to describe our actions. Over time, my son would say what he is doing.
Labeling
We labeled or named everything in our house. Whenever we eat, we name first the things on the table. When we give him the spoon, we say the word “spoon.” We used this method in everything we do.
Labeling helped my son identify the things and what they are used for. It also helped him in asking for the right thing and correctly using them. The first thing he asked for when he was learning to talk was milk. He came up to me while I was washing the dishes and when asked what he wanted, he answered “milk.” It started from there and it eventually led to more words being spoken depending on his needs and wants.
My son was then able to name things on his own and even gave his preferred names to his grandparents, and nicknames to his aunts and uncles.
Singing along
Whenever my son was watching his nursery rhyme shows, I would sing along with it even though he is not singing. When we are not watching the shows, I would sing the nursery rhymes and encourage him to sing along.
Watching the shows many times made him memorize them and we would sing them together. We then progressed to me singing the first part and I would intentionally stop, then he would continue the song.
Singing helped my son with the verbalization of the words and his pronunciation. It also became a mouth and tongue exercise for him to strengthen them and his jaw to pronounce other difficult words.
Pictures
My son is a visual learner, so he learns fast when words are accompanied by pictures. We bought him a lot of picture books and read them with him. This widened his vocabulary and helped him with his sight-reading. This is how he learned to read.
The pictures also helped my son with his perspective on things. He learned that an umbrella can have many colors or that there are different kinds of cake. This was helpful as he became specific in describing things such as saying “yellow umbrella” instead of just “umbrella.” This was how we progressed from one word to two words.
Coaching and parroting
To encourage my son to talk, I had to coach him. This means I have to tell him what to say. I say “milk” and tell him to say “milk” also. We started with this method and then he proceeded, on his own, to parroting or saying exactly what I say. I then give him the proper response that he should say when I ask him the particular question. For example, I ask him “What do you want?” he would say “What do you want?”, then I would say “Give me milk” and he would say “Give me milk”.
Parroting and coaching him on what to say in various situations helped him what to say in specific situations. He was able to identify what he wants and needs. Now, he is learning to construct his responses according to situations.
Fill in the blanks
To progress from two words into three or more words in a sentence, I used the fill in the blanks method, especially if he does not respond to my question. I would first wait for his response before I use this method. Then I would say the first word and then pause to wait for him to complete the sentence. For example, if he wanted some food but does not say what he wants, I say “Give…” and pause, then he would complete the sentence by saying “Give me orange juice”.
By doing so, he would be encouraged to talk and to think about the response that he should say.
These are just methods I use to help my son talk and it is still better to consult a speech pathologist as they can create a program that will suit a child’s learning capability. Remember that each child is unique.
I enjoin everyone to have more compassion and understanding for all children with different abilities.
I would also like to hear the experiences of other parents who have children on the autism spectrum. You may email me at genevieveaiza.delacruz@gmail.com. I am a member of the Autism Society Philippines (ASP), a national non-profit organization dedicated to the well-being of persons on autism spectrum disorder./PN
