Published on 12, July, 2020
My seven year old Son has Autism but although he is challenged by it he isn’t. severley challenged by his Autism. He is verbal but has Speech and language delays interacts well with his cousin who is two but has advanced speech and language. We don’t know what level my Son is working at as he’s school doesn’t record their devrlopmental age but my Sister said he could be working at a two year old level but slowly catch up. Could this happen?
There are many of us who had trouble with verbal language when young and found articulation as we got older (a logic class and theatre classes helped me, along with reading). We might advance in other more right brain ways than our peers. Does he play an instrument? What other things does he seem interested in?
The non-autistic brain tends to use language in a different way. So, technically, how these levels are calculated depends on factors autistics aren't really wired for. We might hear and make sense of vocal words but have difficulty accessing it internally to say what we'd want to - much like being able to recognise another language but not recreate it. So, quick on the receiving, but slow to transmit. There also might be a loss in translation when others aren't direct or specific, or using words more 'organically' and depending on social cues rather than being precise with what they mean verbally.
Many of us think in 3D images and construct a verbal sentence from what we can 'see' internally. I don't hear words in my head exactly unless I make an effort to, and it's a quiet space. The delay can also be syntax - how to formulate a sentence structure. It's quite complex. But often where there's a difficulty, there's a strength and that might be a better focus. Encyclopaedias can help. :)