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The first step to changing any behavior is to complete an assessment. Before working on getting a child to talk, we must first assess not just his language but we need to assess the whole child and the supports and services that are currently in place. We can’t just zone right in on the child’s language and only focus on assessing what speech sounds a child is currently saying.
We need to take a step back, take a look at their whole situation – including things like feeding. I have found that most children with autism who are not speaking by the age of 2 or 3 usually also have feeding issues. They might still be using a bottle or a pacifier or they might refuse mushy foods on utensils or be extremely picky. For example, if the child is still taking a bottle or drinking out of a spill-proof sippy cup, it may be reasonable to put in a plan to teach open cup and straw drinking as this may help with vocal speech.
After the full assessment, you need to assess specifically the speech sounds or words the child can say. If your child or client is non-vocal or minimally vocal, it’s probably because you do not have echoic control. This is when I say “say ball” and if I had echoic control, the child would say “ball” with no ball present. We are going to assume that your child or client cannot echo sounds or words on command at this point.
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