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ASD moms - need some speech ideas

bugmommybugmommy
in Special Needs

This one is for my older DS.  He's currently in a typical public preschool with an IEP for speech 2x/week, special education 1x/week (for social skills), and OT 1x/week (fine motor/handwriting).  The problem that we are currently having is with speech.  DS has better than average articulation and vocab, but his pragmatics are the problem.  He also still has a lot of anxiety around talking to people he isn't SUPER comfortable with.  So with me he talks constantly, even if some of it is echolalia and at school he is fairly quiet.

We've had dramatic increases in his social skills and language with peers, but the SLP's and teachers can't even get what I get out of him at home.  His new thing is an almost refusal to participate in speech.  As and example, when they are working on "why" and "when" questions he will repeatedly answer "I don't know" or say "I don't have a question".  "Why" and "when" are hard for him, but he's starting to do it with "what" questions and we are sure he knows these answers.  DS is generally a rule follower, so this is really unusual for him to not even try. 

He also won't talk to me about speech at all about 75% of the time, even to acknowledge he has seen his SLPs that day.  They send home a worksheet to facilitate me talking with him about his day, so I know he saw them, but if I ask him he insists he didn't.  He doesn't do this about OT or special education which are admittedly easier for him.  I've obviously tried talking to him about this, but to no avail.  The closest I've gotten is I said "speech is kind of hard, huh?" and I got a sad little nod with him looking down.  It was truly heartbreaking. 

So WTH do I do?  I've met with the SLPs and no one has any real ideas.  They say he isn't really regressing, but we haven't had any real progress since winter break.  The frustrating thing is he can do "what" and "why" with prompting at home, but I feel like the anxiety over the whole situation is really impeding him with talking at school.  We decided to hold off on meds when he turned 4, but now I'm questioning that decision.  I can't figure out if this is a bigger anxiety problem or speech problem.  Thoughts or suggestions?

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Re: ASD moms - need some speech ideas

  • bugmommybugmommy

    I completely agree that he knows and it's gut wrenching for me, so I can only imagine what he's going through.  Off to the psychologist then, which is kind of what I was thinking, but I didn't know how much CBT type stuff they could do at this age and with his language difficulties.  His dev. ped. wanted to do SSRI's when he turned 4, but we didn't feel that we had given everything else a try yet.  I tend to agree with you that it's coming.  Between their issues and my own less debilitating, but equally control freakish, overachieving tendencies maybe I can get a bulk rate.  Or just have it filtered into our water.  Smile 

    Thanks for the help as always.  Could you possibly PM me your board that you moderate?  I could probably use more older kid help.

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  • SobachkaSobachka

    I have no advice, and I see this in our future too. I have some <<hugs>> to you though. Also, as I was reading your post I was thinking that maybe instead of calling it 'SPEECH' call it Ms. Soandso's class - that way you can divert attention a bit from the scary concept of speech.

    Other than that just lot sof hugs to you.

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