As the World Autism Awareness Day (second April) approaches, we disclose to you why speech therapy is essential for an autistic child and how this therapy works.
Autism is a developmental disorder which impairs your child’s ability to interact with others apart from affecting his other cognitive capabilities. The indications can be seen in children by the age of 2.According to a 2018 study published in the journal PLOS Medicine, in India, one out of every eight children under the age of 10 suffers from at least one neurodevelopment disorder.
Autistic children face trouble in producing speech sounds, language development and nonverbal communication. That’s why social interaction also becomes a challenge for them. Kids diagnosed with autism may not speak at all or find it difficult to form sentences. Owing to their inability to express themselves, they sometimes grunt, cry, shriek or make harsh sounds to communicate. You may also find them babbling like toddlers, create meaningless words or repeat what others say. Those who can speak, may sometimes utter a full sentence without any expression at all. The other communications problems include inability to comprehend the meaning and context of words in different situations, memorising sentences or conversations without understanding them and lack of ability to catch non-verbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, etc. This is where speech therapy comes in handy . A speech therapist, also known as speech-language pathologist, helps autistic kids to address these issues.
WHAT IS SPEECH THERAPY?
A speech therapist may utilize different methods to upgrade your child’s speech, language, social interaction and non-verbal skills subsequent to evaluating his condition. These techniques may incorporate pretend-play therapies, singing, typing, using picture books with words and sounds that your child is particularly sensitive to, etc. The therapy may also involve massaging or exercising lips and facial muscles. This will improve her speech articulation.
HOW SPEECH THERAPY HELP AUTISTIC KIDS
The speech troubles of autistic children change. So the treatment strategy is likewise not the equivalent for all. Much like each other health or mental condition, it is vital to get early indications of this condition for the early access of treatment. Autism spectrum disorder can be witnessed in kids before they turn 3 and you can identify delay in language when they complete 18 months. Also, sometimes autism can be detected even before your little one completes his first year. To get the best results, you should begin speech therapy as soon as you can to have a significant effect your kid’s condition. Modified and thorough approach may lower the disabling isolation which can develop due to inefficiency of communicating socially.
Diagnosing and treating the condition early can enable two to out of three autistic pre-schoolers to upgrade their relational abilities alongside a superior comprehension of spoken language. A few investigates have referenced that generally the children who hint at greater improvement are the ones who took before language instruction. On the eve of World Autism Awareness Day, we reveal to you how this treatment helps a youngster experiencing chemical imbalance.
speech therapy. On the eve of World Autism Awareness Day, we tell you how this therapy helps a child suffering from autism.
Boosts social communication
One of the significant things a speech therapist will hope to improve is the capacity of your young child to interface in a social situation. It is the most well-known issue any medically introverted youngster encounters in which they are unfit to comprehend verbal and non-verbal signs from others. Speech therapy can help by working on these barriers that can pose behavioural issues and affect your child’s academic performance too.
Helps your child articulate better
Speech production includes the movement of teeth, lips, tongue, and jaw in a successive request to frame words and sentences. Children with autism are unequipped for following this procedure. Speech therapy helps in improving the mindfulness, listening aptitudes, and muscle coordination which in the end upgrades your little one to explain better. A speech therapist can help your kid to copy facial expression while speaking and listen attentively while others are communicating to them.
Improves non-verbal communication
Speech therapy covers both the features of correspondence: communication: Verbal and non-verbal (communicating through signs, gestures and actions). Most of the times, you tend to miss out on the non-verbal part which plays an equally important role in your communication and focus on words only which doesn’t cure the problem completely. Some studies state that around 70 to 80 per cent of the communication involves non-verbal techniques to communicate your message to others. A speech therapist may work on educating your kid on how to speak along with helping him understand the body language of the other person in order to enhance his speech.
Creates conversational abilities
Another common problem among autistic children is the powerlessness to remain put through a discussion which removes their certainty of starting a conversation. This therapy works on creating fluency by improving their understanding of a language. In some cases, children with autism can also stammer as they try to communicate. So a speech therapist may encourage your kid to use short and easy words to express what they want to convey instead of lengthy, difficult-to-pronounce words.
Improves self-regulation
Self-regulation means controlling an individual’s feelings, thoughts, and actions. Some children face difficulty in expressing their feelings and speech therapy can be fruitful for your child to communicate feelings such as hunger, sleepiness, excitement, etc. Also, this therapy will help him to differentiate between the feeling of calmness and fear.
