Child spoke two words until 18 months, then stopped. Advice?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a mother of a 26-month-old boy. He usually developed until around 18 months then began falling behind. He had maybe two words by 18 months, and now he has none at all. We strongly suspect he has autism (many red flags present, MCHAT score of 13) and are working towards getting him a diagnosis and treatment but we live in a developing nation where professionals in this field are scarce, and waiting lists are long.

My question pertains to receptive language. Up to around 18 months, I felt sure he understood most of what was said to him. At present, I do not think he understands language at all. I have heard of autistic regression where children lose words, but do they lose receptive language too? Is this something you have seen?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Many times in autism, the language is not lost the sensory issues, and the attention deficits are so higher that the child fails to pay attention to speech. Language is based mainly on attention and imitation. In many autism cases, the need to express is hampered, and the chance to speak or we can see the need to show is decreased as parent or caretaker tend to provide everything to the child without a demand on his part to express his wants. For therapy purpose, I would suggest you to search if there are not many professionals in your city and start speech therapy. You can contact back if you have any questions.