Re: Loss of language

[Guest guest]

That sounds like Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. Some people think it is

a seizure disorder. I don't know much about it...my daughter has PDD-NOS.

Take care,

H, mommy to 3 1/2 yrs, PDD; and 2 yrs, NT

Loss of language

>

>

> Hello all,

>

> Lorna Wing is convinced that, before autistic children lose all their

> language (as my eight-year-old son, ny, did at about two-and-a-half),

> they were not actually employing language in a socially meaningful way.

>

> I have been trying to look back (very difficult!) to remember exactly

> how ny used language. He was good at understanding labels (names of

> objects, or parts of the body). I know that, when we asked him " Where's

> ny's nose? " or " Where's Daddy's ear? " he would touch his nose or my

ear

> without a problem.

>

> In terms of speech, he would stop unprompted at a street sign and read

> out the letters correctly (could be what is sometimes known as

hyperlexia).

> He had a gloriously accurate imitation of the Cookie Monster from " Sesane

> Street. " And whenever the neighbour came into the garden, ny would

> shout out " Dave " (the neighbour's name).

>

> It is very hard to remember whether ny put words together in

> anything like what Lorna Wing would recognise as a socially meaningful

> phrase. My wife says she recalls ny struggling with the words: " Read

....

> book. "

>

> ny has now lost all his language, and does not even appear to

> understand when we ask him to touch his nose.

>

> Incidentally, a French autism expert, Denys Ribas, with whom I've

been

> in contact (don't worry - he's emphatically NOT one of the " refrigerator

> mother " brigade in France!), has an interesting theory: he believes that

> many very young autistic children may be using quite advanced, isolated

and

> " asocial " linguistic skills for their age - like being able to identify

> letters of the alphabet - to AVOID the discomfort of socially meaningful

> contexts and situations.

>

> I would love to hear from parents of children with autism who could

> speak and have lost all their language. Could you please tell me how your

> child used language? Was it " merely " to label objects? Or was there social

> intent in his or her communication?

>

> You can e-mail me off-list, if you prefer, at

Adam@...

>

> Many thanks in advance.

>

> Best wishes,

>

> Adam Feinstein

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Adam,

My son stopped " talking " at about 18 mo. or at least that's what I

can recall. To tell you the truth, I don't really remember when he

stopped talking, but he never had but four or five words. I don't

even think there was mommy or daddy in those five words.

But one or two were repeated sounds, that he'd do with a game we

played. He has always been very visual, and could say his numbers and

alphabet by age 2yrs. (also backward) That is still a main issue to

us, and has becomed an obsession....the flipping through flashcards

with letters and numbers, the stopping anything he's doing to just

look at something printed on TV or anywhere,etc, even if we are

outside and he sees a big billboard that catches him...it's very

overstimulating.

I don't know if this helps. He's now 4.7 yrs. we started ABA three

weeks ago and he is saying new words now, that are a joy to hear and

we didn't know he knew.

In the meanwhile, we had done some sign language-I said he's very

visual, we thought it would help-and he had complied at some point;

tho he'd use some sign or words-very few-over and over, knowing he

would get something eventually, if he'd stick with " please " or " more " .

Hope this can give you an idea...?

Well, good luck, Cristina-WA

Proud mom to 4.7 ASD and & david 23 mo NT twins.