How does autism affect a toddler with a speech delay?

Answer by  tamarawilhite (17883)

Autism is often a cause of speech delays. Autistic children has little interest in others, thus they do not interact much, causing them to not learn as much language as a child who asks many questions or is inquisitive. Autism can also make children reluctant to speak, because that can cause social interaction that they do not want.

Answer by  nanook (605)

Autism affects children in may ways and on a broad spectrum. For example, it can be as simple as delaying a children speech or even stopping it all together. If the child already has a speech delay it is very probable speech will be a big issue for them.

Answer by  Brett (7986)

Depends on how advanced they are. Some don't/can't speak at all, while others who are at the high spectrum of the autism field, can communicate very well and you'd never know.

Answer by  diane23 (1167)

Speech and language difficulties are one of the diagnostic criteria for autism. Autistic children will take longer than their peers to develop speech, and often have trouble verabalizing their emotions and other abstract concepts.

Answer by  salamander (408)

as toddlers autism is very hard to detect. it usually shows signs in young children as not speaking at all or very little, and seemingly over intelligent for their age.