Autism Therapy: verbal

definition of verbal: Related to speaking and sounds from the mouth. For example, verbal skills are used to talk to people.

No Factsheets to Display

Longitudinal Studies of IQ Stability in Children with Childhood Autism – Literature Survey
Psychiatria Danubina, by Begovac, I., Begovac B., Majic G., and Vidovic V., published in 2009, summarized Sep 21, 2010

Therapy that is started intensely and early may be able to raise the IQ of children with autism.

This literature reviewed looked to see whether IQ changes or stays the same in children with autism. All of the studies reviewed in this article looked to see the effect of a certain therapy on IQ score. The authors found that most children with autism are first diagnosed with an IQ between borderline intelligence to mild mental retardation. The IQ score that was most often measured was the total IQ (as opposed to an IQ subscore such as verbal IQ). Most studies found that the IQ score stayed the same even after the therapy.


Change in Autism Classification with Early Intervention: Predictors and Outcomes
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, by Itzchak, EB, and Zachor DA, published in 2009, summarized Sep 14, 2010

Children with autism who have decent receptive language skills are most likely to improve with early intervention.

This study looked at a wide range of factors that might result in a change in autism diagnosis after intervention. The study focused on groups of children whose autism changed or stayed stable after intervention. They then looked to see what types of children were most likely to change their autism status. They found that the child’s age, level of skills, and parents’ ages were not linked to changes in autism status. The authors found that those children who were improved post-intervention improved in both verbal and visual skills.


Naturalistic Observations of Elicited Expressive Communications of Children with Autism: An Analysis of Teacher Instructions
Autism, by Chiang, H. - M., published in 2009, summarized Aug 10, 2010

Verbal prompt and modeling may be useful in eliciting communication in low verbal and nonverbal students.

The purpose of this study was to collect data on how children with severe autism communicate in the classroom. The author found that even though the 32 students were non-verbal or had few words, they did communicate in the classroom. They did this rarely (about once every six minutes). The children with the most severe autism spoke the fewest words. Almost all of the teachers were able to prompt communication from the students.


The Effect of Teaching PECS to a Child with Autism on Verbal Behavior, Play, and Social Functioning
Behavior Change, by Jurgens, A., Anderson A., and Moore DW, published in 2009, summarized Jul 8, 2010

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) may help children with autism learn to speak and play and be more social.

The purpose of this case study was to teach communication skills to a three-year-old child with autism using PECS, and to see if PECS training led to wider behavior changes. The therapists taught PECS using highly preferred items to help the child want to learn. The study found that PECS training came with increased verbal behaviors from the child. This result agrees with other research that says that spoken words increase after PECS training. The authors also found that the child was more social and played more after PECS training.


Showing 1-4 of 32 results

Teen with Autism Prompts Dad to Write a Book About His Journey

Feb 3, 2012

When asked about his autism, Ezra Fields-Meyer compares it to his religion. The young man explains that he, "knows he has a good memory and likes to repeat things. As a Jew, he’s noticed similar qualities....We repeat Shabbat every week. And we sing the same songs." Ezra's dad said the journey wasn't always easy. His child went from a non-verbal 3 year old to a "son worth celebrating." Tom Fields-Meyer decided his story might be able to help other parents. He wrote Following Ezra: What One Father Learned About Gumby, Otters, Autism, and Love from His Extraordinary Son. Tom says it started when a therapist suggested that he and his wife celebrate the boy they had, rather than the one they did not. Rather than pushing his son towards, for example, playing soccer the way it's supposed to be played, he and his wife let Tom develop his own interests and passions. One passion and talent Ezra has is animation; he recently completed his first film, Alphabet House.

Read original article: Beyond Labels, Raising Autistic Son Yields Treasure


Community Resources Work Together to Help Kids with Special Needs

Jan 27, 2012

Tina Robbins realized just how special her Kalamazoo community was when they stepped up to help her out with her son with autism. Robbins is a single mom and her son Logan is a non-verbal youngster with autism. Robbins explained that Logan has sensory issues, wandering, and self-injurious behavior. As an advocate for her son, she reached out to Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (KCMHSAS) for help. Jeff Patton, CEO of KCMHSAS, explained that Kalamazoo is a caring community and different agencies pooled their resources to help Logan as well as other children with special needs. Western Michigan University provided speech and music therapy. He received his service dog, Denver, from Paws with a Cause. Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center provided equine therapy, while Project Lifesaver made sure that Logan didn’t wander away from home. Tina also gets help; Woods-Edge Learning Center and Family and Children’s Services Respite Program provides respite services, so that she can be re-energized and effective when caring for Logan.

Read original article: Kalamazoo Community Networks Support Children with Disabilities


Texas School Uses Communication Device to Give a Voice to Children with Autism

Jan 12, 2012

The Vantage Lite is a communication tool that gives a voice to non-verbal children with autism. For example, a young student was able to use the augmentative communication device to ask for cardboard tubes. The Vine School uses Vantage Lite to help students use more than just colors and shapes – it offers unlimited communication. One example has a child clicking a photo of a bed, not only does the child see and hear “bed”, but also sees words such as sleep, tired, bedspread, and pillow. Meredith Potts, a Vine School speech pathologist says the main goal remains to enable children to learn to speak, although they understand that some will always be dependent on the computer. Another gain offered by Vantage Lite and communication devices is that children may become less frustrated as they are able to make their thoughts and needs known.

Read original article: Computer Technology Gives Voice to Children with Autism


911 Operators Learn Skills to Dealing with Autism

Nov 24, 2011

Monmouth County (NJ) 911 public safely operators have received five hours of training in how to deal with calls regarding people with autism. Sheriff Shaun Golden explains, “They must be equipped with information on autism, so they can effectively assist the caller and prepare first responders about the emergency situation involving an individual with autism.” The training includes topic such as what questions to ask the caller, finding out if the person in need is verbal or non-verbal, how the person interacts with strangers, and are there unusual behaviors to be aware of. The goal is for the 911 operators to pass along as much information as possible to first responders.

Read original article: Autism Awareness Key for Telecommunicators


Showing 1-4 of 70 results


Please comment on this autism topic.

Responding to relationship development intervention (RDI)

Jan 6, 2012 by Anonymous

I am a parent of an 18 yr. old young man with ASD who we have been doing RDI with for the past 3 years. Once we began the program his life and ours changed. He now initiates conversation with us - true conversation, with give and take, perspective sharing, observations are related and my interests considered. He is much more other-focused and considerate. Outbursts and anti-social behaviors have been significantly decreased. Our household is so much more calm and life normalized. His ability to make study us during communication (total body language - faces, posture, tone - not just the words said) and approrpriately respond and interpret this non-verbal aspect of language is really imporved and remarked upon by family/friends and teachers. He is able to do this on his own, no prompting, no scripting - it is becoming "normal" and happening as expected. We are completely satisfied with this program and while costly, it has delivered the results where others haven't. It really changed his life. I work in Special Olympics and have a control group to compare him and this intervention against as a result. His progress compared against his peers (same age/ school experiences/ but different interventions) is significantly better. We very much look forward to how far he can go.



Horseback riding is a great tool!

Dec 13, 2011 by Anonymous

Andrew (7 years old) has been riding since he was 3 years old.  He enjoys the trotting on the horse and I believes it helps him tone down his verbal scripting.  The motion of the horse calms and relaxies him.  He likes to ride backwards and lays his head on the horse's rump.  He rides the horses at LaDawn  Therapeutic Riding Center in Dayton, Maine and they have an indoor riding facility,  outdoor ring and outdoor sensory trail to keep him on his toes for the entire year...no breaks for winter months. I highly recommend therapeutic riding!


Horseback riding is a great tool!

Dec 13, 2011 by Anonymous

Andrew (7 years old) has been riding since he was 3 years old.  He enjoys the trotting on the horse and I believes it helphit one down his verbal scripting.  The motion of the horse calms and relaxies him.  He likes to ride backwards and lays his head on the horse's rump.  He rides the horses at LaDawn  Therapeutic Riding Center in Dayton, Maine and they have an indoor riding facility,  outdoor ring and outdoor sensory trail to keep him on his toes for the entire year...no breaks for winter months. I highly recommend therapeutic riding!


Responding to Tenex - Intuniv (guanfacine)

Sep 30, 2011 by Anonymous

We've used Tenex since my son was almost 4 in combination with Abilify (which we recently stopped). He is 8 now and weighs 125 lbs and is almost 5ft tall.. It has been amazing in helping him with the hyperactivity without sedating him or him a zombie. We tried the extended release version (Intuniv) but my son processes things very quickly and it didnt work well for us. We have found that giving him 1mg 2x per day and 2mg at bedtime with Melatonin (5mg) have increased his sleep. One thing to note about Melatonin is that it can cause night terrors so if thats happening you may need to switch to something else. Im not sure that using benadryl long term is good for our kids but you do what works and the dr is ok with. We also keep on hand ativan (he tends to have issues with anxiety ie drs appts, grocery shopping etc.) and clonazepam for long trips and severe aggression. The ativan and clonazepam are used sparingly. My son knows what his meds are, what they are for and can tell us if he needs something (he is rx'ed the tenex for am, lunch and bed but if he doesnt need it then he doesnt take the noon dose). Its been a long road to get him from non-verbal to verbal (still some delays but he can hold a conversation) and is now actaully quite social. His medications help allow him to be who he really is and dont just mask the problems that he has.


Showing 1-4 of 36 results

Please comment on verbal or other autism therapy topics.

  • Factsheet
  • Research
  • News
  • Comments.
    • Share |