Whenever my 8yo daughter tries to utter a word(happens very rarely) she utters just the first syllable of the word. For ex: fu for food, sluh for sleep, ba for bath etc. I do feel she tries to utter the word completely but only the first syllable comes out. What could be the reason? Does she need oral motor exercises?
Answer:
Thank you for submitting a question! This is a very common communication deficit in children with autism. The main takeaway here is that if your daughter is not currently receiving speech services either at school or in the home, please make sure that is happening! This is more of a speech question than ABA so I definitely recommend bringing your question to one of Jessica's calls, the Champions for our Children speech therapist, but in the meantime I agree that oral motor exercises would be helpful (another thing that a SLP can give you recommendations for).
My recommendation would be PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. Whenever your daughter utters a word, but really throughout the day in general, I want you to have her practice saying one more syllable of the word than what she is currently saying. For example, if she is currently saying "fu" for food, next I want you to have her practice saying "foo." You don't have to go for the full "food" yet, but let's start adding on the next syllable of the word. "Slee" for sleep. Bath is a shorter word so you can practice the full word for that one. This will take time! It can take weeks of practice to add on a syllable, but if you are consistent and practice every day it can happen.
I sometimes recommend that if the child is requesting something preferred like a snack that you do not give it to them until you get that second syllable. For example, if she wants a cookie and says "c" you do not give her the cookie until she says "cook." You will have to determine if this is best for your daughter. Sometimes kids get agitated practicing this way because they really want the cookie and now they have to work harder to get it, but if you think this could be motivating for your daughter then you can definitely give it a try! Good luck!
Thank you for submitting a question! This is a very common communication deficit in children with autism. The main takeaway here is that if your daughter is not currently receiving speech services either at school or in the home, please make sure that is happening! This is more of a speech question than ABA so I definitely recommend bringing your question to one of Jessica’s calls, the Champions for our Children speech therapist, but in the meantime I agree that oral motor exercises would be helpful (another thing that a SLP can give you recommendations for).
My recommendation would be PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. Whenever your daughter utters a word, but really throughout the day in general, I want you to have her practice saying one more syllable of the word than what she is currently saying. For example, if she is currently saying “fu” for food, next I want you to have her practice saying “foo.” You don’t have to go for the full “food” yet, but let’s start adding on the next syllable of the word. “Slee” for sleep. Bath is a shorter word so you can practice the full word for that one. This will take time! It can take weeks of practice to add on a syllable, but if you are consistent and practice every day it can happen.
I sometimes recommend that if the child is requesting something preferred like a snack that you do not give it to them until you get that second syllable. For example, if she wants a cookie and says “c” you do not give her the cookie until she says “cook.” You will have to determine if this is best for your daughter. Sometimes kids get agitated practicing this way because they really want the cookie and now they have to work harder to get it, but if you think this could be motivating for your daughter then you can definitely give it a try! Good luck!