Does a child with a speech delay have autism?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted with Master, Doctor Vu Quoc Anh - Pediatrician - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital.
Speech delay is one of the quite typical signs of autism syndrome. However, children with delayed speech are not always autistic. To better understand whether a child with a speech delay is autistic, please refer to the article below.

1. What is autism?

Autism is a disease of the brain because of the presence of neurodevelopmental disorders (eg, changes in cerebellar, frontal, temporal lobes, reticular activation deficiency, and biological abnormalities. neurochemistry) due to abnormal genes.
The rate of diagnosis of children with autism in recent years tends to increase with the frequency of 1 in 100 children, of which typical autism accounts for 16.8%. Boys are affected more than girls from 4 to 4 6 times.

2. Manifestations of autism

The lack of social interaction skills is the basic problem of autism such as children can't point, have little eye contact, few communication gestures, play alone, don't share, just follow their own preferences, do not show off, do not pay attention to the attitudes and feelings of others,... Children are often attached and pay more attention to things than to people around. Language abnormalities: slow to speak, or able to speak but then does not speak, pronunciation nonsense, teaching not to follow, passive language, not knowing how to ask questions, or asking the same question repeatedly. Voice abnormalities such as slurred speech, lack of expression, rapid speech, slurred speech, very loud speech... Behavioral abnormalities, habits and narrow preferences: patterned behavior such as walking on high heels . lying in the right position, likes to wear the right clothes, always doing one thing in a sequence,... Narrow interests such as: prolonged monotonous gameplay, attracting many hours of watching television commercials, telephone, spinning wheel; always hold something such as a pen, stick, toothpick, paper, bottle, toy with a favorite color or different hardness... More than 70% of children with autism show signs of hyperactivity, unresponsiveness to hazardous.

3. Children with speech delay have autism?

In fact, about a quarter of children with speech delay, some of them still develop quite normally, can reach developmental milestones like other children by the age of 2. A speech delay in a normal child can have It can be from problems with the tongue and roof of the mouth or problems with hearing.
Children who are delayed in speech or development have some symptoms similar to those of autistic children such as poor language communication, slow response to adult requirements... but their physical and mental movements are completely normal. . Children like this can still make eye contact, communicate well with loved ones and move like normal children.
Speech delay can be a typical sign of autism, but not every child with speech delay is autistic. Here are 5 signs that indicate that a child with a speech delay may be at risk of autism:
At 12 months, the child does not babble At 12 months, the child still does not know how to point fingers or does not have appropriate communication gestures case 16 months does not speak a single word When 24 months does not say two-word sentences or speak clearly The child has lost the language skills or social skills already acquired at any age. The best way to know exactly if a child has autism is for parents to take their child to a reputable medical facility with high expertise in the field of autism detection and treatment.
Since 05/05/2014, Vinmec International General Hospital officially put the Center for Counseling and Treatment of Mental Illness and Autism into operation. The center helps to examine and evaluate the psychology of children with autism, speech delay, hyperactivity, mental retardation, emotional behavioral disorder...; Outpatient treatment and psychological intervention for children with autism, speech delay, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; as well as child psychological assessment and counseling.
Here, children will be given basic psychological tests, including Test to assess children with autism or delayed speech (M-CHAT for children < 24 months and CARS for children > 24 months), by doctors. The center's psychologists are experienced and reputable psychologists for many years, will bring the most effective examination, consultation and treatment, helping parents feel secure with the development of their children.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.