I was wondering if this develpmental delay would be consistant with high functioning autism or aperger's. I've asked a few people and most don't really know:
Having normal developing speech until 1 1/2 - 2 years old, then completely losing ability to talk until age 4. And then having to take speech therapy until age 7.
People who have got the LFA dx have often stopped speaking when having had a normal speech development before that, sometimes the parents blame the vaccines then.
anbuend at this forum stopped speaking in her teens, but I don't know if that's the same as when kids stop speaking when they are about 3 years old (please tell if someone got a better avarage age).
I was wondering if this develpmental delay would be consistant with high functioning autism or aperger's. I've asked a few people and most don't really know:
Having normal developing speech until 1 1/2 - 2 years old, then completely losing ability to talk until age 4. And then having to take speech therapy until age 7.
I guess completely losing speech is considered clinically significant. And when happening this early, before the age of three, I think that excludes AS.
I don't know whether HFA is considered a diagnosis of its own or a form or classic autism or whatever, so I can't check its diagnostic criteria. It's not a unique diagnosis in either DSM-IV or ICD-10 anyway. But the criteria for AS are clear on the no "clinically significant delay in speech" part.
I always learned that normal development, followed huge changes, including loss of speech at about age 2 - 2 1/2 is Autism. It has frequently been described to me by parents of other classically autistic children.
I don't know anything about onset of symptoms of AS. Mom
erkolos: I actually started, then abruptly stopped speaking at a very early age as well. (I was not told this until I was 18 or 19, but it explains the fact that unlike my brothers' baby books which are full of words and sentences, mine stops after just a few words.) The speech loss in my teens was more gradual and involved intermittent speech for many years. People always want to simplify this but it's really not that simple.
Early loss of speech has nothing to do with functioning level -- it's not unique to people who are so-called LFA, it can also happen in people who are so-called HFA. (I don't buy into either category as real, but among those who do, it's not confined to one sort of person or another.)
In the DSM description of 'autistic disorder' it includes early loss of speech as one form a speech delay can take. This isn't in the short version of the criteria, it's in the long description.
anbuend, If you don't mind me asking, I'm curious... What do you remember about the speech loss in your teens? Was it an inability, lack of will, emotional apprehension or something else?