“Our team scored 24, and their team earned 41.”
Nick was not happy that his high school football team lost in the playoffs. Nick was discussing the game with his grandpa last weekend. I was right next to my dad, so I listened with interest. Nick had started the conversation which intrigued me. It’s always an adventure when he talks.
I immediately noticed the sentence structure and word choice. Usually, Nick uses very simple sentences and repeated words. This time he had used different verbs and correct tense. WOW. He also used a compound sentence. Yippee. His speech continued to show incredible progress since his chelation over the summer.
Ok. So most people would be bored with the grammar of my son’s speech, but this is a kid with autism whose speech is extremely limited. He can be difficult to understand. The other person must exercise patience to allow Nick the processing time needed between his sentences. Most of the time he uses related words vs the correct phrase.
For example, most people would not dare to ask a person, “How many pounds are you?” The message is received, but it’s not normal to ask using those words. The question, “How much do you weigh?” would be normal question to not ask. Nick was using correct terms, not related terms. The correct tenses and structure are cause for applause too. Nick was easy to understand. THAT IS A FIRST. (Whether that question should be asked at all is another obstacle to autism–knowing when not to ask certain questions.)
Nick finished the five minute conversation by saying that he’ll cheer for his football team next year. He is not going to give up on his team. Likewise, I’ll continue to root for Nick’s continued speech improvements. GO, NICK!
Photo credit: ElvertBarnes
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