How to Improve Children's Speech Skills with Autism and Speech Delay

On March 11, 2023, MPATI held a webinar entitled How to Improve the Speech Ability of Children with Autism and Speech Delay. In this webinar, Speech Pathologist Ms. Sheila Hadikoesoemo and Shinta I'm Star's parents, Ms. Anita Y. Pratomo, share their knowledge and experiences.

Shinta's Journey

Mrs. Anita shared how she struggled to care for and raise Shinta. Anita's mother told me that when Shinta was one year old, Shinta could not speak and had no eye contact. Then, just at the age of two years, all agreed that Shinta was late in development.

Seeing this, Mrs. Anita took Shinta to do occupational and speech therapy. After being analyzed by speech therapy, Shinta experienced perceptual problems. Shinta's obstacle is not a verbal problem but a predicate. For example, when shown a picture of a plate, Shinta said eat; when shown the glass, he said drink. Departing from there, Shinta did a lot of therapy.

Shinta also has a problem: she still can't get her tongue out of her lips. This causes the saliva to collect (ngeces). At that time, the child growth and development doctor suggested that Ms. Anita have Shinta undergo surgery on the nerve of her tongue. Considering many things, Ms. Anita decided not to return to the child development doctor and to do the therapy herself.

When Shinta was six years old, Shinta had a younger sister. And his sister then became a 'therapist' for Shinta. Shinta also imitated her sister. He also began to interact with his sister. Anita's mother said that her sister Shinta would bite her sister if she didn't answer her calls.

Difference between Autism and Speech Delay

Meanwhile, Ms. Sheila Hadikoesoemo, Speech Pathologist, explained the difference between a speech disorder and a speech delay. Ms. Sheila said that the terminology of speech delay is a layman's category because all communication disturbances (slurred speech, not many words) fall into speech delay.

She then explained further from a clinical point of view. In the clinical world, the classification is as follows:

1. Speech Sound Disorder: A disorder that explicitly affects a child's speech ability. For example, you can't move your mouth or lips to make certain sounds.
2. Language Disorder: Difficulty processing the incoming stimulus. For example, when asked a question, the child cannot answer. Or when given instructions, the child does not understand the instructions provided.

Language Disorder can occur during development without accompanying syndromes (Developmental Language Disorder) and some are accompanied by certain medical conditions. Children with Autism are in the category of Language Disorder with certain medical conditions. However, there are children with Autism who can experience Speech Sound Disorder.

Ms. Sheila stressed that speech delay cannot be classified as a disorder if we know the symptoms and other conditions. Children who are delayed will be able to catch up with the development of typical children. While the disorder will still develop, some areas don't grow as quickly as a typical child.

However, Ms. Sheila emphasized that not all children with Autism have speech delays because every child has a different condition. Sheila also said that the new definition of Autism divides into three levels: autism level 1, level 2, and level 3.

Children who have Autism disorder also have additional information: with or without language impairment. Some children do not have problems with language development. The difficulty is in communication, social interaction, and repetitive behavior.

Cara menstimulasi komunikasi

Then, Ms. Sheila and Mrs. Anita shared tips to stimulate communication in children. Ms. Sheila said three things could foster children's communication, namely:

1. Get to know our children, from their process to their interests and talents. After all, parents know their children best and are the primary support system that determines a child's development.
2. Choose an activity where communication is sure to occur.
3. Makes the whole situation therapeutic

From Mrs. Anita's point of view, there are two ways to stimulate Shinta's communication, namely:

• Exploring Shinta's talents

When Shinta had musical talent, all therapy was focused on music. At age five, Shinta received a birthday present in the form of a plastic piano because she always played the bell at people's and neighbours' houses. Shinta changed her attitude from moving a lot to being quiet to playing the bell and piano from these two things. She can copy seven songs exactly. Therefore, I decided to take Shinta to a tutoring centre accommodating children with special needs.

• Using language that Shinta understands

For example, there are the terms legato dan staccatoFor two months, Shinta could not understand. Mrs. Anita then tried to explain in simple language that Shinta understood. In addition, when Shinta's tone is high, Mrs. Anita uses the music vocabulary. For example, "Shinta, your voice is too high; lower the octave."

• Mengkombinasikan komunikasi verbal dan non verbal

From Mrs. Anita's experience, Shinta was attracted by a large telephone book. Everywhere he took him, he asked the name of the street. From there, communication was established. Then during elementary school, Mrs. Anita started memorizing the words of Shinta's friends. Then, after school, Mrs. Anita always asked about Shinta. During high school, Shinta was brought a cell phone to communicate. It turned out that with written communication, he is mentally calmer. So, Ms. Anita spoke with Shinta through music, verbal and non-verbal (writing).

Finally, Mrs. Anita advised parents to help their children determine what is good. We must also appreciate every progress because the slightest change takes work. It's the essential bonding between parents and children.