Expert: Valerie Herskowitz - 7/22/2010

Question
My relatives son who is 6 years old and diagnosed as ASD is able to follow the instructions during the conversation. It seems that he identifies the object when named during the conversation. However, when asked to name the object shown to him, he is unable to do that. For eg: when he is asked to take the ball he picks it up. But, when the ball is shown to him and asked what is it ? he is unable to reply. He is able to verbally imitate whatever said to him. can you help us how to deal with this?
thank you,
Nathan

Answer
Hi Nathan

Yes I can-this problem is very common in ASD individuals. They know the word and can ID the word, and sometimes even imitate the word. But when it comes time to VERBALLY ID the word or come up with it in spontaneous conversation, the word eludes them.

The reason for this is that individuals with autism often have difficulty with word retrieval. They can't seem to pair the verbal word with a real life item though they can parrot the word. We have many techniques to work on this issue. The absolute best is to start using a picture card paired with the item for communication in a system called The Picture Exchange Communication System. Many children who use this system eventually are able to remember the word on their own. If your relative would like to learn how to do this, just have them email me at:
info@valerieherskowitz.com and we can set up a short consult on the phone to do this.

Also, your question fits in very nicely with next week's Internet radio show. (I answer questions on BlogTalk Radio each week.) So tune in to our show (or have your relative tune in) and listen to a more elaborated answer to your question. We have the show each Wednesday at 6PM EDT. (I will not use your name.) Here is the log in information:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/valerie-herskowitz

Or you can call:
   1-218-486-8700 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-218-486-8700      end_of_the_skype_highlighting Code #417563