Nonverbal Autism: Symptoms, Diagnosis, & Therapies

By Michelle Ibarra | October 9, 2019

Autism Spectrum Disorder is an umbrella used to identify a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders. Communicational and verbal challenges are common among children on the spectrum, and they range from mild to severe.

Today, we will analyze the challenges, symptomatology, diagnosis, and therapies to ease and improve communication.

Symptoms of Nonverbal Autism

The main symptom to identify if a child has non-verbal autism is the fact if they can communicate without interference or not.

Additionally, there are other main indicators that can be indicators of nonverbal autism in a child:

 

  • Social: ASD children can be shy and avoid social interactions. They might avoid eye contact and resist physical touch.
  • Behavioral: Routine may be important to an autistic person. Any interruption in their daily schedule can make them upset, even aggravated. Likewise, some develop obsessive interests and spend hours fixated on a particular project, book, topic, or activity. It’s also not uncommon, however, for autistic people to have short attention spans and flit from one activity to another. 
  • Developmental: Some children may develop at a typical pace for several years, then face a setback around age 2 or 3. Others may experience delayed development from an early age that continues into childhood and adolescence. 
  • Echolalia and Apraxia of Speech:  Echolalia is a term referred to the constant verbalization of words that make communication difficult. Apraxia of speech is a disorder that can interfere with a person’s ability to say what they want correctly.

How Can Nonverbal Autism Be Diagnosed?

A correct diagnose of nonverbal autism is not simple and it usually a multiphased process. Your family doctor might be the first person to look up to for an adequate direction.

Normally, your health care professional will require you the following tests:

 

    • a physical exam
    • blood tests
    • imaging tests like an MRI or CT scan
    • ASD tests, including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale,  and third Edition (GARS-3).

 

After proper evaluation of all these medical resources, your pediatrician will be able to give an adequate diagnosis of your child’s condition. 

Treatment Options

Nonverbal children will require extra assistance as they learn to engage with others. However, with the right treatment and attention, it is possible to see great advancement in your child´s verbal development.

The following therapies have been proven to be excellent aids to support ASD children into verbal and communicational advancement:

 

Educational Intervention: These are skill and communicational oriented sessions. The goal of this is to help your child thrive in socially structured environments that involve skill-focused behaviors. 

Medicine: Some medications can be helpful for some ASD related conditions and symptoms. This includes anxiety or depression, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, impulsive behaviors, and hyperactivity.

Family Counseling: One-on-one therapies that involved all family members and teach them to support the child’s growth. 

Stem Cell Therapy: Stem Cell Therapy is a novel method of leveraging the body’s own repair mechanism and direct it in order to repair and regenerate specific organs and tissues. It also allows physicians to expand the number of cells normally produced by a healthy individual and concentrate those cells to address the specific areas of concern.

How does it help individuals with autism:

In autism, stem cell therapy is mainly geared to address issues with the immune system, the neurologic system, and the gastrointestinal system.

– It is well known that stem cells can regulate the immune function by secreting specific cytokines (cytokines are substances that allow cells to communicate with other cells) which regulate the expression of inflammatory substances and downregulate the immune system.

– In terms of the gut, stem cells can arrive at specific sites in the gut lining where permeability is an issue and help regenerate the gaps between each of the cells thus preventing the “leakage” of foreign substances (which trigger inflammation) into the bloodstream.

– Inside the central nervous system, stem cells can help the brain regain some of its plasticity by reconnecting specific clusters of neurons and facilitating the “installation” of new behaviors.

To find out more SCT related info, make sure to visit our blog post Autism Treatment Breakdown: Stem Cell Therapy and find out more about it. 

At WSCC, we offer support for autistic families and their children with Stem Cell Therapy treatments that can transform autistic conditions by healing the gut, decreasing inflammation and improving brain function. We also created an autistic community on Facebook that is destined to offer support and companionship for ASD parents and their families on their journey.

 Remember, you are not alone!

 

https://worldstemcellsclinic.com/

 

 

 Sources:

 https://www.healthline.com/health/autism/nonverbal-autism#outlook

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