What is speech delay?

[jamesaldrin]

I've heard that the difference between Aspergers (which I have) and high-functioning autism is that people with Aspergers don't have a speech delay. I don't know what this is. I haven't gotten to know any other autistic people, so I don't know what they would talk like. What is speech delay?

Is that just that someone with classic autism doesn't start speaking until they're at an above-average age?
Or that they speak slowly?
Or that it takes longer to process words out of the mouth?

(I saw your video, Toothless, about "Aspergers vs Classic Autism" but I still don't understand)

 

[Nacho]

As I understand it, speech delay is a problem on early stages of life where you learn, or start to communicate later than usual.

But I also think it refers to the day to day communication. For example, there are some people that do not even let you finish your sentence before speaking, while for example, I, like to think things before saying them, and that can sometimes come across as having speech delay, since it is not fitting the standards of society of answering things as fast as possible.

What do you think about what I said, @jamesaldrin ?

 

[The Penguin]

I had speech delay during my childhood. I did need to take speech therapy to improve. I don't have this issue anymore but at times I can have slow processing speed meaning it might take time for me to process information before giving a reply. It all depends on the context though.

 

[jamesaldrin]

As I understand it, speech delay is a problem on early stages of life where you learn, or start to communicate later than usual.

But I also think it refers to the day to day communication. For example, there are some people that do not even let you finish your sentence before speaking, while for example, I, like to think things before saying them, and that can sometimes come across as having speech delay, since it is not fitting the standards of society of answering things as fast as possible.

What do you think about what I said, @jamesaldrin ?

Well it seems like you and penguin both said this:
Speech delay is two things. It is that the person takes longer in childhood to start being able to speak, and that they have slowed processing speed during conversation (even in adulthood).

 

[the_tortoise]

"Speech delay" means different things depending on who's saying it, and in what context.

In speech pathology, it specifically refers to problems with making the sounds of the words. This is to separate it from "language delay" which is problems with processing/understanding language -- like difficulty learning/remembering the meaning of words (at all or just in context), or difficulty with figuring out how words are organized together (grammar/syntax). A person can have language delay without speech delay (I had language delay without speech delay) or speech delay without language delay.

Everywhere else, it can mean speech delay or language delay or both.

In terms of the DSM, it could have been either speech or language delay, or both. You weren't supposed to have either to be diagnosed with Asperger's, but not all professionals agreed with this, and many didn't follow the criteria as they were written so lots of people that had early speech and language delays have been diagnosed with Asperger's.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I couldn't speak until I was four. I ended up getting diagnosed with Asperger's just two years ago at the age of 24. Apparently to some professionals you can move around on the spectrum. I guess this is a new thing. I was using adult phrases correctly around the age of 5. People knew I was different because my voice pattern was irregular in the views of others but I never noticed this. But these days you wouldn't think I had a speech delay.

But High Functioning Autism isn't really a diagnostic term. It gets used quite a lot interchangeably with Asperger's. We really should get too hung up on diagnostic terms.

 

[toothless]

I've heard that the difference between Aspergers (which I have) and high-functioning autism is that people with Aspergers don't have a speech delay. I don't know what this is. I haven't gotten to know any other autistic people, so I don't know what they would talk like. What is speech delay?

Is that just that someone with classic autism doesn't start speaking until they're at an above-average age?
Or that they speak slowly?
Or that it takes longer to process words out of the mouth?

(I saw your video, Toothless, about "Aspergers vs Classic Autism" but I still don't understand)

hi jamesaldrin,clinically significant speech delay is when your speech does not meet the same quality as your peers past 4 years of age, so you likely wont have any vocabulary at all until past 4,or you might have a couple of words.
aspies can actually have speech delays,but they cannot be clinically significant,so way below 4 years of age,and anything in the middle was usually diagnosed as PDDNOS when it was around.

for me,i have LFA,and i didnt speak useful words till 28, but for me and many like me theres a fine balance between a delay in language and becoming used to not speaking so losing the capacity to speak slowly and never trying.
speech for me is very difficult,its physically and mentally slow- i think purely in imagery which probably wasnt helped by the fact i was not just delayed in speech but delayed in language to,and it takes some time to translate what im thinking into language,so a small basic conversation really wipes me out and slows down my speech even more.

@Southern Discomfort sorry i dont mean to be pedantic [i think thats the word i dont want to whip my e-dictionary out as im rushing to go out] but you should have been diagnosed with high functioning classic autism, you cant go from classic autism to aspergers because aspergers is a category without significant speech delay, that is a stupid move by shrinks to get more people labeled under mild autism so they cant get much support,thats my view on them anyway.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

you should have been diagnosed with high functioning classic autism

Thinking about it at first I did think I fitted more better into the category of atypical autism. But you know what? I don't care any more. You can call it a five different things they call mean the same thing. They call it Asperger's so I'm going to call it Asperger's.

 

[toothless]

Thinking about it at first I did think I fitted more better into the category of atypical autism. But you know what? I don't care any more. You can call it a five different things they call mean the same thing. They call it Asperger's so I'm going to call it Asperger's.

how do you feel you fit under atypical autism and not classical? sorry im being nosy im just interested in autism.
i would have said you were a clear case of high functioning classic autism if you didnt speak till 4,it might have got you more support and understanding in your life.
i dont think aspergers is understood,when i talk to a lot of different support staff about the differences between aspergers and classic autism,they all tell me that 'aspergers isnt autism' but they dont know anything about it.

sorry,i dont mean to label you,i admittedly can be quite a label freak because i like things to be in order and make sense,i dont like it when myself or other people have the wrong labels as it can really mess up my or their life or make things rather difficult for them,for example i know a girl who is high functioning classic autistic and she really struggles with supporting herself and moderating her behavior,she was diagnosed as aspergers and gets no support currently and has to relie on her parents.

she is also diagnosed as schizophrenic and gets arrested when she has her catestrophic autistic or schizophrenic meltdowns instead of being taken directly to hospital-during her meltdowns she doesnt have the mental capacity to understand the consequences of her actions which should mean she requires hospitalization and not arrest which would imply she has fully functioning mind at the time of her behaviors.
they basically judge her on her label of aspergers and assume because she is 'high functioning' she is mentally capable the whole time,this is what gets me annoyed by labelling autistics differently,the judgement that your either thick and cant do anything for yourself or you have full mental capacity and are responsible for every action without so much as a pinch of understanding.

 

[WildCat]

I don't get the big deal with it. I had both in early childhood (caught up in my later years) and yet somehow got 3 separate diagnoses.

All this speech/language delay stuff is kinda silly since virtually everyone here seems to have less of a problem with typed or written communication than that ridiculous real-time conversation forced upon them.

 

[toothless]

I don't get the big deal with it. I had both in early childhood (caught up in my later years) and yet somehow got 3 separate diagnoses.

All this speech/language delay stuff is kinda silly since virtually everyone here seems to have less of a problem with typed or written communication than that ridiculous real-time conversation forced upon them.

i agree,speech is forced on us,NTs think its necessary to a conversation when many of us autists speak better typing or with other forms of communication.
though the only problem for me is it takes me a while to compile a message as i struggle to translate my vast visual mind into language,but...it is my strongest form of communication besides makaton,PECS etc and it gets my voice heard but my staff dont like me talking with AAC as they say its regression-i couldnt give a friggin stuff what it is to be honest if it makes me communicate without suffering,theres a huge difference in my speech vs my typing,is that the same for you jonathan?

 

[WildCat]

...i couldnt give a friggin stuff what it is to be honest if it makes me communicate without suffering,theres a huge difference in my speech vs my typing,is that the same for you jonathan?

To a lesser extent, yeah. It's gotten better over the years fortunately, but it still rubs my nerves everytime someone wants that kind of rapid exchange - usually about something trivial or stupid, or especially something like politics - I can't give my full attention to them and respond as fast. I swear it feels like a competition to see who can bump their gums the quickest sometimes. Not that I care anymore these days, but back then before I understood it really got to me.

I hate how most people like to just brush that off as being slow or something, as if speaking and thinking are magically synonymous. If anything, this forum is proof that they're not.