Dear Parents,

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It can be difficult to know what's best for your child in the face of so much information available and so many competing opinions from professionals. Perhaps you have been told that your non-speaking autistic child has severe learning disabilities, or maybe that she or he is functioning at a level way below their chronological age. 

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So here is a simple question that you can ask, that any professional should be happy to answer for you: "How do you know?"

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Through my research and practice in supporting parents and practitioners, what I have discovered is that the majority of assessments used for non-speaking children rely on a child's ability to provide verbal answers to questions, or read aloud. So straight away, a child who is non-speaking will be at a disadvantage!

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So ask the question, "How do you know?"

If standardised assessments are used, have they been modified or adapted  to ensure that your child can access them in ways that are appropriate for them?

What about other barriers associated with autism? Have they been taken into account and accommodated as part of assessment protocol? 

For more information about the hidden abilities of non-speaking autistic children I discovered as part of my research, see the slideshow below.

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