Did your child stop talking - or just not start?

i've a cuzin who jsut did not start speakin clearly yet..i mean..she can talk to herself..though not clearly..but she can never get to respond..sticks to her own world..very hard to get her attention..she's about 7.5 years old too..hoping for her to improve!!

First, I have a cousin with Autism, who is a year older than your son. He (from what I recall) did have vocabulary, and then around the time of his 15 month shots, pretty much stopped talking. His mother is convinced the shots had everything to do with Autism, in his case. My son is 3 1/2, and he only had a few words to begin with.. it was the lack of speech, and a concern about his hearing, that made me question what was going on. His hearing was tested and was shown to be normal. But because his speech was still not progressing, his pediatrician referred us to the state early intervention program. I would say his speech has really picked up just since this last September, when he started special needs preschool. And he's starting speech therapy tomorrow, since he does need extra help.

I am so sorry your little boy does not talk well yet, are you going to be able to get a therapist to help him with his words? I know how hard it is but why didn't any of these professional people ever worry that he wasn't saying very much, the things they dismiss when they are important always amaze me. Being able to communicate his needs would have made all of your lives easier. Bong has only managed conversations the last year or so, he was 7 in October and still has a speach delay but the schools speech therapist discharged him and now school want it looking at again.

Excuse me for asking, but did your son get a vaccine close to the time that he had a major regression at 18 months? Many children get the MMR shot from about 12 to 18 months old. My son stopped talking at age 12 and became autistic soon after getting the MMR shot.

Yes, my son stopped talking completely at 18 months of age. That is what prompted me to have him evaluated. He was diagnosed at 20 months with sensory integration disorder. He received intensive therapy for speech, fine and gross motor skills, and desensitivity training to help him overcome his tactile defensiveness. By age 5, he was declassified as special needs and started mainstream kindergarten. In grade 3, Collin started to regress, melt down and act out when punished. That started a rollercoaster ride of doctors visits, misdiagnosis, wrongly administered disciplinary actions by the school, you name it. We finally gave up our home and moved to the city so that he had a better chance of receiving help through the school system. He was diagnosed as PDD-NOS in 5th grade. For those who blame vaccinations, please know that my son showed signs of neurological abnormalities at just a few months of age. At the time, I just thought he was an "odd" baby. I, too, do not believe that vaccines cause autism.