Language Question for Parents

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I am new to this board and wondering if any parents of older kids who could give me some perspective. My son is almost 6 with very odd expressive language. He has been receiving speech therapy for almost 3 years he was late with speech and very echolalic as a 2-3 year old. Diagnosed by a neuropsychologist as on the spectrum with accompanying speech and language deficits but he is friendly and related, although his language makes it nearly impossible to communicate with kids his age.
The best way I can describe him is verbal, but not conversational. He can say what he wants, describe things he sees in simple sentences, etc. but beyond that, it’s repeating, jargon, talking to himself and saying things that are “off topic" (he just says whatever comes to mind without regards to whether it makes any sense to the listener). He is chatty, but very little of what he says makes any sense to an outsider - it's just snippets of things he has heard, is thinking about, or things that people have said to him. It is very odd. For instance, he evidently is having a memory of a teacher he hasn't seen in over a year, but is constantly repeating that he wants to see her.
Does this sound at all like any of your kids at 5/6? How did they do when they got older? I know there’s no way to predict how each child will develop, but just trying to get an idea what I can expect. Did the conversation eventually come in? He is starting a special needs school soon. Did school setting make a big difference? There is definitely slow but gradual progress, but he is still a ways away from being able to hold a coherent conversation Any insight at all would be appreciated. Thanks!

My son is 9, and basically says what he thinks, as opposed to what other people expect or want to hear. He also will come up with random memories and talk about them.

When his speech was more echolaliac, it seemed more disjointed than it does now because he now introduces these topics in a better conversational way. Like: "Do you remember when I was in second grade and...?" He is still off-topic, but it has more in common with reciprocal speech than it did. He still talks about things of little interest to others, and I don't see that changing anytime soon b/c he doesn't have social goals for himself that he is willing to try to adapt for.

I think of Sheldon on Big Bang Theory (I know this is a controversial character to some---but I am not intending to go on that tangent) as being on the less spectum-y end of this. I think the "milder" the presentation, the more comprehensible but more self-centered it appears on the outside to people who do not recognize it as autistic behavior, if that makes sense.

Thanks, that is interesting and I appreciate your input about your son. My son still can't introduce a topic in a more appropriate way, he will just blurt out the thought without knowing (or caring) how to word it. And yes, he doesn't have typical social goals at all, although he is friendly (more so with adults than kids). I may just post this on the general board too to see if any now adults can identify with this type of language when they were a child. Thanks again.

Age 5/6 is still young for an autistic child to have a conversation.
I didn't have conversations until age 10 and later, but I was fluent in them once I started having them.
At age 5/6, your son is way ahead of me at that age in language development.

That's interesting, thanks. And very helpful, because I really often find myself wondering how language progresses with age. I guess it happens very differently with ASD kids than with typical kids, where the language is pretty normal from a young age.

My children both spoke early and well (much to my surprise, because I still cannot!).

But, I had trouble much like you described of your son.

I answered in your other thread.

But, what helped me most was learning to read. Can your son read? Is he learning? The process of learning sounds that build to words and how words build to make sentences is what ultimately helped me to move beyond only echoing.

The way you describe your son's language pretty much sounds exactly how my son's language was at that age. He is almost 10 now and has gotten a little more conversational. He still brings up off the wall stuff and will ramble on and on about something that is only of interest to him. He still will bring up a line from a movie and work it into conversations. It is getting better, but it is a very slow process. He will now speak to his peers, but for only limited amounts of time. I think he would prefer to speak with adults.

Thanks everyone. Screen name, my son doesn't read fluently,but he can read his name and some short words and has long known his letters and numbers. But he is starting at a special needs school soon for Kindergarten where they will focus a lot more on literacy so I expect he will make some progress there.
Angelbear, my son definitely prefers to speak to adults too. In fact he is so "chatty" we like to say he is running for mayor (I guess it doesn't really matter if they understand what he's saying

Your son sounds normal for having autism. Most people with autism are like this: lacking 'pragmatics', which is the social part of language. Much of what we say is either not spoken or not literal. For people with autism, speaking is more like thinking. It is not regulated by the social context, so they may say whatever comes into their head, or if they just like the sounds of the words. My son used to be a lot like yours, but at a younger age. He is now 8, and has improved, but still does not listen to others or have reciprocal conversations, and frequently interrupts and talks off-topic. What really helps is social skills courses that teach how to have a conversation (beginning, middle, end, and context). Another thing is ABA-type therapy to teach conversation skills, where there is a small reward (candy or play token) for reciprocal conversation (like making a relevant comment or asking a question). If he is interested enough, books (that he reads or someone else reads to him) or movies that are about relationships, with lots of back-and-forth conversation in social settings can let him be a spectator first to learn how to interact. Something that helps stay on topic (though he may be too young, but you can try with simple things) is having him first give a speech on a topic, with relevant structure (essay style), and then have him observe a conversation taking place and try to join it with relevant input. When he is going off on a tangent, for example about a teacher, try to engage him by asking about it to start giving him the idea that language is a back and forth thing instead of the monologue he's used to. And try to do the same when you talk to him, more than you may already do, try to involve him verbally. Hope this helps.