I have autism, how come i can talk?

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after my previous tests it shows that i am definitely on the Autism Spectrum, its just that i did not have a Delay in speaking, thats the only thing that does not fit, i know that would make me Eligible for Aspergers Syndrome (which was my official Diagnoses in 2010) but if someone were to diagnose me on the DSM IV (like my psychologist/ Autism Specialist) would i still fit, even though i have a below average verbal I.Q . sorry if it sounds confusing

The diagnosis of Aspergers isn't common anymore since the release of the DSM-V so depending on your location you probably won't be diagnosed under the DSM-IV. Aspergers, along with all other forms of autism, have been merged into the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) category.

From my understanding, speech delay isn't required under the new DSM-5 criteria. So therefore, you will be diagnosed with ASD if you fulfil the criteria.

EDIT: I should also add, in light of the title you chose, that high functioning autistics that had a speech delay generally develop their speaking skills to the same standard as those who didn't have a speech delay. They tend to catch up in late childhood or in the early teenage years.

Yes, you still have autism. Quite a few of us here didn't have speech delays. I spoke on time, though I used scripted and memorized stuff a lot. My diagnosis is now "autism spectrum disorder", though I don't know yet whether my psychiatrist is going to put down "mild" or "moderate" for the severity. I'm kind of on the border for that.

By the way, the majority of people with autism can speak--like, 95% or something like that. If someone with autism can't use language at all, it's often because they're very young. Most people who are delayed will learn speech later--I think it was something like 8 out of 9 people who were nonverbal at 5 had at least some speech at 9 years old. And there are some people who aren't delayed to begin with.

Autistic people can have fluent speech all of the time or some of the time; they can speak in scripts or echolalia; they can use sign, writing, typing, symbols, or pictures. Some people use multiple ways of communicating. Some people who have fluent speech all of the time, will still have problems with figures of speech or sarcasm or tone of voice. Some people have problems only with non-verbal communication, like with body language and eye contact. The only thing you can say about all autistic people is that, by definition, we all have some kind of speech/language/communication problem--but it can be very mild.

There are definitely some people with autism who are completely non-verbal. Some of them find it really, really hard to use speech. Many of them can use other ways to communicate, like sign or typing or picture cards. If someone with autism can't communicate except by behavior--like, by yelling if they're upset or hugging someone they love--then it's often because they have a rather severe cognitive disability that makes it quite hard for them to learn abstract things like language. People with profound intellectual disability sometimes also have autism, and that's a combination that usually means they don't learn more than a handful of words, if any. But communication is still possible, if the people around them learn how they act when they're feeling certain ways. I think we ought to try to train people, like caretakers and family, in how to read behavior like that; it could save lives. Or at least save frustration.

So the answer to your question is: Yes, even though you can speak, you can still be correctly diagnosed with autism; in fact, most people who are diagnosed with autism can speak at least some of the time.

My fiancé is an Aspie and didn't have any speech delays growing up or at all. Not all have speech delays or are non verbal. I believe the more severe cases do or can be non verbal/delayed. My fiancé is high functioning but has many Aspie traits.

I had a slight speech delay continuing after age two. Past age 3 years I was still using single worders and pointing.

I speak most of the time (repetitive but able to explain things) though my strong emotions really impact my speech and sometimes render me nonverbal until I am not as sensory overloaded.

Last edited by Lumi on 09 Dec 2013, 11:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Short answer to your title question-

Because autism doesn't mean mute. Extreme cases, yeah, but even they can sometimes become verbal. There are plenty of people who are "high functioning" and can speak. Since you were diagnosed originally as having Asperger's, that makes sense because that form of autism is known for NOT having the delay or absense of speech classic autism often involves.

You can talk because many autistics can.

Even some who are non-verbal have the ability to communicate by, for example, typing on computers, and have surprised their families by showing 'there's an intelligent person in there'.

Heh, yeah. There have been a few where the family had no idea they were not just able to understand language, but actually literate--without being able to speak. That just says how weird autistic brains can get, because for an NT, speaking is easy and reading is hard. It's pretty awesome that there are autistics for whom speaking is impossible, but reading came so naturally that they taught themselves without their parents noticing!

It's more common that an autistic person will show interest in written language, and their parents will read to them; and they'll learn about language partly by reading and partly by learning to speak; and writing or typing might always be more reliable for them because they have problems with auditory processing and making all the little movements of tongue and mouth it takes to speak clearly while at the same time thinking up what to say.

Like, I've read about one mom's experiences--her six-year-old is partly verbal, but knows how to read and write. So she can sit him down in front of a keyboard and talk to him, and he can reply by typing and sometimes saying a couple of words. She had to keep leading him back to the keyboard because he forgets mid-sentence what he was doing. But apparently, it really helps him because now, if he's not too overloaded, he can talk about frustrating things before they stress him out too much and cause a meltdown.

So that's a more typical situation... a kid who sucks at speaking but is pretty good at reading, and learns how to use text to communicate because it's just easier than listening and talking. I have a feeling that this boy will probably be either speaking fluently, or partly verbal and a proficient VOCA user, in adulthood.