r/MadeMeSmile • u/bendubberley_ • 18d ago

Wholesome Moments Autistic non-verbal boy speaks directly to his mother for the first time.

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u/mistiry 18d ago

My daughter was nonverbal until she was 4. She would occasionally make sounds similar to words. One day I was home from work on lunch break, I worked 5 minutes away and would come home for lunch to save money.

I was leaving to head back to work, kissed my wife and then my daughter who was sitting in a high chair also having lunch. I told her "bye, I love you!".

She replied with a crystal clear perfect "I love you" back.

The reaction from my wife and I was similar to this mom. Hearing her speak at all, let alone telling me she loves me, is one of my strongest memories now. I remember it often and this video brought back all the emotions.

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u/ImpossibleMood2810 18d ago

I hope the same would have happened for me. I am genuinely happy for you. Was it progressive after that or was there an abrupt difference ?

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u/mistiry 17d ago

Shortly after the "I love you" we finally got her into a spot with a speech and occupational therapist which she attended for about 2 years.

She wasn't immediately verbal afterwards. It still took time for her to grow that skill, and it was a while after the "I love you" before we got to a conversational level. It started with single words really, or maybe a 2-3 word phrase, but only occasionally. Eventually she started expanding her vocabulary and use of other parts of speech. For example, going from "hungry" to "I am hungry".

After she got into school she really started blossoming. By the end of first grade she was more or less at the same level verbally as her peers, and now nearing the end of 3rd grade she's even mostly on par with her reading level. There are still some things here and there we continue to work on, though.