Expressive Language Disorder: At Home Vocabulary Building Activities

When my eldest son, Douglas, was three years old, he didn't speak much English, he was fluent in gibberish. More and more of his developing verbal communication began to sound like a foreign language. 

I immediately suspected a problem with his hearing, but following a thorough evaluation, he was diagnosed with high functioning autism, an expressive language delay and a disorder called echolalia. 

Echolalia is the repetition or echoing of verbal utterances made by another person. In my son's case that meant, when I asked him a question, he would repeat the question instead of answering it. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolalia) 

Speech therapy was necessary at home and in school to assist in building his vocabulary, but we were a one income household with another son, who was diagnosed with low functioning autism and language delays as well. 

After researching therapy options for children afflicted with autism, we realized we couldn’t afford the at-home treatment needed for both children. 

Discouraged, I decided to take control of our circumstances. Since Douglas did have a small vocabulary and the ability to repeat words, I devised a vocabulary building activity plan that was inexpensive, but highly effective. Here are my suggestions: 

Alphabet and Picture Words Flashcards
Set aside time everyday for vocabulary building activities like studying alphabet and picture words flashcards. These cards are very easy to find. I buy mine from Schoolzone publishing company.
Once you've purchased your cards, paper clip them in groups of ten. (Write the name of the object on the front of the card if it isn't already there.) 

Let your child designate the study area. Then, sit next to your child and pronounce the object/animal on each card. Have your child repeat after you. Every day, spend as much time as you can on the first set of cards until they are memorized, and your child is capable of saying each word properly. Then, move on to the next set. Repeat this activity until the entire set of cards are memorized. (http://www.schoolzone.com)