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Key Takeaways:
- Speech therapy is a treatment that addresses people’s challenges with language and communication.
- There are many benefits of having children with autism go through speech therapy, including being able to understand others and communicate to form relationships with others.
- Speech therapy exercises include teaching essential words and using communication boards.
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Children communicate with us in many ways that go beyond words. They may use gestures, pictures, or even make their feelings known with a tantrum. As they develop through childhood, children typically begin to use speech as their primary form of expression. However, if your child struggles to express themselves or meet developmental milestones, it could be time to explore speech therapy for autism.
Here, we’ll cover what speech therapy is, what the benefits are for children with autism, and different exercises you can do with your kids.
What is Speech Therapy?
Speech therapy is a form of treatment carried out by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to address an individual’s challenges with language and communication. It helps people with autism improve their communication skills, whether verbal, nonverbal, or social. The goal of speech therapy is to help people communicate in ways that better meet their needs.
Speech or communication-related challenges differ from person to person. A study found that a third of children with autism, for instance, are nonverbal [*]. Others may enjoy talking, but have difficulties understanding body language and social cues when communicating with others.
Speech therapy programs begin with an evaluation by SLPs, who assess the person’s strengths and communication challenges. From there, they create individual goals for therapy, such as improving spoken language, developing alternative communication skills (e.g., gestures), or using pictures and technology to communicate.
Benefits of Speech Therapy for Children with Autism
There are several tangible benefits of speech therapy for children with autism.
Understand what is being said to them
Speech therapy can help children with autism develop the skills they need to connect with others. They get to understand social cues, such as tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures, and body movements. This way, they can better interpret what others are trying to say.
For example, a child may learn to notice that a parent’s smile and open arms mean it is time for a hug. Another example is a child recognizing that a friend’s smile and inviting gesture mean they want to play together.
Build the ability to express their needs and wants
Children with autism may struggle to communicate their needs and wants in a way that others can easily understand.
Imagine a child who is feeling thirsty but does not yet know how to say, “I want water.” In other situations, a child might become upset in class because they need help with an activity but do not know how to ask their teacher.
Speech therapy helps children learn ways to express these needs, whether through words, gestures, picture cards, or communication devices.
As a result, the child is able to communicate more clearly and experiences less frustration. Parents, teachers, and caregivers are also better able to respond to what the child needs.
Learn to communicate in a way that other people understand
Adults may notice that a child with autism sometimes uses words or phrases in ways that seem unusual. They might invent their own words to describe objects or feelings, or they may repeat lines from a favorite cartoon or book and apply them to real-life situations.
What can easily be mistaken for confusion or disruption is a window into the child's inner world. This is precisely where speech therapy steps in.
Over time, speech therapy helps expand the child’s expressive abilities. The child learns not just what to say, but when, why, and how.
Communicate to form friendships and interact with peers
Special interests can be a source of motivation and learning for these kids, but they can also make it harder to engage in broader social interactions. This is especially true if a child only wants to talk about that one topic.
The great thing is that speech therapy can really help kids strike a balance. They can enjoy the things they’re passionate about while expanding how they engage with the world around them.
Speech therapy teaches reciprocity, or the natural back-and-forth rhythm of conversation. A child learns how to pause, listen, and then respond to what the other person says.
Speech Therapy Exercises for Children with Autism
While it’s best to have your child assessed and evaluated by an SLP professional if they have speech issues, there are also some speech therapy exercises you can do at home.
Teach essential words
Teaching your child a few essential words, such as “want,” “more,” or “stop,” can significantly help your child. Children with autism usually struggle to use words in new contexts, so teaching them how to use the same word in different situations can help you both.
While children with autism may have a limited vocabulary or don’t talk a lot, they can learn new words just like their neurotypical peers.
Offer your child options
Giving your child options helps them develop their vocabulary, use functional communication, and improve their interactions with others. Your child will learn how to point to what they want and associate it with the right name or term.
You can offer options in settings, such as choosing favorite foods by saying the name of the food, or letting them pick elements of their outfit for school, such as choosing what color socks to wear while saying the color out loud.
Play sorting or matching games
Sorting and matching objects helps children with autism understand their purposes and recognize similarities and differences. A fun way to do this at home is to sort pictures from magazine cutouts or use an app with categorization exercises.
Your child can group pictures based on similar attributes that they notice. Mixing and matching pictures allows your child to identify problems and find solutions.
Create a communication board
Communication boards are among the most useful autism speech therapy tools for helping children develop their communication skills. They usually have a set of cards with images representing actions or events. Another set of cards displays emotions like happy, sad, and angry faces so that children can point to how they feel in reaction to each action or event.
Your child can use handmade or digital boards, depending on their needs, to communicate simple messages like “I want to play” or “I need to go to the bathroom.”
Try sing-along exercises
Many children with autism enjoy sing-along exercises as these help them recognize words and associate objects with sounds. Kids can also learn new words and sounds through sing-along activities.
Speech Therapy Services
Speech therapy can take place in a private clinic, at school through an Individualized Education Program (IEP), at home, or in the community. Services can be one-on-one or in a group setting, depending on the skill being developed. Here are some providers you can refer to for your child’s needs:
The Bottom Line
Children with autism have different strengths and challenges, one of the most common being speech and communication. Speech therapy can help in different ways, whether that’s by teaching your child how to master certain words or developing their communication skills through gestures and images.
Teaching them how to communicate doesn’t just help them with speaking, but also with socializing and problem-solving. At the end of the day, this modality is one of the most effective ways to set your child up for success as they grow into adolescents and adults.
For more resources on improving your child’s communication skills, check out our communication skills worksheets.
References:
- Vivanti G, Lombardo M, Zitter A, et al. Proportion and Profile of Autistic Children Not Acquiring Spoken Language Despite Receiving Evidence-Based Early Interventions. 20 November 2025.
