Families often hear a short label used to describe a child’s language. This study is a useful reminder that a short label can leave important things out. It does not rank children or predict their future.
- Speaking a lot, understanding language structure and creating new phrases did not always go together in this group.
- A child with few spoken words may still have strengths that one label does not show.
- The study does not say which support suits a particular child.
Questions you can take with you
You do not need to become an expert. These questions can help you talk with a professional or support provider.
- What does my child understand, enjoy and choose to communicate?
- Which ways of communicating are already working well?
- Could we describe strengths and needs more fully than with one label?
LISTEN: made by and with nonspeaking autistic people
A five-minute reminder that speech and understanding are not the same thing — and that communication starts by addressing the person directly.
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Want the study details?Sample, method and evidence type
- Children
- 167 autistic children
- Age
- 2–6 years
- What was compared
- Three language dimensions
Read on for what was studied, what was found and what remains uncertain.
One word can leave a lot out
‘Verbal’, ‘non-verbal’, ‘speaking’ and ‘non-speaking’ are quick words. They can be useful as a starting point, but they do not always say what a child understands, how they put language together or how they prefer to communicate. This study looked closely at that gap.
The researchers worked with 167 autistic children aged two to six in Belgium. They compared three things: language structure measured with standard tests, the amount of spoken language heard in recordings made at home, and how often speech contained new rather than repeated language. The three measures only partly matched.
Different skills can sit side by side
Some children with little or no spoken language showed relatively stronger structural language skills. Other children spoke more often but did not show the same pattern on every measure. That does not make one child ‘more’ or ‘less’ capable. It shows why an honest description may need more than one word.
The findings are not a reason to replace one rigid label with three new ones. A child can communicate with speech, gestures, signs, pictures, typing, movement, familiar routines or a mix of these. The child and family remain the best source for what communication looks like in everyday life.
A fuller conversation can be kinder
For families and professionals, the practical point is modest: ask what the child understands, enjoys, notices and chooses, as well as how much they speak. A label can sometimes open a conversation, but it should not close one.
This research did not test an assessment service, a therapy or an intervention. It cannot tell a family which support to choose. It does give a careful reason to make room for uneven profiles and for the child’s own ways of being understood.
Limitations to keep in view
- This is a cross-sectional study of 167 children aged two to six in Belgian Dutch- and French-speaking regions; it cannot represent every autistic child or show how profiles change over time.
- The three measures describe selected parts of language and speech. They do not measure every form of communication, nor a child’s whole experience.
- The study did not test a diagnosis, therapy, school plan or support method, so it cannot show what will help a particular child.
Defining Language Profiles in Young Autistic Children Across Verbal, Speaking, and Generative Dimensions
Beccaria F, Leenen L, Kolenberg M, et al.
Autism Research · 2026
This article provides general information and does not replace individualized medical, psychological or educational advice.