Son Was Non-Verbal for 8 Years—Now All He Wants To Say Is One Phrase to Mom
A 12-year-old boy who was nonverbal for the first eight years of his life has found a new favorite phrase, and it is one his mom can't help but laugh about.
Mom-of-three April Perri, from Poughkeepsie, in New York, suspected her son Luca was autistic before he even turned 1. "My intuition was so strong that he was autistic," Perri told Newsweek. "He didn't respond to his name … it was almost like he was deaf. He ran everywhere, had zero fear or safety awareness, and cried all the time."
Alongside the challenges came some interesting quirks. "He had incredible skills like reading at 18 months, never played with toys but color-coded them, and had an obsession with numbers, letters and languages," Perri said.
"We once went to a wedding when he was a toddler and he climbed all the tables and took the table number cards off and played with them for the rest of the night."
As Luca grew up, it became clear to Perri there was another notable difference to the way he behaved: Luca was nonverbal.
That is not out of the ordinary for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A 2021 study in the journal Revista Paulista De Pediatria estimated around 25 to 30 percent of children with ASD fell into the category of nonverbal or minimally verbal.
It nevertheless posed a challenge to Perri, who was a single mom at the time. "Luca could read words, but not ask a question, have a two-way conversation or answer a question until he was 5 years old and up," she said. "For example, if he wanted milk, he would just scream 'WHITE!!' until I figured it out."
Perri took a proactive approach to her son's situation, though. She got him into a state-funded early intervention program before he was 1. That gave him a head start. Luca received daily home visits from a speech therapist as a toddler and was enrolled in a special-needs preschool where this continued.
Now 12, Luca attends public school and is enrolled in the "journeys program," an initiative for kids with autism and other communication issues.
In the meantime, Luca's speech has come on leaps and bounds. "Luca really started to be able to have two-way conversations and answer questions around 8 or 9 and has gotten better and better since then," Perri said.
Seeing the change this has brought about in her son has been a joy for Luca's mom to witness. "It unlocked a side of him we had never had access to before that," Perri said. "I could ask, 'How was your day at school?' and actually get a sense of how he was feeling and how his day had gone. Before that, I had no idea except for the reports from the teachers."
Luca's improved comprehension skills have also allowed him to step out into the world more and more. Perri said she no longer has to worry about meltdowns or safety issues when out in public or at the store.
"Just this summer we went on our first vacation with him and it was amazing," Perri said. "It was so great to see him really enjoy himself like any other kid. He has worked so hard for it."
Luca is a boy transformed after having found his voice. "He is now the most vocal and outgoing kid in our house and in his class," Perri said. "And, man, is he so funny and charming; his personality shines now!"
Although, with his teens fast approaching, Luca has also developed a habit that, while frustrating to his mom, is nevertheless a source of amusement. It is a habit she highlighted in a video posted to Instagram under the handle @thispinklifeilive.
As the clip shows, Luca can certainly talk now, but doesn't seem to be that keen on talking to his mom, preferring to respond to her questions with his new favorite phrase: "I don't want to talk right now."
Not that Perri is upset at all, preferring, instead, to find the humor in it all. "I just found it ironic that we had worked so hard for so many years to develop his language, only to have him say he didn't want to talk to me," she said. "I loved his ability to self-advocate and respect his boundaries, but, man, was it funny!"
Perri started posting videos to social media to "give other families like mine hope." Her message to anyone raising a child with ASD is "take it one day and a time and learn to rest, not quit."
"Trust your instinct, start early and try everything," Perri said. "If plan A doesn't work, then there is always plan B to Z to try. Autism is a marathon, not a sprint."
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