Ming from Agents of Speech explains why autistic kids need to learn receptive communication skills before expressive ones. Teaching your child to receive and understand language first makes speech therapy more effective and sets them up for school, work, and relationships later.
So autistic people don't really understand why they have to jump through the hoops to get what they want. They feel like, oh, I can do this on my own. I don't need you in my life, so to speak. And don't get triggered because I'm not autistic, I'm neurotypical. From all the adults that I've talked to who are on the spectrum, that's how they feel as far as I'm concerned, is that most of the time they find socializing really difficult. They don't understand the means to an end until they become an adult. They start to understand someone has what they have what they want in the world and all that comes down to communicating and so that someone can give them what they want, be it a promotion, to sell something, to get into school, to get a partner in life, get married, all these things. It takes communication, asking, right? So if you're teaching a child who is language delayed and also on the spectrum, the first thing you're going to teach is how to receive.
