Mom Waits Years For Nonverbal Son To Talk—Unprepared For His First Sentence

A Pennsylvania mom could barely contain her shock after capturing her nonverbal autistic son speaking his very first sentence on camera.

The reaction of Meleny Soto, from Philadelphia, is clear to see in the video she posted to TikTok under the handle @lennyy.marieee. But while Soto’s visible surprise in the clip is partly down to her 5-year-old son’s sudden use of words, it was his choice of language that proved very unexpected.

“I was teaching my son different things throughout the video before he started his therapy session for the day. I propped up my phone and started asking him to say different words or sign some sign language,” Soto told Newsweek. “Once I asked him to say hello, he decided to surprise me with that sentence!”

In the clip, Soto can be seen trying to encourage her son to say “hello” while waving to the camera. He has a different response though, opting instead to say: “f*** off.”

A visibly shocked Soto turns to look at her son, who then repeats the phrase. “Huh?” she says in response. “What?” she asks a moment later, looking back to the camera, still confused at what has just happened. Though she’s stunned, Soto can’t help but smile.

“That was the first time he spoke a sentence! March 19. It literally feels like it was yesterday, it still feels unreal,” she said.

“I was really shocked and overjoyed hearing him say a sentence. We never really get any words out of him honestly but that was a success even if it wasn’t the best thing to say. We celebrate any progress!”

According to a study published in the Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, it’s estimated that around 25 percent to 35 percent of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are minimally verbal.

Though Soto’s son is in that category, he’s made significant strides in several areas of his young life already. “He’s only 5 years old and can actually spell out big words or even read them out loud when I write it down,” she said. “His communication verbally isn’t that great but he can definitely take you to the refrigerator and grab a yogurt then hand it to you to open it.”

An avid singer and dancer, Soto credits her son’s therapy with helping him thus far. “His therapy involves game playing, coloring, tracing and even learning how to eat with utensils,” she said. “He tends to eat his meals with his hands but he just figured out how to use his utensils!”

Though her son’s motor skills are improving, he still needs support with his speech, though Soto and her family are doing their level best for him.

“We have yet to find a speech therapist because there’s not really many therapists for our little ones here in Philadelphia,” she said. “But we definitely help him at home with different things like flash cards, videos, his tablet. We even leave subtitles on when watching television because we hear him reading the words!”

In the meantime, Soto has taken heart from moments like the one filmed in the TikTok video. It’s a moment others have taken encouragement from too with the clip amassing over 900,000 views and counting.

“I hope others can see that there’s always hope,” she said. “I know there’s a lot of parents who were told they’ll never hear their child speak and I was one of them. My son had started speaking a little more after that video had went viral. I really hope but also know that he will grow into such a wonderful young man with such an amazing career!”