How long before she speaks ?

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My daughter is 30 months old, and has begun speech therapy and OT, she has 4 visits per month, and she is not verbal.She only babbles and is very happy all the time, I wonder if she is going to be an non verbal autistic, Her diagnose is High function autism, her therapist seems very happy with her improvement of eye contact, but I wish to hear her say"mommy" for the first time, she can say about 6 words that are understandable, but will she be able to talk? how long does it take? Should I pay for private therapies to make her advance, or I'm I expecting too much too soon ?

I went through a similar experience when I was younger. My parents took me to multiple speech specialists and tested me for many things unfortunately this was in the early 80's and AS was not a common thing that they tested for. My mother knew that I understood speech since I was able to follow instructions and whatnot in terms of play and understanding of colors. I ended up speaking when I was around age three and my first actual words were a complete sentence and after that i was a total non-stop talker. The funny thing is that since I was three I vividly remember when I first talked. Hope that helps maybe....

well to be the truth, usually it just takes longer to speak, i know a mother whos son didn't speak or hug till he was 16. however i started to speak around 3ish. my first word was knee.. lol i dont talk alot though. but i think your kid will talk just later in life.

I was a little over three years old when I spoke my first sentences. I had maybe a half dozen words and quite a few noises I would use before that. Most having to do with food. drink, hot, cold, sleep, and diapers. Once I started talking, I only spoke in complete, clear sentences from then on. Then I would not stop asking questions.

My son only had 3 words when he started speech therapy at age 24 months. 1 real word and 2 made-up ones. He's 9 and a complete chatterbox now.

I think it's a good sign that she has 6 understandable words. Do you observe her speech sessions? I sat in on my son's and I used the same techniques to help him talk.

My son (HFA) started using single words when he was about two.
My son went to kindergarten with a five year old HFA without speach - he is speaking just fine now.
So it's hard to tell.
Have you thought of using concretes/polaroids/pictograms - they aid communication, and therefore help developement and behaviour. A lot of parents are afraid they will slow spoken language down, but they actually help. Also, a lot of autistic kids think very visually, as opposed to verbally, so it is easier for them to learn.

I've heard a system called PECS is great, but have no experience with it myself.

If she says 6 words that are understandable... isn't that, in fact, talking? She's only 2 1/2, right? Six words may not seem like much, but it's a good start. If she seems happy all the time as you say, enjoy that with her. Some parents will never, ever hear their children talk- not just parents of autistics, but of deaf or mute children. Don't get too hung up what she can't do yet, especially since there is plenty of time for her to develop and learn.

My son wasn't very verbal when he was 2. He used single words but didn't start putting 3-4 word sentences together until he was nearly 3. I worried a lot because it seemed like he was behind his peers.

Now he is 6 and has an amazing vocabulary!

I have a mostly non-verbal 26 month old, so I know where you're coming from. You're doing the right things. Feel blessed, for our county currently has NO speech therapist available through Early Intervention, so I am doing all of it myself with the help of books, sign language and the internet. But does this mean they will be non-verbal forever? I don't think so. The happy babbling is a very positive sign.

I'm just curious, but what are her 6 words?

That is a good list of words. Food and toilet are the only things missing, letting me know that you take care of those needs very well. Those words could last for another year. Hopefully she will get curious or bored before then.
I assume she hears more than one language every day. She may be trying to decide if she should speak English or Spanish. My nephew was like that. Don't be surprised if she chooses the other language from the one you want to be primary.

Those are very good words. Do not feel too bad that she has not said 'mommy' yet. I heard that it's easier to articulate 'daddy' and that is often a first word.

My son was exposed to two languages and the speech therapist told me to stick to English since he was struggling so much. He understands some Spanish, but he refuses to talk in Spanish.