It's impossible to know that. But with good intervention, its more likely. If you haven't already done so..... start a RDI program, or an ABA/VB program, get him tested by a DAN doctor to see if he has biomedical issues that could be treated, check into neurotherapy, and find a good speech therapist that will also work with you so you can follow-thru in between sessions. Just take one piece at a time.

My son repeated what ever we told him to say, sang prolifically, and quoted his favorite Disney scenes verbatim until he was 2. Then he slowly began dropping his vocalizations until he was almost mute. We were crushed. he pointed, poked, pulled. and grunted but did not talk. He entered kindergarten not speaking. Then amazingly when he was 6 and a half, while eating at a Chinese restaurant, he began singing. His song was a story about something he had done several months before. WOW! His communication continued in song for several more months and gradually he began talking without singing. Once he got language we couldn't get him to be quiet. He is now at 22 he is very bright and talks about his interests nonstop. All I can say is never give up. Treat your child as you would any other child. Have conversations even if they are one-sided, explain things, take him out and show him the world. When my son was nonverbal at 5 he was tested and we were told his IQ was 70. When he was 8 we were told it was 102 and his latest test when he was about 13 was 129. We joke and say if he was tested now he would have an IQ above 200. Remember almost all intellectual testing relies greatly on receptive and expressive language. Go with your gut. You are his mother. You know him better than anyone. Keep your expectations high. Give him every opportunity you can and let your heart sing with each small improvement knowing you have given him your best even on the bad days when you curl up and veg out watching TV or napping. Be at peace with your efforts. He may reach heights others tell you are impossible and he may be as he is today. Love him, enjoy him, trust in him and trust yourself. This is so easy to say but so hard to do. Don't judge yourself by the standards of others. Praise yourself for being a blessing to your very special boy.

I found a yahoo group faciltated by James Macdonald of Communicating Partners very helpful. His system is called Communicating Partners. In a nutshell, no matter how little the child speaks, 5 techniques can improve his communication and social, so first use these techniques with actions the child is doing and can do. Match - do what he does, Balance - as much as he does (then one more), Respond - always pay attention and give acknowledgement. Share control - don't always boss, let the child have half the control, and be playful. These techniques will improve any relationship, but help the nonverbal child too. James Macdonald has over 30 years of experience, was a professor of speech and language pathologists, and has information about studies and publications on his website. We do what we can. What I learned when I first found Dr. Jim was that my endless questions meant to promote language was probably making it harder and harder for my son to talk. I put myself on a question and demands ban (as much as possible) and I continued playing games that promoted back and forth. I think the hardest part now is not ignoring the endless repetion of stuff he's said over and over, but finding a way to carry the conversation through to something interesting for both of us. I felt empowered when I was ARMed with Dr. Jim's roadmap (Adult/Child Relationship Map).
http://jamesdmacdonald.org/Articles/MacDonaldSt....

I used PECs too when my child was 4. Paired with the words, I believe they were instrumental in helping him learn to read well. I used PECs to help him with anxiety and organization, as well.

No one can say or predict if our children will speak. My son will be 5 next week and has made immense progress in the past year, but is still considered somewhat non-verbal or some might say preverbal. He also has apraxia which cause huge obstacles in his communication. All you can do is be there to help with the correct interventions whether it be finding the right speech therapist,enlisting biomedical treatment,and/or seeking out the help of other professionals.
I have been plugging away since my son was diagnosed and finally after 3 years there is a sign we are getting somewhere!! Do not give up hope that your son will talk and give home the love and confidence to build this confidence(which I'm sure you do!!). Every child is different and each one has their own timeline and it's not unheard of for a child to not speak til 7,8, or even 9 years of age.
I'm not sure if my son will ever be fully verbal but we are finding our way and he is learning everyday and making progress and he teaches me everyday how to be a better mother. I do keep the hope and picture in my mind that someday he will tell me how much he lives me and maybe just maybe have a conversation with me.
Best of luck, because I certainally can relate more than you know, I have she'd many tears over the fear and worry, but again all I can do is love, love, love and keep believing!!!

My son has functional language. But he would not have that if we had not provided quality intervention to him. He imitated his first word at age 3. He started saying single words at age 4. It was a ton of work. But many autistic children learn language easier than my son. And some do not learn language at all.

Also, the speech therapist should be well-versed in assistive technology devices so you can give your son a way to communicate now. These devices promote language so you don't need to worry that giving him this device will set him back. I would also attend a PECS training so you understand how to go about using icons and the device for language.