#non-speaking

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Should We Use the Term “Non-Verbal”?

Mrs Speechie P

[thecouncil-aac]

Our super cool low-tech AAC devices from when we were in-patient <3

They (the nurses and other patients) were fortunately pretty patient and accommodating

[sickly-sapphic]

[ID: A background with deep blue in the centre, which fades to a lighter blue. Text reads; background by valerianknows (pinterest). This disability pride month don't forget about...

this disability pride month don't forget about... high & medium support needs autistics.

this disability pride month don't forget about... Full time AAC users.

this disability pride month don't forget about... high & medium support needs autistics. (Full Time) Nonverbal or non-speaking autistics.

this disability pride month don't forget about... autistics with speech delays and/or speech impairments.

this disability pride month don't forget about... autistics who LIKE using functioning, level, support needs, etc. labels.

this disability pride month don't forget about... autistics that cannot type in "complete" sentences.

this disability pride month don't forget about... autistic people of colour and indigenous autistics.

this disability pride month don't forget about... intellectually disabled people.

this disability pride month don't forget about... developmentally disabled people. End ID]

[giantkillerjack]

Non-verbal folks, if you have a moment to spare, can you please share with me some things you would like to see (or not see) in a non-verbal character in a comic?

I wish to know as much as I can about writing non-verbal characters, as there will be several in my graphic novel. I am and will continue to do my own research, but any tidbit of general or specific input is greatly appreciated!! ^_^

I will add some detail about the character I am making for a side project right now, in case that helps:

So far, I know this character will be a food artist, likely a non-binary femme, East Asian, a hot fat person, bisexual, autistic, kind-hearted, and a user of at least some sign language.

They are one of many romantic interests for the main character in this series, and they will end up happily getting together with the main character (along with pretty much all the other romantic interests in a big big polycule)!

It is a very light-hearted horror-comedy in the style of a cooking manga/harem anime/school otome game. All the characters go to a ridiculously specific cooking college that offers majors like Dinner Theater.

This person is majoring in Art at their cooking college, and they create beautiful edible creations!

(Also, they are an adult, and they will NOT be infantilized by the narrative! They do NOT become verbal in the narrative, nor is this a goal they wish to pursue. They are accepted and accomodated as they are!!!)

I am a physically disabled autistic person, but I am verbal, and so I care very much about hearing firsthand what non-verbal people wish to see in a character that makes them feel proud and seen!

Thank you in advance for any signal boosts, comments, and advice!!! 🙏🙏🙏

[franknfurterstriangulardinosaur]

Ok so this might sound really stupid to some people but I hate that when you learn another language, people say that you can speak it. People ask how many languages can you speak. I can understand and communicate in many languages. Some people I know can understand and communicate in many languages. Speaking is not what shows your understanding. I��m semi-verbal and I have friends who are mute and non-speaking. Again this may sound stupid but your language is not inclusive. “What languages do you understand?” is a much better way of asking. There are also languages where you do not have to speak (sign languages) where you take away their position as a language just because they are silent. Understanding a language is much more clear than speaking it. Being able to communicate in a language doesn’t just mean speaking it. Stop making mute/ non-speaking people not included in multilingual spaces.

[mogai-headcanons]

Chell from Portal is a non-speaking disabled gender apathetic objectum technoum robosexual lesbian with a shortened Achilles tendon and chronic migraines who was born deaf and received a cochlear implant later in life and uses she/her or any pronouns!

She's in a relationship with GLaDOS, an agender creatifemale electromantic cupiosexual lesbian who uses she/her and it/its pronouns!

Wheatley is a shadowgay bi gay man who uses he/him and it/its pronouns!

Chell is platonically attached to the Companion Cube, which is agender and unlabeled and uses any pronouns!

The Adventure Sphere is a bisexual FTM man who uses he/him pronouns!

The Fact Sphere is a bigender trans aroace gay man who uses he/him and it/its pronouns!

Wheatley is dating the Space Sphere, an aroace gai cupio stargender panspacegender pangender sphere who uses xe/xem and it/its pronouns!

The Anger Core is an agender genderfuck hatebeing who uses it/its pronouns!

The Curiosity Core is a genderfluid core that uses all pronouns!

The Intelligence Core is a genderfluix transfeminine pangender core who uses she/her, he/him, and it/its pronouns!

The Morality Core is bigender and uses they/them pronouns!

dni link

[neuroscotian]

Bottema-Beutel, K., Zisk, A. H., Zimmerman, J., & Yu, B. (2025). Conceptualizing and describing autistic language: Moving on from ‘verbal’, ‘minimally verbal’ and ‘nonverbal’. Autism, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613251332573

Several researchers have rightly pointed out that, historically, the needs of many autistic people have not been reflected in autism scholarship and support practices (Tager-Flusberg & Kasari, 2013). Much of this concern has focused on the lack of sufficient attention to addressing the needs of ‘nonverbal’ and ‘minimally verbal’ autistic people. These terms are put in quotes, because there is currently no consistently used criteria for fitting autistic people within these subgroups (Koegel et al., 2020). What is held in common across most uses of these terms is a focus on the number of words an autistic person speaks. Definitions vary, but usually specify a maximum threshold of spoken word vocabulary (e.g. under 20 spoken words for minimally verbal, under 5 spoken words for nonverbal), and may note phrase use (e.g. Mirenda, 2013; Zisk et al., 2024), but differ on the values of these thresholds and the assessments used to determine whether a person meets them. For example, some researchers use parent reports indicating whether a child has ever spoken a given word (e.g. Fenson et al., 2006). Other researchers code naturalistic language samples for the number of unique words spoken by a child while interacting with a caregiver or trained examiner (Bal et al., 2016). Most definitions consider only spoken words and exclude words produced via other modalities such as AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) devices. In addition, they may also exclude forms of speech commonly used by autistic people, such as echolalia, which refers to the repetition of others’ speech; and gestalt speech, which refers to speech that is learned and produced as whole phrases rather than as individual words (Haydock et al., 2024; Koegel et al., 2020). Similarly, school-based professionals often consider only spoken words when defining these terms (Zisk et al., 2024).

We, a neurodiverse team of scholars, professionals, and advocates – some of whom use speech to communicate and some of whom use AAC some or all of the time – align with the underlying sentiments that the communicative needs of autistic people are not currently being met, and that this may be especially consequential for autistic people who use little or no speech. Note that from here forward, we use the terms ‘non-speaking’ or ‘minimally speaking’, because they are preferred over ‘nonverbal’ and ‘minimally verbal’ by autistic people these terms attempt to describe (Zimmerman, 2022; Zisk & Konyn, 2022) and, as we argue below, non-speaking and minimally speaking are more accurate descriptors. We propose that there are many issues with the constructs nonverbal and minimally verbal, including how they are named, conceptualized, measured, and used, that may hamper research, practice, and policy efforts aimed at improving the lives of the autistic people who purportedly belong to these groups.

[accessible-tumbling]

ID: A drawing of a Black person with a serious expression, holding up a phone. Text above reads: "8. Non-Speaking" and text on the phone screen reads: "I know I don't really talk, but that doesn't mean I have nothing to say. So please just listen to me."

End ID.

DAY 8 - Non-Speaking

There are many autistic people who cannot (or will not) speak for all sorts of reasons. That doesn't mean they can't think, feel, learn or communicate at all, and they deserve the same dignity & understanding as anyone else.

[ramyeonpng]

Teighlor McGee (she/they) was an incredible advocate who fought for a better world. She founded and ran the Black Disability Collective, a group which advocates for and champions the lives of Black disabled people. During the 2020 protests against police brutality, Teighlor coordinated information and resources and conveyed that information to people on the ground. She wrote essays and articles, advocated for change at her college campus, and worked in multiple advocacy positions, including at ASAN. Teighlor’s dedication and their fierce love for their communities was apparent to anyone who knew them. During their time at ASAN, Teighlor was a crucial part of creating and planning for mini-grants and we have named the program in their honor. Teighlor passed away in 2022. 

Mini Grants for project proposals for autistic people of colour, non-speaking autistic people, autistic people who are LGBTQ+, autistic people with intellectual disabilities -- more info on the website!

[thecouncil-aac]

Is any other psychosis friend have word scramble more when not brain good?

Or is autism?

Council not sure, is not anxiety select mute because is not only speech lose, is thought scramble mess

Maybe psychosis disjoint thought episode, but usual have no reason, not when sad

Maybe is coincidence?

[allkindsofadvocacy]

Find Me Friday: Nelly, Gabe, & Maeve!

Logo that says Reece’s Rainbow Special Needs Adoption Support in blue, below a blue & yellow paint stroke rainbow graphic with a yellow Ukrainian trident symbol on the right half. In this series, each Friday I’m able, I want to share a different child or group of children who are available for adoption and listed through the adoption advocacy website Reece’s Rainbow. Please note, names used on…

[needycatboy]

missionary where your hands are cuffed above you, and your lover is leaning over you with a possessive hand holding your jaw, their thrusts slow. every time he pulls out he watches your face curiously, and every time he pushes back in he smiles as it pulls a cry out of you. they've got a feral look in their eye as they ask you, "yeah? right there, baby? that feel good kitten?" and you just have to gasp and whimper and take it and

[thecouncil-aac]

-reblog

i made this instagram post !!! there isn't as big of a community of AAC users on instagram so I thought I would share this on my instagram (@cytochromesea).

EDIT: i got an ask that states that not everyone knows what AAC is which is an oversight on my part, it stands for alternative and augmentative communication!

Image ID:

A light blue background with a rainbow and a cloud and some stars. There is a blue border collie with wings holding an aac tablet that says I love you! Text reads: AAC etiquette. Do’s, Don’ts, and other stuff. By cytochrome sea.

The same background appears in every following slide. Text reads:

AAC is my voice! It is not a toy or accessory

Don’t touch my AAC without my permission

Don’t take my AAC away from me, for any reason (joke, punishment, etc)

Don’t press buttons randomly or flip through my communication cards without permission

How would you like it if I randomly poked you on the mouth and throat (or on your hands if you sign)? It would be unpleasant, so don’t do that to me

Some AAC users can speak sometimes. It is not your business why someone can or cannot talk

Don’t ask questions about why an AAC user cannot speak. 

Do let us communicate however is best for us in that moment

Don’t ask us if or when we will be able to speak verbally. It’s not your business 

Do not value verbal speech more highly than AAC. Any communication is good communication

Some of us never talk, either, and that’s ok! Those of us who can talk sometimes are not better than those of us who can’t. None of us owe you an explanation for our use of AAC.

Don’t look at my screen until I show you. It feels really invasive!

It feels like when someone is looking at your phone screen over your shoulder, so please don’t do this

This applies to low tech AAC as well, don’t look at someone’s cards or letter board until they show you

You have the dignity of forming your thoughts in your head before you say them, whereas my thoughts are all on display. Please afford me the same dignity that you get automatically.

Don’t shame someone for not being able to speak verbally. It makes us feel horrible

We are real people with thoughts and feelings. Please treat us with kindness. 

We are trying our best

Don’t shame someone if their device mispronounces a word. It’s quite literally out of our control.

Other Don’ts. Don’t

Don't Treat an AAC user as childish or stupid for not being able to speak. Our ability to speak does not define our worth

Don't Show frustration at the way someone communicates

Don't Make comments about how fast or slow we communicate

Also don’t…

don't Act surprised when we swear or talk about adult topics like sex, drugs, or violence. We are not pure uwu precious smol beans, we are normal fucking people

don't Assume what is “wrong” with us. There are about a hundred reasons for someone to use AAC and you probably aren’t the expert in any of them.

“OK, so what CAN i do?” im glad you asked! When interacting with an AAC user, DO…

Ask us how we prefer to communicate and support us as you are able

Assume that we are competent

Talk to us with the same respect, tone and vocabulary that you would for any one else

Give us money (this one is a joke)

Understand that AAC grammar isn’t perfect and we are doing our best

Is it rude if…

I can’t understand your device? Not rude! Misunderstandings happen all the time in any conversation, just be patient as you would normally. 

I want to complement your AAC? Not rude!

I ask to see your AAC and understand how it works? This isn’t rude if you are already talking about AAC, but don’t ask random strangers this. They don’t owe you an AAC tour. 

Thank you for listening! This post is for the community! If you are an AAC user, let me know if I missed something in the comments and I will pin it! I hope you are filled with peace and love and I hope something good happens to you today! End ID. 

[apollos-boyfriend]

just saw a clip where f1nn5ter was saying how at this point, he can’t be cis, but at the same time, he doesn’t feel like he’s trans—he’s just neither. and someone in chat was like “you can’t be neither cis nor trans that’s not how it works” i love finn but why is his chat so fucking bad 😭 stop recreating binaries for the love of god, identity does not have to fall into these neat little boxes for you to police

[prlssprfctn]

Today I am thinking about Jason, who is fresh out of his coffin, catatonic and non-verbal. His mind is in a haze and in a constant terror most of the time, and when it isn't - when he manages to ground himself, to stop imagining Joker's laughter and the phantom screech of the crowbar - he can't bring himself to speak, because there is... smoke in his lungs. A fucking soot. Rare sounds and words that escape his mouth sound like a painful, inhuman shriek.

He vividly remembers screaming his lungs out in the coffin, though, as he woke up to realise that he was buried six feet under, locked away from the rest of the world. So, maybe it was the last drop - a last attempt to use his voice.

His next tries are too painful. And when his desperate cry for Bruce - for someone to call his dad - is getting ignored, pushed aside, Jason doesn't even want to try any more. What use it would be? No one listens to him anyway.

He is as good as dead.

Oh.

He is dead.