Nonverbal Autistic Puns

I just saw that there are videos of nonverbal autistic people doing their thing and they're out on the internet. No one seems to be disturbed by the fact that these people have not given consent.

Sample, this is from the Florida times union, a verified account with 20.2K subscribers and I think is actually the official YouTube channel of this news place.

https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1caknw/eli5_why_do_peoples_faces_have_to_be_blurred_on/

This Reddit post, which I don't know how accurate it is, says that people must sign a consent form to properly be on television or else they will have their faces blurred.

This explains why children in many cases have their faces blurred like an articles or television because they cannot consent and we feel a little uncomfortable about having children be exposed like that.

These people, the nonverbal people never have their faces blurred and these people are in their own houses where they should have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

But these people are not provided with a consent form. They are not given full consent and they are not told or explained the form and the request for public broadcasting of themselves in a way that they can understand.

If you cannot explain what your request is in a way that they can give proper consent, then you shouldn't do it.

they are treated like animals. We do not think animals have this concept of consent. This is why we videotape animals and then post it on the internet. This is why when an animal has sex with a human it is considered rape but when a human has sex with an animal it's considered bestiality rather than interspecies rape. The problem that is always highlighted with this is the interspecies part rather than the violation of consent upon the animal.

When you treat a nonverbal person this way, and assume that they don't have a concept of consent then it's very easy to sexually assault them or something else.

We can give them medicine for example without asking if that's the kind of medicine they want. Or if they're happy about it.

We can do things like move them into group homes without asking if that's what they want to live. I mean, maybe they like it where they live.

This is also in regards to animals too. For example certain animals actually have human intelligence but I don't think they're wants or desires are ever considered. Maybe they are. What about the music? What about the lights?

What if there's a group of chimpanzees for e

Parents advice as well as advice from autistic individuals on what helped your children or yourself be able to conquer this milestone. We have done sign language and he was in ABA from 2-6 until he started school this year (which he really enjoys) but still has challenges with this scenario.

Thanks in advance!

I've been wondering because i've been looking to find people who also experience being nonverbal, but despite the estimate of 25% to 50% of autistic people being nonverbal, I have not met any, despite interacting with a lot of neurodivergent spaces online. Why might this be? I don't understand.

i have a question for non-verbal/non-speaking autistics and other neurodiverse ppl (as in fully nonverbal, not just occasionally bc i know the term has been watered down a lot)

so i am verbal. i had a speech delay when i was a kid but nowadays i talk as much as an allistic person, even if my words get jumbled sometimes.

however, talking is EXHAUSTING. i work in retail/cashiering so i have to talk the whole day. and then people want me to talk at home or out in public and it's just really stressful.

so i've been looking into aac and text-to-speech programs to try and limit my stress when i'm not masking.

i just have some concerns:

1. i don't know if my family would accept me swapping to alternate forms of communication, even if it's not all the time. because i do have verbal abilities, but it's EXHAUSTING to talk all the time. i also already get infantilized a bit by my sister so i'm worried that this would make it worse.
2. i don't want to step on the toes of any actually non-speaking or non-verbal ppl!! i don't want to co-op your struggle as someone who has the ability to speak. i'm trying my best to learn more about the non-verbal community but it's really, really hard to find resources, especially when most answers online to the statement "i want to stop speaking" are "you're just being difficult"

i'm not asking to be coddled or to be welcomed with open arms as non-verbal when i'm not, but i would like the perspective of people who are actually non-verbal and use aac to communicate.

Hey! I’m a respite care provider for kids with developmental disabilities and most of my clients are autistic and I have one client who is mostly non verbal and the dad keeps telling me I need to help him “get better at talking”. I’d say he answers or talks back to me about 40% of the time. I don’t really see a problem with this because it’s just the way he communicates and I know he’s listening to me. Like if I ask him “do you want to go outside and play in the backyard” he won’t answer but he’ll just get up and go outside and we’ll have fun. I do ask him questions and talk to him while he’s playing games or watching videos and it doesn’t bother me if he doesn’t answer but I feel like the dad wants me to force him to talk. Like if the dad is around and I ask him something and he doesn’t respond the dad will say his name in a stern voice and tells him he needs to answer me and it just feels awkward. I don’t want to force him to talk if he doesn’t want to. He always calls me his best friend and I also see him as my friend so I feel like I should just let him communicate with me in a way that’s good for him. What should I do?

I (23M) live in a townhouse with my girlfriend and it has been relatively nice to live here. However, our neighbors, as the title suggests, have a nonverbal autistic child that makes our lives a living hell. He constantly bangs on the walls, to the point that it causes the very floor of OUR room to shake. These fits of banging happen without warning multiple times a day (at least once every 30 minutes to an hour on the weekends) and have been going on for 6months. I have spoken to them once about how I can hear the banging, but they seemed unreceptive (the man, who I assume is the father, I spoke with basically had a "tough shit" attitude). I have not tried speaking to them again, however, I am fed up.

I obviously don't want to involve the police or landlords because I understand that their child's behavior is just as frustrating for them and that the child has disabilities that are not his fault, but I am reaching my breaking point. I would like to speak with them again but am extremely unconfrontational. What should I do? What CAN I do? It seems like the only solution is for US to move, but that is not an option at this time, as our lease doesn't end until June and we can't leave for educational purposes until then.

Anything you guys can offer is greatly appreciated.

I want to contact him but we aren't in contact, and part of me feels cheated by that because he's my cousin and we have something in common, but another part of me is aware that our experiences are incredibly different and I kind of want to see him for that reason, and that I probably wouldn't care nearly as much as if he was a distant neurotypical relative of mine.

I feel a bit like one of those neurotypical people who talk about having a distant cousin who has autism when you tell them you're autistic, but it's obviously very different.

I've noticed that many of my autistic peers have "high functioning" autism and were nonverbal as children but verbal as adults, but I have what might have been referred to as Aspergers and learnt to speak at a normal rate, and he still struggles to converse with speech.

Hi everyone, My name is Alex and I am a nonverbal, high support needs Autistic woman. I'm looking to connect with other Autistic adults, especially those who use alternative communication methods.

A bit controversial topic. I had a zoom meeting today.

Video feature was on and we could see each other.

I'm pretty struggling with making facial expressions in a reasonable manner.

My current strategy is to try to smile a little at the end of conversation to express my gratitude. Honestly, no idea how this can impress people successfully.

Just out of curiosity, did anyone find a good strategy or material which works regarding facial expressions?

Hi, I hope this is the right place for this kind of thing, I'm new. I've been having trouble potty training my 4 year old son. He's mostly non-verbal, he says a few things but is definitely very behind as far as conversating. If I put him on the toilet, he will just hold everything in until I take him off. It feels like I've tried everything, but nothing seems to get him to go. I've tried running the faucet and putting his hand in the water, I take him every hour. He doesn't like being soiled, so I was hoping if I just put him in underwear and take him when he goes in it, because he generally tells us when he needs to be changed, it might help him get the idea and a few times in the beginning he would pee a little, but now he just runs around having wet himself and ignores it. Any advice or suggestions based on your experiences would be appreciated. I've tried the things hit OT and teachers suggested and nothing seems to work, I feel helpless but I don't want to give up.

I myself am not nonverbal and I'm just wondering what it's like for people who are nonverbal. If this is an offensive question or against the rules Ill take this post down

She has zero concept of danger. Given the opportunity, she would walk out into traffic without batting an eye. We try to keep her contained. We have locks on doors she can’t reach. We bolt the gate shut. We are watching her whenever we can. But we aren’t perfect. We can’t have her in our sights 24/7. Just now, her mom got home from work and picking the kids up from school, and I was at the store. Her mom took a shower. When I got home minutes later, she was gone. Doors locked, gates shut. Everything. We still don’t know how she got out. I drove around nearby blocks and found her with the police. She was just walking across a main road. At 4pm. Rush hour traffic. Luckily she wasn’t hurt. We don’t know what else we can do. We can’t lock her in her room and only let her out for school. That’s basically child abuse. But we can’t keep her safe unless we do that. CPS has been called multiple times over the past few years. We are trying our best. We try to keep her happy. We hold her when she cries. We play with her. We talk to her. We bathe and feed her. We love her. What would be ideal is if she learned that she could be in serious danger when she wanders off. But nothing we do seems to get through to her. And she either won’t or can’t confirm when she understands something. We don’t know what to do. How do you teach someone who you don’t know is even listening?

th uh

i literally can barely process words right. now

ow

Pray for us.

I'm the twin (we're both 19) of my nonverbal autistic sister. I lived with her this 19 years and she can't say a single word, just sometimes vocals, but nothing that you could comprehend without knowing her.

I can't read her mind, but I'll try to answer every question. And sorry beforehand if I say something ableist. I'm still trying to learn more about autism through people with it, but I know have so much to learn yet and if I say something wrong please correct me.

With that said, AMA.

Trying to give him this activity as much as possible, but he's making it unsafe, so we can't do it anymore.

It's too cold outside for water play.

In the house, I was letting him play in the shower until he started grabbing the drain and cut his hand on it because it's metal. So I had to lock him out of that.

Bath tub - he wants in and out. Constantly. And he keeps grabbing the cat litter and throwing it into the tub. It's not safe because of water on the floor, and frankly it's not something I want to encourage. I've tried locking him out of the bathroom, but he just tantrums and won't let it go. We have been back and forth from the door all day long because he literally will. not. let. it. go. And he doesn't like when the tub is full of water, because it's not as fun, apparently. He wants to be in the dry tub, and he's already fallen over several times. I've tried putting a towel on the floor for the water, but he picks it up and throws it in the tub. I've tried putting one in the tub, but he throws it out of the tub....

We tried sink play. He just splashes the water everywhere and makes it slippery and falls. It's just not safe no matter what I try.... I've tried containers of water on the floor, but he picks them up and pours them out, then he wants me to refill them. Most of our house is carpet. I'd put him on the linoleum with towels underneath, but it can only hold so much water. Sigh.

I need advice or suggestions, because he's making me bonkers today with his constant tantrums. I'd love to let him play with water, but he finds a way to make it unsafe, and I don't know how to work with him to make it safe again.

First of all, what are boundaries? Boundaries are a set of rules that define how you can, and should treat a certain person.

Why is understanding boundaries hard for autistic people? It is said that 60 percent of communication is nonverbal, and with communication being a huge struggle for autistic people, picking up on nonverbal cues doesn't come naturally to an autistic person.

Everybody has different boundaries. But making the mental transition from one person to another is difficult for autistic people because of their struggle with sudden changes. One person could be ok with you treating them a certain way, while another person refuses to be treated that way. It isn't always easy for an autistic person to pick up on how a person wants to be treated, especially when it's not communicated.

In todays society, people like to joke around, compliment each other, be friendly, and have a good time, and autistic people have a strong desire to fit in that they will try adapting their behavior and personality to fit in with the rest of the group. The only problem is when they do that, they often come across as creepy or awkward. This can put them at risk in several revenues, like relationships, or professional fields.

That is why we need to help autistic people better prepare themselves for future interactions with others. The problem is that boundaries operate in such a gray area, and autistic people are very black and white thinkers.

So how can we teach autistic people to pick up nonverbal cues, like body language, moods, or facial expressions. All of those pose different meanings. If a person has a face or a tone of voice that looks and sounds unhappy, how do you tell if they are mad at you, or something else? How do you even know if they're mad at all?

Another big problem we run into is stonewallers. A stonewaller is basically someone who refuses to communicate. If you do something to offend them, they could assure you that you didn't when in fact you did.

Now you might be wondering why they haven't learned by now that they shouldn't do something like that? Like I stated earlier, we live in a world where people like to joke around, compliment each other, be friendly, and have a good time.

Here are some boundaries that need to be practiced.

What is ok to say to a stranger?

What is ok to say to a coworker or supervisor?

What's the difference between a professional, and a friendly relationship?

When is ok to joke around?

How do you know if t

Not that he comprehends rudeness. Any advice?

I’m autistic, and sometimes I am nonverbal. ASL is something I’m trying to pick up and teach my loved ones to make a little easier for me, but I know in deaf culture, name signs are only to be assigned by deaf people. I am unsure what to do in this case. I have some auditory processing issues but I’m far from deaf. Thanks yall

TLDR; Non-verbal autistic nephew has only ever said a rough “mom”. Today I think I accidentally taught him his SECOND word- “bitch”.

So my wife has been making fun of me because of my arms are both sore. Tennis elbow in one and pretty bad soreness from a very recent covid vaccine in the other. She calls them my “bitch arms”. This joke has spread around the families these past few days.

We’re around our family (nephew included) today and I make a comment about my bitch arms when we hear my nephew yell a rough, drawn out “biiiiiiiit”.

Everyone pauses and looks at each other in shock. He doesn’t talk. He’ll screech and cry and laugh but the only word he says is a rough “Maaahm” (“Mom”). He doesn’t parrot sounds or follow conversations.

His mother: “God I hope that isn’t really a word”

I guess I’ll find out later if he repeats it.

I have 2 other kids my autistic son competes with by screaming as loud as he can, pretending to hurt himself and generally being a daredevil. I am on edge with him all day long. He can’t get the therapy he really needs- in person with someone else- so our therapy sessions consist of a list of things I have to do for him everyday. I don’t put those things off and do my own thing to release stress because he needs the attention and the support so I smoke as much marijuana as possible, whenever I feel like it. I don’t have emotional breakdowns every 6 hours anymore. I don’t care if he screams anymore I ignore it and I only reward his good behaviour. I don’t go mental and break my hand through a wall because I’m smoking good stuff I grew myself, I am cool and contented. I’m not going to feel guilty about what I have to do to get by my day, it’s the only enjoyable thing I do other than hanging out with my children and they deserve the best version of me.

Edit: Thank you all for the support, I wasn’t expecting it at all and I really needed it.

With covid moving college classes online, I found a job babysitting a 5 year old, nonverbal, autistic boy. His dad, a single father, reached out to me through a babysitting app. He had a lot of trouble finding a reliable person to watch him, with several people having bailed after a couple of days.

I was a bit worried at first as I don't have any training or experience babysitting with autistic or nonverbal individuals. However, his dad was very understanding and really did a ton to help ease me into the job. Plus, I knew I would have a unique opportunity to learn and 25hrs a week of works well with my academic load.

The boy, who I'll refer to as Liam for privacy's sake, is very active and curious. Liam is most often on the underwhelmed senses side with his autism. He likes super acidic or bitter tasting food and is sensitive to texture. He'll eat limes plain and likes unsweetened coco powder. Liam likes chewing and biting to explore things. The first couple of days I worked with him, I got bitten several times, but has stopped as he's gotten to understand and that it's not an accepted way to express himself. He has all sorts of ideas and wants to communicate them, but so far his speech therapist has only gotten through a few ASL signs (more, food, etc) and a food picture chart. Sometimes he throws tantrums when he gets upset

Over time, I've really become fond of him. We go on tons of walks on trails since the parks are closed and he always holds my hand. I bought some rain boots so we can jump in puddles together. His giggles are contagious and I don't especially have to understand what's funny in order to join him. I even overheard one of the neighbor kids ask their mom if i was his older sister, which melted my heart a bit.

I want to help him be able to communicate and so I've been working on learning some more ASL. I follow the advice of his speech therapist with practising what he knows, but I also wanted to find ways to implement it more.

One of those ways I came up with was the swing. Liam loves the swing in their back yard and goes on it several times a day. I started slowly with him. Every time he got on the swing, I showed him the push sign with my hands. He kinda tried to copy me, but just mostly waved his arms around or did other signs like food.

So for a few days, I showed him the sign and then used my hands to completely form and guide his motion. He had to do this often as I'd push him pretty high and then naturally let the swing sl

Hi! I'm a neurotypicals but this question has been in my head for a while.

I recently met a young girl who was autistic and nonverbal, so she was learning American Sign Language to communicate.

It made me wonder; are people like her physically unable to talk or is it difficult to talk, but possible?

If i worded anything in a way that is insensitive, please let me know so I can correct myself!! Thank you!!