dolphin + selective mutism / sensory integration dysfunction
both disorders of mutism and spd ( sensory processing disorder, another name for sid ) stem from the trauma of the abduction and experimentation of dolphin, done on her by an alien race with results of her gaining the ability to breathe and survive underwater, mimicking atlantean abilities. whether this was on purpose or not, she has wondered but quickly moved over, she deals with what’s happened to her by ignoring it.
her sm and spd both began in childhood and because they weren’t acknowledged or treated, they developed and worsened into adulthood. there’s nothing physically inhibiting dolphin from speaking, her vocal cords work fine, but the anxiety that stems from new people and surroundings, especially those in of a medical nature, trigger her into a frozen state where she becomes still and stiff, rude and increasingly agressive until she’s given a method or opportunity to escape and calm herself down, come out of the state of high anxiety and stress. in this state she can also react negatively to touch or people crowding her, the sensory integration dysfunction coinciding with her anxious state. each condition further exacerbates the other until she either acts out and forces her escape from the situation or she just cognitively stops and goes blank. this has only happened three times in her life and has taken a long time for her to come out of the blank state and then, will refuse to speak.
there are trusted people that she converses openly with, garth, the aquafamily, some of the titans. for communication with others, she has knowledge of american sign language, written notes, some makaton symbols for when she’s overloaded and while underwater, her bioluminescence powers can be used to make those symbols.
