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a note on "going nonverbal"
nonverbal refers to a permanent state of not talking. it means months, years, decades of no talking.
not being able to talk for a few minutes to hours at a time is not nonverbal. i don't want anyone to feel dismissed by saying this. not being able to talk is distressing. it is frustrating and scary. if not being able to talk for short periods is distressing, imagine how nonverbal people feel 24/7.
to quote one of my favorite movies "you keep using that word. i do not think it means what you think it means," the princess bride (1987).
when nonverbal people try to talk about their experiences, it is flooded with people talking about 'going nonverbal'. our voices get drowned out in our own community. it feels incredibly isolating and makes it really hard for us to be listened to or even find others who are nonverbal.
also, we have been saying this for YEARS. but every time we bring it up, y'all act like this is a new concept. that just tells me you have not meaningfully interacted with the nonverbal community, or the MSN/HSN community. it is not new, y'all just don't listen.
what to say instead of "going nonverbal". speech loss / losing speech / speech loss episode. vocal rest. verbal shutdown / vocal shutdown. words are offline. verbal loss. PS - vocal rest is GREAT if you don't want to mention why you can't speak, or have to mask. musicians say they are on vocal rest all the time to protect their voice before performing.
"But Chrome! that doesn't sound as serious as "going nonverbal!" people won't take you seriously either way, sorry. i have had periods of my life where i can talk sometimes and periods where i can't ever. they aren't going to take you seriously if you use our language because they don't take you seriously at all. because of the ableism.
"my therapist / SLP / doctor says 'going nonverbal, though -" that doesn't mean it's ok. professionals don't always listen to the people they are attempting to serve. they should, but they don't. because of the ableism. and racism, sexism, etc.
the autism community already has a problem with driving out higher support needs autistics, nonverbal autistics and especially autistic people of Color. you can be part of the solution. you can support marginalized autistic voices and make your community safer and more inclusive. but first you have to listen.
thank you for listening. i hope something good happens to you today!
I’m a part time AAC user due to verbal shutdowns. I use a high tech AAC device, text to speech apps, communication cards and a DIY letter board.
A lot of people like me, who experience verbal shutdowns incorrectly label themselves as “nonverbal”. This misuse of language actually harms the nonspeaking community, and speaks over their lived experience. Nonverbal and nonspeaking describe a full time, long term state of being unable to speak much or at all.
This is not the same as sometimes being usually able to speak, but experiencing verbal loss.
Now don’t get me wrong, if you’ve been using nonverbal to describe yourself for a long time, only to realize that word wasn’t for you, it can be a big change. Even I was quite resistant at first to change my use of language.
But this is important. Nonspeaking people are so often left out of conversations, and so rarely given chances to share their opinions. But the majority of the nonspeaking community has made it clear that this is not a word for people like me, and it’s important to listen to them.
If you’re struggling to find a correct term for temporary loss of speech, here are some alternatives ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Hi guys. Today I want to explain what verbalflux is.
Verbalflux means a person’s ability to verbalize fluctuates in intensity, difficulty, length, and frequency at any given time. They can speak, but their communication skills vary in terms of ease, frequency, and clarity. They may at times have difficulty speaking or not be able to speak at all. These variations might occur at random or be triggered by certain circumstances, and the severity and duration of these difficulties can vary!
Verbalflux is NOT fluctuating between nonverbal, semiverbal, etc. Please stop describing it like that. Those are permanent/long-term states.
Please don’t come at me with “but that’s not a medically recognized term”. I know and I don’t care. I use it to communicate MY experiences. MY support team knows the term. It may not be medically recognized but the term nonverbal is. The term nonspeaking is. There is a community.
Respect their definitions. Respect the people those terms apply to. Don’t water down the terms and generalize everything. Not everything™ is about you.
If you described it like that because you didn’t have another way to describe it, you can reference this post.
To the people who know better and claim to be advocates, shame on you.
No, it is not the same as selective mutism. No, it is not the same as verbal shutdowns.
What’s it called when you have Can’t Talk Disorder? (Or Talk Weird Disorder?)
So, you’re neurodivergent¹ and you can’t talk. Well ... you CAN talk ... some of the time ... but it hurts, or people don’t understand ... and, like, you can tell SOMETHING’S wrong ... but they’re saying you shouldn’t call it ‘going nonverbal’ ² and, well, what DO you call it?
The answer is complicated. There is SO MANY terms for various ways to not speak, have limited speech, or have weird speech. And they all seem to be pretty narrow. ‘Mute’ refers to all people who can’t speak, no matter the cause, and ‘nonverbal’ technically means the same thing, though it’s more often used when there seems to be a neurological (brain) reason for the lack of speech. But there doesn’t seem to be similar terms for ‘speech is hard’ that doesn’t have a cause baked into it.
‘Aphasia’ and ‘apraxia of speech’ are limited to brain injuries. ‘Dysphonia’ is limited to physical injury to the vocal chords. ‘Language disorders’ are limited to things diagnosed in children at a young age when their speech/understanding is delayed. ‘Selective mutism’ refers specifically to trauma affecting speech ability. Etc.
Rather than a broad term that everyone can use, I’ve discovered some more narrow descriptors of various difficulties that someone could have. But, before I get into them, I want to discuss WHY it can be helpful to have this language. And why it can be unhelpful.
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I’ve known there was ‘something wrong’ since I was a kid. Talking hurts my head. It’s exhausting. I make a lot of mistakes. Sometimes I’m reduced to tears and shaking. But I’ve never had the words to describe what’s wrong. And it’s made me feel like I’m faking, being lazy, or imagining things.
Not having set terms also means that other people tend to interpret what I’m saying as normal difficulties with communication. Everyone has trouble finding the words sometimes, and says the wrong word occasionally! It’s really hard to communicate the scale of my issues, especially since they aren’t bad enough to get a professional diagnosis. They’re just wearing me down daily and making me avoid all social interaction. (Please mentally insert sarcastic/rolling eyes emoji here. I don’t understand emoji enough to do it myself.)
Having terminology helps me be patient with myself, and research things that might help. It helps me recognize patterns, and that certain behaviours and experiences are related - that they're not a whole bunch of separate issues.
On the other hand, many of these terms ARE pathologizing normal behaviours. (That means treating them like they’re signs of disorders.) Especially with psychotic disorders, it seems like EVERYTHING gets treated like a sign that you’re broken.³ Please don’t look at these terms and think they mean that your harmless behaviours are actually things that are wrong with you!
It’s only a problem if it’s hurting you, okay?
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¹ The working definition for ‘neurodivergent’ in this post is limited to autism, ADHD, tic disorders, PTSD, and mental disorders in the psychotic, anxiety, and mood varieties. Because those are the things that turned up during my research.
² The reasons that people object to the phrase ‘going nonverbal’ are complex. I don’t understand all the nuance. For me, the heart of the issue is that it makes it harder for nonverbal people, who already find communication hard, to find resources for themselves and connect with other people experiencing the same things. It makes a term less clear for the people least able to be flexible with terminology. And it implies a connection with the experiences of people who are often frustrated with people talking for and over them.
³ If you’re dealing with a psychotic disorder, the term ‘thought disorder’ exists for these challenges. It’s ... well. I found it a good starting point to find many of the more narrow terms! I think the behaviours it describes are real! The way things are framed seems gross and ableist, though, so look it up at your own discretion.
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Anyways, on to the terms I’ve found for specific language issues!
(If anything feels like it might fit, look it up and find out more! These are VERY brief summaries. Just be prepared for the ableism. There's a lot.)
added sounds/words/phrases -
If you produce extra, unintended, syllables and words while trying to speak, or substitute syllables/words with incorrect ones, it's possibly 'paraphasia'.
If you use confused language, with seemingly unconnected words and phrases, it's possibly 'incoherence', or a 'word salad'. If this is due to schizophrenia, it's possibly 'schizophasia'.
If you involuntarily swear or say obscene words, it's possibly 'corprolalia'.
If you involuntarily make sudden and/or repetitive sounds, words or movements, it's possibly a 'tic disorder' and you have 'tics'.
repeated sounds/words/phrases -
If you involuntarily repeat your own words/phrases, it's possibly 'palilalia'.
If you involuntarily repeat the words/phrases that another person/show/etc has said, it's possibly 'echolalia'.
If you repeat sounds/words, prolong sounds, and get 'blocked' (have periods where no sounds will come out), it's possibly 'stuttering' or 'stammering', and you 'stutter'.
If you speak rapidly, repeat yourself, and use too many words, it's possibly 'logorrhea'.
If you involuntarily make sudden and/or repetitive sounds, words or movements, it's possibly a 'tic disorder' and you have 'tics'.
prolonged sounds –
If you repeat sounds/words, prolong sounds, and get 'blocked' (have periods where no sounds will come out), it's possibly 'stuttering' or 'stammering', and you 'stutter'.
wrong sounds -
If you produce extra, unintended, syllables and words while trying to speak, or substitute syllables/words with incorrect ones, it's possibly 'paraphasia'.
If you pronounce specific sounds weird, it's possibly a 'speech sound disorder', an 'articulation disorder' or a 'phonemic disorder'. Subsets:
If you pronounce sibilants ('s' sounds) weird, it's possibly 'lisping' and you 'have a lisp'.
If you pronounce rhotics ('r' sounds) weird, it's possibly 'rhotacism'.
abnormal word use -
If you use confused language, with seemingly unconnected words and phrases, it's possibly 'incoherence', or a 'word salad'. If this is due to schizophrenia, it's possibly 'schizophasia'.
If you use overly formal, flowery, fancy, 'dictionary' language, it's possibly 'stilted speech'.
If you use confused language, with seemingly unconnected words and phrases, it's possibly 'incoherence', or a 'word salad'. If this is due to schizophrenia, it's possibly 'schizophasia'.
If you speak rapidly, with erratic rhythm and poor grammar/syntax, it's possibly 'cluttering'.
added ideas/words/length of speech -
If you speak rapidly, repeat yourself, and use too many words, it's possibly 'logorrhea'.
If you chain together words based on rhymes, alliteration, or idea, without logical connections between them, due to mental illness, it's possibly 'clanging', 'association chaining' or 'glossomania'.
If you can't eliminate irrelevant/inappropriate details about something, it's possibly 'overinclusion'.
If you can't answer a question without a lot of unnecessary detail, it's possibly 'circumstantial speech' or 'circumstantial thinking'.
unconnected/abnormally connected ideas -
If your next thought is replaced by something connected/similar but not actually appropriate for the conversation, it's possibly 'evasion', 'paralogia', or 'perverted logic'.
When you think random, unconnected things have important meanings related to you, it's possibly 'referential thinking'.
If you chain together words based on rhymes, alliteration, or idea, without logical connections between them, due to mental illness, it's possibly 'clanging', 'association chaining' or 'glossomania'.
If you abruptly jump between ideas/topics, it's possibly a 'flight of ideas'.
If you frequently jump to unrelated, or barely related thoughts, it's possibly 'derailment', 'loose association', 'knight's move thinking', or 'disordered thinking'. (This is one of the ones they praise if you’re not mentally ill, by the way.)
If you can't answer a question without a lot of unnecessary detail, it's possibly 'circumstantial speech' or 'circumstantial thinking'.
get stuck on ideas -
If you get stuck on words or ideas, and can't change to another topic, it's possibly 'perseveration'.
rapid speech -
If you speak rapidly, without pauses and spaces to interrupt, it's possibly 'pressured speech'.
If you speak rapidly, repeat yourself, and use too many words, it's possibly 'logorrhea'.
If you speak rapidly, with erratic rhythm and poor grammar/syntax, it's possibly 'cluttering'.
erratic rhythm/no rhythm control -
If you speak rapidly, with erratic rhythm and poor grammar/syntax, it's possibly 'cluttering'.
limited speech -
If you add less detail than expected, say few words, or communicate very little with your words, it's possibly 'alogia', or 'laconic speech'. (The Wiki article for this one is kind of disgusting. Sometimes psychologists make me mad.)
loss of ideas/point/words -
If you frequently jump to unrelated, or barely related thoughts, it's possibly 'derailment', 'loose association', 'knight's move thinking', or 'disordered thinking'. (This is one of the ones they praise if you’re not mentally ill, by the way.)
If you lose your train of thought due to noticing things around you, it's possibly 'distractible speech'.
If you wander off topic and don't return, it's possibly 'tangential speech' or 'tangentiality'.
If your trains of thought abruptly stop and you may not be able to start them again, it's possibly 'thought blocking', or 'obstructive thought'.
If you can't speak, either entirely or in certain situations - due to anxiety, stress, trauma, or other psychological issues – it's possibly 'selective mutism' and you are 'selectively mute'.
If you repeat sounds/words, prolong sounds, and get 'blocked' (have periods where no sounds will come out), it's possibly 'stuttering' or 'stammering', and you 'stutter'.
