Ever Wish you were Nonverbal?

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I would say that I spend most of my day not talking.

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 29 Nov 2016, 10:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

Definitely not. It would be frustrating not to be able to express yourself in words.

There are times, however, that I say things I wish I could retract.

I've already been non verbal and I wouldn't go back to it. It really sucked because you couldn't tell teachers what you wanted or tell your mother and it would be very frustrating trying to tell someone what you want and everyone keeps thinking you want something else and they don't understand your nonverbal language because it's different and then I am having a meltdown because I couldn't get the adult to understand me and I am not understanding why they aren't listening. Then try having a kid take something that belongs to you and the teacher doesn't understand that it's yours so even trying to point to it, they still don't understand. Then if you try and grab it back from them, you are in trouble. So you do nothing and just wait to get it back when they are done with it. Also having the adults think you intentionally hurt a child and you aren't able to tell them it was an accident so they assume you did it on purpose and give you a time out. Even with language it was still hard because you didn't know all the words. No wonder autistic children lash out with aggression. No wonder I was aggressive myself in my early years. But I only remember crying and screaming. I don't remember doing any aggression. The only people who understood me were my parents. No one else.

I understand that wishing to be non verbal is just a vent and no one really means it so I don't take offense to it.

Last edited by League_Girl on 29 Nov 2016, 1:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yeah, that would be nice. I have an app on my tablet that does that, it has buttons with words and phrases, and all I have to do is press them, and my tablet speaks them for me. It feels so much better than forcing words out.

League_Girl, I understand where you're coming from. If I had to be nonverbal and had no other way to communicate, I would find that very stressful and wouldn't like it at all.

When I lived on the West Coast(USA) I did an act called
Mime Over Matter.

From the Art Quake in Porttland
to the University of Nevada at Reno's Football Stadium, I developed walk around to full stage bits.

In Tahoe I was featured at the Zuchhinni Festival to Hotels.
The former I was in Green Face.
People often ask how I could go for hours without voice.

These days it is either ON or off.

No.
However, I find it beneficial to have some periods of silence, especially when tired.
Excample, last night, it was a brief rest between some very full days (including an autism assessment) and a run of night shifts where I curlked up in what I tterm my Sensory Place with a part of stuffed toys and shut eyes, concentrated just on the touch sense and stopping the usual chit chat which goes on in my head as I deal with day to day stuff.

I go nonverbal over intense emotional stress and it's very humiliating. If I can't articulate myself I get stuck.

Me too, when I get stressed or overwhelmed, I start stuttering and can't get my words out, it's just the same syllable over and over, or garbled gibberish that doesn't make any sense.

I barely speak at all, anyway [unless I get to talk about my favourite things]. But I love singing, so I wouldn't want to be completely mute.

No. But in the 70’s and early 80’s I was a professional mime.

Why would you ever wish you were non verbal that would sad.

I love having the choice. There are times when I am involuntarily nonverbal and there are times when I choose it because I don't have enough energy to carry on a verbal conversation. When I am really low on energy or really overwhelmed and when I am involuntarily nonverbal, I pull out a card I made that says, "Please forgive me, I am unable to communicate verbally due to brain processing issues. I can hear and understand you. I just need to respond in written form or in ASL fingerspelling. Thank you for understanding."

Once I show this to people they have no problem with understanding and with letting me be temporarily nonverbal. They know I am not being antisocial or rude and that it is simply a matter of being overwhelmed and of needing to manage brain functioning energy. The only one who sometimes doesn't understand this is my mom but I can't do anything about that.

For some of us verbal speech can take an enormous amount of energy and can leave us very drained and exhausted. If I am not speaking about a special interest or about a subject I am really well versed in, there are times when verbal communication can really wear me out completely. And sometimes, especially if my energy is low, my speech can be very dyslexic and I miss words and phrases and say things backwards and it just becomes too difficult and too taxing to keep trying to speak. I even start to lose some brain function. So during times like that it is important for me to be able to choose nonverbal options.

One day I was with my disability lawyer. I had to be nonverbal that day so she chose to join me and try it. She loved it. She found it very relaxing.

I don't think I would enjoy being permanantly nonverbal because I speak very well for the most part and always have. It would be a vey difficult change. But I am extremely grateful to have both options.

That is so cool!

I often used to wish I were deaf. This is because I have always found it very sexy when people communicate in sign.

Why don't you just learn sign?