Sign language for non-verbal moments

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I'm curious if anyone has learned sign language to compensate for your non-verbal moments. Does it work? Or does non-verbal include signing too? I know sign activates the same pathways as spoken language, so I'm not sure if it would be short circuited or not.

Does anyone have any experience here?

I find that sign doesn't feel like spoken language to me. Sign feels like written language. There are multiple things I can do with sign that I can't do with spoken language - including how I spell, and when I lose speech.

I can, and sometimes do, supplement with sign when I can't speak. I don't remember very much so I only use fingerspelling currently. It's not very good, but I can do it. It is reduced communication beyond just not being able to speak though.

I normally type when I can't speak though.

Agreed ^^^ however Ive found fingerspelling a lot like talking, but signing words/phrases a lot like pictures instead of verbal, though its only useful if other people can understand it.

It worked for several people that I knew (Mainly children), but it doesn't work for me. If I can't manage to drag all my thoughts into a coherent sentence, that trying to do it in a second language (ASL) would just make things worse.

I find it's useful with children who are non verbal to use certain signs (Makaton as opposed to Sign Language) - they can ask for what they want or answer questions more easily.

I use it at home because my partner's deaf. I find it easier to express feelings in sign language. If I don't know the word for how I'm feeling, I can kind of show him with a sign and body language. It's more expressive than spoken language and I find it easier to read between the lines when someone is signing.

I find it very helpfull to use sign language cause I have only thaught a couple of people I know how to use it and they don't know much either and if I'm feeling like I can't use my voice then I don't want to have conversations either so there will be no smalltalk or any thing unnessesary said cause they can only understand limited responses so I get left alone as much as I want.
When random people come up to you and ask things or to se if you are okey or something when you are out somewhere you can sign an answer in an sentence and they will get confused and problolby go away

Doesn't ASL require eye contact? I don't think anyone around me would learn a language just to communicate with me.

Well, it actually just requires looking at the signer's face while the signer is signing, mainly the mouth and the eyebrows. You don't have to look him/her directly in the eye and you don't have to look at them while you are signing, only at the end when you hold your sign until he/she starts signing.

I have 3 signing books here on the shelf, borrowed and recently unused.
I made an effort at learning and using more signing when I was having more difficulty with speech and I found some odd things that may be useful to some people. I've done some thinking on this subject.

When my left temporal slowing kicks in and decides to create a mute moment I can switch over to simpler right brained "support speech" by signing left handed. That's what it feels like anyway. I used to do something like that with studio time...paint/draw with left hand for a minute to get into right brain mode to make the most of studio time in college. Learned that trick from a cool Prof. and it came in handy for this problem too. It doesn't always work great but it's a tip that may work for some people. It was one creative solution that doesn't always work, but can be helpful and occupational therapists probably won't suggest it.

Every once in awhile I feel like I push my speech way too hard and I get temporal slowing on both sides. I can hear my speech slowing down before that happens, and then it will simply stop. Does anybody else get that? Or is that just a me-thing? It rarely happens but when it does at that point there are no words, no writing, and no signing either. I can nod yes/no, and sign no, but that's it. It's frustrating, sometimes more for other people who don't know why I'm not speaking/answering and they take it the wrong way. That was where signing became a disappointment. Strattera made a difference in speech but the problem was still there (just slowing, no stopping) and the med came with it's own, sometimes bigger, problems. Maybe learning my limits will help it happen less often?

When I checked seriously into college classes for signing I also realized there was a problem with how much I would have to learn at what pace. 15-20 words/day +facial expression, body language (etc) 4 days/wk. If it was just the gestures maybe I could do that, but not 80 words/wk plus everything else that goes with them for 16 weeks. And if I don't use it I'll lose it, so I needed people in my life who will use it with me *regularly*. It needs to be easy for them to learn and use too. The deaf community is neurotypical otherwise and my friend who knows sign was quick to point out that my lack of facial expression with signing *was* confusing at times (the deaf rely on it heavily apparently), and I had a very difficult time doing both. But knowing a little sign has come in handy once in awhile, so I haven't given up on it. I am okay at fingerspelling, but that's totally offline right along with my speech for exactly the same reason.

I looked a little bit at makaton but can't find much info on it. It seems like autism should have it's own signing system that is hard core visually based, simple, and doesn't rely on facial expression, eye contact, or fingerspelling at all. I've read makaton is british. Is use of it picking up in the US?

I have learned something called "signing as alternative and aditional comunication" (or something like that, TAKK in swedish) and thats just very basic signs that is mostly used to help autistic kids to start speaking, I haven't found any reason why you would need to look at the other persons face when signing.
The signs are more words like food, what, where, pizza, cold, question, chair etc. so they aren't ment for sentences but they are very obvious what they mean with just some imaginatioan so I don't see a need for grammatic correctness when you just want to answer simple things.
you could sign "cold + hungry" if someone asks how you are, you could sign "you+me, now, go, where" and mean where should we go. You can sign "now" by making a N with one hand and pointing the N at an invisable (or real) clock on your other wrist. Pizza is signed by holding one hand up and making the other one as a P and making a circle motion on top of the first one. Obvious when you think about it right?
I still have all the papers from the course left with pictures showing how to make each sign, I could scan in some of them if someone would like me to?

I think Makaton is British, but I am surprised it hasn't made it across to the US yet. Makaton is similar to BSL but a much more simplified version. For example in BSL to ask someone their name you sign 'name you what?' but in Makaton you sign the same order as you would speak 'what you name?'. Makaton signs, unlike BSL signs, are more representative of what is being described so it is quite easy to learn. Another difference with Makaton to BSL is that you speak and sign as it is used to help non-verbal/low-verbal children learn language at the same time. I use Makaton when I cannot communicate verbally. Mostly the signs meaning 'stressed' 'anxious' and 'noise' as I don't like certain noises. I am hoping to get a touch screen computer on to communicate with in times of stress eventually though. It would be much easier to understand.