What's it like for non-verbal autistics?

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OK, I am not criticising or making fun here, I just want to educate myself on why some people with autism are non-verbal.

I've been watching some videos on YouTube of autistic teenagers and adults that are non-verbal. They use those devices that help non-verbal people communicate with verbal people (those things with a keypad, I don't know what they're called).
My question is (to those here that are non-verbal), what stops you from talking? Is it something in your brain that has a disconnection with the tongue and vocal cords? Is saying "hello" harder than writing "hello" on a keypad? What's it like to not be able to speak at all? Have you ever tried to say a word but the words just don't come out? Are you unsure how to speak?

Again, I am NOT being insensitive or disrespecting non-verbal people. I just want to know and understand more about what it's like to be non-verbal, especially for teens and adults. It's interesting to me after watching some videos of non-verbal autistics. Maybe non-verbal autistics have questions for verbal autistics/Aspies like myself, which I would be quite happy to answer.

From what I've observed:

Aphasia of varying kinds, certain types of dyspraxia, severe impulsivity combined with echolia or severe echolalia, or a serious need for constant stim, or some type of hyposensitivity between the mind and body.
Some are just have mutism, some are just anxious and impulsive.

Their reaction's depends if they are more inclined to meltdown or shutdown, their 'temperament' and their impulse control regardless of their intelligence profile.


How they write or read, or of they ever got other communication tools entirely depends on the individual.

In truth, I've yet to meet another autistic who relies on technology to work around with speech in real life -- because the current paradigm here still prioritizes speech and eye contact if you know what I mean.

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Are you asking about autistic people who are typical non verbal, or usually verbal types who lose language when in overload, ect?

The only adults/adolescents I've met with autism who were non-verbal also had learning difficulties, and I think that contributed to their lack of speech. I have worked with quite a few non-verbal autistic children, which is different of course as eventually quite a few of them did gain a few words.
One boy I knew until he was about 11 years old didn't speak, and had an unusual sense of humour; he enjoyed doing things that made people cross with him and would then laugh with delight as they told him off or shouted at him! I learned pretty quickly to just ignore him when he was getting up to mischief, and he would stop, but some people just couldn't help themselves.
There was one occasion where I heard him speak - he was sad and wanted his mum. So I think he was able to speak, either only at certain times or in a very limited way, or he chose not to. I think he chose not to.

Probably, many nonverbal autistic people have some sort of “learning difficulty.” Some are highly intelligent, though.

Edna gave an excellent description. Many nonverbal people have “apraxia of speech,” which sometimes causes a person to not have the ability to speak for neurological reasons having nothing to do with intelligence.

It has been said that half of all autistic people never develop oral speech.

I may be wrong, but I think non-verbal autism raises questions as to how intelligence should be assessed and defined.

Yep. It does raise questions. Many items on an IQ test require a spoken response.

Of course, the nonverbal person could know the answer to a question...but might not be able to orally say it.

Speech is actually a very complected neurological process.
Not just saying words but also forming sentences and verbally conversing.
Those connections just are not there for the nonverbal.
I am nonverbal in that I can not hold a conversation.
I can say a word here and there and if I put a lot of effort into it I can read words off a list. But that is all.
Think of something you can't do. Some people can't snap their fingers or whistle or juggle or play a piano or whatever. The neurological connection just is not there.

Apraixa or dyspraxia of speech is an oral motor speech disorder where the mouth and tongue are uncoordinated. I have that problem as well.

Selective mutism is more of a psychological block.

Before I was exploring ASD for myself, I was captivated by an article about an non-verbal autistic woman. As a teenager somebody thought to give her the opportunity to type and ----boom! She wrote that she didn't have access to the verbal function and had other bodily limitations, but her thoughts were whole. She went on to write books. I also read about Helen Keller around that time, another person with limitations who -with help- was able to establish communication. It must be frustrating if a person can't establish communication in any way and I hope they have caregivers who understand the richness of thought and being that is likely behind those barriers.

My daughter is verbal, but doesn't like talking. She was marked down on her IQ test which was administered verbally; she kept asking "are we done? are we done? are we done?" - her teacher said she displayed a lack of interest in learning. I thought to myself my daughter displayed her discomfort with speech, but I struggle with asserting myself in the moment so didn't respond.

Is being non-verbal used as a yardstick for severity of ASD? I.E , irrespective of how you may be re other aspects of ASD, the more non-verbal you are the more disabled you'll be reckoned to be .

Being a Asperger's person and having grown up with a non verbal sister ,first 14 yrs of her life .
Can certainly state unequivically , ? Is that a word ? That non verbals are appearing to me to be quite intelligent . Cannot imagine doing 1000 peice jigsaw puzzle in a hour . But i witnessed this .
Of course she had practice . Started of with 6 piece jigsaw puzzles. Just one of the things i saw growing up with her .

I have periods when I go nonverbal under stress. For me, I know the words I want to say, but my mouth won’t work to make them come out. If I try, it could take several minutes of effort to produce one word, which is very frustrating. I’m voluntarily semi-verbal, and use a writing pad even when my speaking ability is intact, because creating speech is very physically tiring, and sometimes I just don’t want to.

Having Aspergers/Autism puts you in difficult position and makes life harder than an NT. Having to explain to everyone you have Aspergers/Autism and that you are misunderstood in social interactions because of Aspergers/Autism makes life frustrating.

Making friends is harder for a person with Autism/Aspergers, because we are unable to read non-verbal signs despite having good written/verbal communication skills. Social skills are limited due to our disability. An Autistic person struggles to read body language, may avoid eye contact or unable to read facial expressions. Even with good social skills a high functioning Autistic person is unlikely to be liked or accepted by NTs.