Hi, I'm sorry if you aren't the best person to ask but i cant find anyone else but is it ablest of me to avoid verbally communicating even if I have the ability?
Like I can talk, and it's not particularly hard for me usually, but I feel more comfortable not doing it usually, especially during the times it does hurt. I'm autistic but I don't know if that's the reason why, and I worry it's inconsiderate to not do it by choice since some people don't have one.
Sorry again
It isn't ableist. I've said it before and I will say it again, everyone deserves a comfortable way to communicate. And for you, if using a way other than oral speech is more comfortable, do that!
You deserve to be comfortable, and if that means using AAC, sign, etc. to communicate even though you are speaking. Do it. Somebody who reblogged one of my posts said this, and I think it applies:
"Its called an aid for a reason. You don't NEED a jacket, but winter will be a lot easier if you have one.".
Also, the more people who use AAC the more normalized and available it'll become!
there don't seem to be many people talking about it even here - does anyone else experience selective/situational mutism? are people just tending to wrap it up with autistic speech difficulty/loss, ""going nonverbal"" etc?
I've really been struggling with communication at uni. this has been a bottleneck in my functionality my whole life but I kind of assumed when I was younger that I would have somehow got over it by now.
it doesn't feel entirely accurate to call myself semiverbal/speaking because in many situations I CAN communicate verbally and my brain generally is very compatible with language. but sometimes that just doesn't matter and I'm just frozen staring like a deer in headlights. it even happens with my husband. it's really scary and feels like I'm behind a wall observing the world but unable to interact with it
I'm realizing I need better strategies for working with this, but I don't know what to do or what will help. I don't have friends or family who deal with it
just because a person cannot speak
doesnt mean they dont understand or have nothing to say
I started learning sign language because of when I'm so overwhelmed I can't speak. It has brought me so much more joy than I expected being able to communicate non verbally. I will say, language is a social tool. It felt like I was building a bridge to nowhere before I found people to sign with.
All my life, people have asked me why I was so quiet, and assumed I was an extreme introvert even though I enjoy being around people; I just hated talking and being expected to speak.
Now I have classes that are ASL only and my teachers can't get me to shut up! (They're nice about it, clearly it's in a "let the other kids have a chance" kind of way) Whenever I'm speaking and I can't think of how to express myself in English, my hands will find the words first. And when I'm with someone who understands, it feels so freeing!
One more time I wanna emphasize: Sign Language will help you communicate, but only with people who know sign language. And when you find those people, it is so worth it!
This goes for selective mutism, semi-verbalism, any sort of condition where someone who is generally able to communicate verbally loses the ability to do so