INSIDE PERSPECTIVES of AS & Neurodiversity

 

 

 

SPEECH

 

 

·  Late speech. Some autistics or Aspies start talking very late. This need not necessarily be something to be alarmed over. First of all it is more common in boys to develop speech a little later than girls. Second it is no indication of intelligence or capability. Einstein was slow too. As was one of my cousins, who later grew up to be first a geologist and later a successful lawyer.

 

·  Early speech. Some start talking unusually early.

 

   “I started talking very early, about six months old. I never talked ’baby-language’ but correct Swedish with good word variation.”

- Missbutterfly, adult Aspie from Sweden

 

According to mom I was talking rather fluently by the age of one.

- Inger, site-author

 

·  Monotone voice. Some Aspies have a rather monotone voice and speak in a stilted, pedantic style that sounds more like they are giving a lecture than holding a conversation. Some get nick-names like ‘the little professor’ by their peers. This is perfectly normal for the non-passionate, mentally oriented personality type who is more focused on the conveying of information than on how it is delivered and received. However, not every Aspie or autistic has this characteristic; the majority talk just like everyone else. I think it might be more common in male Aspies than in female.

 

   “When I was younger I had a very monotone voice. This tended to put people off, perhaps because they couldn't judge my emotional state. The only time my voice would chance was if I got very angry or sometimes if I was having a lot of fun. This has changed with time, mostly through practice, but my voice is still flatter than most people's.”

 - William, adult Aspie from USA

 

·  Volume control. Some, both male and female, Aspies have difficulties adjusting voice volume & talking speed to suit the situation. Some have a very soft voice that is hard to hear. Others may talk too loudly without realising it.

 

   “I'm less quiet than I used to be but I've always had that problem of talking too quietly for the people around me.”

- Carrie, adult Aspie from USA

 

MUTISM

 

   Many autistics are non-verbal, although you don’t have to be nonverbal to be autistic. Reasons may be:

 

·  Some of the nonverbal autistics who never gain speech may have verbal apraxia due to lacking enough muscle control to use their vocal chords. These individuals may really want to communicate but are unable to. Many cannot even focus their muscles enough to type or write either.

  

   But with sustained and correctly executed Facilitated Communication, these autistics may be helped to communicate. FC has gotten much criticism - some of which may or may not be justified - but I have personally seen it work with mrs Hilke Osika, music therapist, autism expert and mother of 3 severely autistic sons. She is successfully using it with her children here in Sweden, as well as teaching it to others. However, it must be done with someone the child knows and trusts and the Facilitator needs to have the proper training to be able do it the right way (which is supporting and holding against the Communicator’s wrist so as to provide a stable base, not guiding their hand to individual letters on the letter board).

 

   That it really is the autistic’s own thoughts and not the facilitators, has been shown by those autistics who started out with FC and later learned to type on their own and continued writing in the same personal style; some proving to have very deep and profound thoughts and interests! Hilke Osika also reports an instance when she repeatedly spelled a word one way and her son kept spelling it another way when pointing on the FC letter-board. When later consulting a dictionary, it turned out that her son’s spelling was the correct one...

 

   Ergo: difficulties speaking does not necessarily mean that the person cannot think. Many nonverbal autistics have baffled everyone when gaining access to a computer.

 

   “My sister's husband has an adopted sister who was diagnosed as severely retarded when she was young, but after she was adopted her new mother decided that wasn't accurate and fought to have her appropriately tested and when the 'powers that be' finally listened they found that she had problems with speech due to congenital problems with her mouth, muscles in the mouth, and vocal cords but that she was not retarded.  After that, she was able to get her driving permit, then license and now she is an adult, married and has a child.”

- Kathy J, adult Aspie from USA

 

   Or read this story about Free Freya, once considered the most dangerous woman in Sweden and a hopeless case. After a female Swedish scientist took a personal interest in her, it turned out that all she needed was some mental stimulation, a computer and being treated like a human being!

 

   Even Albert Einstein was thought to be somewhat retarded because he started speaking so late. Another of the most brilliant minds on the planet has at times been treated like a mentally disabled person when ALS affected his ability to speak properly, although it was only his muscles malfunctioning, not his mind:

 

   “One's voice is very important. If you have a slurred voice, people are likely to treat you as mentally deficient: Does he take sugar?”

- Stephen Hawking, physicist

 

 

SELECTIVE MUTISM

 

   Many on the autistic spectrum are basically verbal but may nevertheless find it difficult to speak at times. It is not done on purpose to annoy others, but usually have perfectly valid reasons:

 

·  Straining. Some find it physically straining or painful or simply don’t like to talk.

 

   “I don't particularly like talking - verbally I mean - but I love writing. I often prefer messenger over a verbal conversation. I will and do have verbal conversations when I am in the mood - but sometimes it is just so painful - I seem to sometimes have difficulty verbalising things - getting the right words and my tone of voice is not correct either and can lead to misunderstandings.”

- Julie, adult Aspie from England

 

   Often I am too sensitive to use my voice. If I force myself to talk when my body tells me not to, it causes me severe pain, disruption and/or fatigue that may take a long time to recover from. And even on those days when I am fully able to talk, I will invariably need to rest my voice for at least a few days afterwards and need extra sleep to recover from the strain. Crying can also increase sensitivity to abnormal degrees so when I was depressed and cried a lot, I turned 100% non-verbal for years on end. That was really annoying since I sometimes wanted to be able to talk.

- Inger, site-author

 

   “Many times I just don't want to talk and don't. Then again there are other times when I would like to have someone to chat with. There are plenty of times, however, when there is literally a lump in my throat when I try to speak. Not a nervous lump but rather a kind of blockage as if something does not want to let the words out. Most people that know me don't get upset with just a nod of the head or a wave when I see them.”

- William, adult Aspie from USA

 

  “I sometimes have problems with actually getting a sound from my throat and talking loud enough.”

- O.J., adult Aspie from Norway

 

·  Relevance. Some speak only if they have something significant to convey.

 

   “Yes, it is quite bothersome to talk when I don't want to. I prefer to keep quiet and speak only when I have something important to say.”

 

- Heather, adult Aspie

 

·  Stress. Some may find communication with strangers mentally confusing or emotionally stressful and talk only with people they know and feel safe with.