Is this typical for semi-verbal or mostly nonverbal neurodivergent folks?
In most cases, Jonah will not speak, though he possesses a decent-sized vocabulary and can write and read out loud.
He WILL communicate verbally his basic wants and needs.
“I need water.”
“I want space.”
“I want to go to Disneyland!”
“I want the tablet at 100%! Tablet, don’t go down!”
But the range of his speaking ability is fairly limited.
Would Jonah provide his name to a police officer? Would he be able to tell them who his parents are, or be able to communicate ANYTHING meaningful to first responders in an emergency?
Probably not. (I don’t honestly know)
We have had multiple speech therapists, but none of them have come to a definitive conclusion about Jonah’s speaking abilities… some of them advocating for an AAC device, some of them saying he doesn’t need one.
Whatever the hindrance may be, Jonah is not confident in his communication, be it via AAC or otherwise.
Often, on an AAC device, his finger will “hover” over a button he wants to push, but he will not actually “push it,” even if the button communicates exactly what he wants and is appropriate in the situation.
(At least, at home.)
When he uses any verbal language, he will wait for a familiar prompt from which he can respond in a wrote “script.”
“How are you?”
“Fine.”
“Did you have fun?”
“Yeah!”
These are “automatic” verbal responses, that are answered the same, regardless of if they are “true” or not.
Any “yes or no” question about his day is automatically “yeah” even if the obvious answer is “no.”
“Did you watch movies all day at school?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you have PE today (on a non-PE day)?”
“Yeah.”
I don’t know if he doesn’t understand the question, or if he is just answering the question with “words” because it is expected.
Or maybe he doesn’t actually want me asking him questions and he’s just “blowing me off…”
But “yeah” doesn’t seem to actually mean “yes” here.
Or who knows? Maybe it does.
It seems the only time Jonah voluntarily verbally communicates with us is when he is watching mischief happen, is the cause of said mischief, or when he is enthralled playing video games.
When he is being mischievous, he will often communicate with us by joking that he is going to “do the thing” we don’t want him to do in order to get a rise out of us.
“Come-on Daddy!”
“I want to flood the house!”
“I want to climb into the attic!”
“I want to make a soapy mask!”
He is using his speech pretty one dimensionally in these instances as the only thing he really communicates here is his desire to play.
I mean, I’ll take it. When you look at where we started and how far we’ve come…
ANY verbal communication is a victory to me.
But here’s the thing.
When Jonah is playing on his tablet, I can hear a different WORLD of spoken language muttered under his breath.
And from the small amount I can decipher, he NAILS it.
I’ll hear bits and pieces of phrases about his situation in Minecraft or Roblox used totally appropriately that I have NEVER heard him use in “real life.”
And when I try to engage him about it or ask him what he said, he completely shuts me down.
“Daddy, I want SPACE!”
Maybe he is anxious using spoken language in real life because he is self-conscious about it, or maybe he just doesn’t want to talk to ME specifically because he is a 10-year-old tween.
But whatever the case, I want Jonah to feel comfortable enough to use the vocabulary he has learned in whatever capacity he is able, because not everyone around him will always be able to understand him.
A consistent form of good communication is ESSENTIAL in order to thrive.
I believe it’s a skill that Jonah currently possesses.
I just don’t know the best way to encourage it.
Thoughts?
#ausome