#alogia

linked resources

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on "going nonverbal":

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why you shouldn't say "going nonverbal"

going nonverbal is not a thing

stop taking what's meant for the nonverbal community

"well what else am i supposed to say??"

alternative terms to describe speech loss/difficulties

what is alternative and augmented communication (AAC):

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what is AAC?

sign language is not AAC

what is AAC by ASHA

intro to AAC by AAC community

infographics and comics:

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a note on "going nonverbal"

the verbal spectrum in autism

how autistic's communicate

let's talk about AAC

communication is for everyone / an introduction to AAC

AAC etiquette

am i allowed to use AAC?

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yes

another one for good measure

misc:

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AACpunk flag and definition

another AACpunk flag (used in the blog's banner)

nonverbal/nonspeaking masterlist

cool thread of posts of liked and disliked AAC experiences

- extremely low empathy

- serious alexithymia; has "head emotions" like me, but they're very faint and she can just "push them away". She has made an impressive habit out of this.

- Unable to communicate properly: I think the best example is a past work conflict where she said she'd need four days to finish a project. Four days passed and the project was not done. What she had meant was four days spread out across several weeks. She was bewildered when her workplace did not understand this.

Another example: When she was getting ready for her master's program, she told me that she wouldn't be talking to anybody. When I followed up with her about this because it had made me a bit sad, she backpedaled hard and said that what she had meant was that she would be less available. "Unavailable" and "less available" are two very different things. I was confused as to why she hadn't just said what she meant. This happens a lot. I just remain patient and get clarity on what she means, but sometimes I think even she doesn't know what she means.

- Idiosyncratic beliefs: A thought experiment in university about the possibility of calling a friend during a game show, and winning $1 million if the friend picks up, but losing it all if they don't, convinced her that she needs to pick up every call she receives. Even if it's a robocall. Because a friend might be in that kind of situation and she wants to make sure they win...which is nice, but...

- Masking: like me, she puts on a façade for everyone she knows. Unlike me, she adjusts her persona for each friend group, and after time spent away from them, finds it hard to adjust from group to group. We have agreed not to mask around each other.

- abusive upbringing obv

- Often hurts people with the things she says, even when she doesn't mean to. We've talked about this and have an agreement that if she says something hurtful to me, I can talk to her about it and she will try not to be defensive or evasive about it.

- She changes her mind a lot on things related to values and principles, to the point of true cognitive dissonance. She's been a Communist since high school, but last year said she would have voted for the federal conservative party.

At one point she enthused that it was "incredible" that the provincial conservative party had started polling so strongly. Then, half a year later, when I asked her if she ever feels strong hatred, she said that she hates the provincial conservatives because they are so stupid.

This woman is 28 years old and has a degree in political science 😂 Unsure what changed in either of these cases, but it was her enthusiasm and then vehemence that threw me.

- Gets triggered when other people express emotions like fear, grief or insecurity. She doesn't sense it, but I've noticed how her body language changes (freezing), and her eyes become very distant.