#choiceverbal

(Also a quick disclaimer: most autistic people can temporarily lose speech occasionally due to shutdowns or other reasons, regardless of their usual verbal status.)

Nonverbal- unable to speak at all, ever, or having extreme difficulties in doing so, therefore making AAC a more comfortable option in most cases.

Limited-verbal- using spoken language in limited settings and purposes

Semi-verbal- only being able to speak in specific circumstances OR showing moderate difficulty speaking most of the time; some use AAC & some don't.

Verbalflux- people who fluctuate between full-verbal, semi-verbal, & limited-verbal

Choice verbal- Having the full ablility to speak (with the exception of autistic shutdowns and the like), but choosing not to speak very much, or at all. Demiverbal-

- Can reliably speak most of the day for most days of the week

- Verbal shutdowns happen anywhere from a few times a week to a few times a month, possibly for no apparent reason

- May experience some level of difficulty with mouth words, anywhere between slight difficulty only a little of the time to half the time

Full-verbal- Having the full ablility to speak (with the exception of autistic shutdowns and the like), and choosing to do so as much as they are comfortable. (The same as most neurotypical/allistic people.)

Hyperverbal- Having the full ability to speak (with the exception of autistic shutdowns and the like), and (wether by choice or on accident) speaking more often than verbal autistics/allistic people.

so so so tired of people claiming gatekeep "nonverbal" or "nonspeaking" and is actually okay to use!

so so so tired of hearing fully speaking people or people who only have infrequent speech loss episode and no other impairment say "I'm semiverbal I'm nonverbal I'm nonspeaking"!

so tired of abled people deciding they fit in with us because they get too tired and dont feel like talking sometimes! not the same thing!

so so so tired of hearing "majority verbal" "choice verbal" "demiverbal" you might have speech loss episode but that do not mean need special identify label to describe speech loss episode. you not the same as us!

semiverbal not the same as nonverbal/nonspeaking! we still can't fully understand what nonverbal/nonspeaking people go through!!

PT: Choiceverbal And Disabled Pride Flag /end PT

ID: a seven striped flag oriented diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right corner over a grey background. The colors of the stripes are, from top to bottom, light grey, orange, yellow, blue, yellow, orange and light grey. End ID

Choiceverbal: willingly not using verbalization, being able to verbalise (fullverbal, demiverbal, semiverbal, majorityverbal...), but choosing not to verbalise much or at all. Can be for any reason, including but not limited to: Being uncomfortable or disliking verbalising, being verbal-adverse, lack of understanding of social cues, etc. Might partially or entirely use intentionally AAC.

Term coined by @schizophrenicbulbasaur in this post (link). Original choiceverbal flag by @lilqu33rboi. Original post here (link).

If someone experiences this but aren't autistic, then what word(s) could that individual use? Are there any terms that aren't autism-exclusive?

There is the mutism awareness flag (link) who was made specifically to be non exclusive to autistic people. This is the only thing I can think of who is similar to what you are searching for. :(

Edit: these terms are not exclusive to autistic people (except semilexic and nonlexic), thank you @cryptid-aac for the correction! /serious

I made semilexic and nonlexic flags that aren't exclusive to autistic ppl, anon. Here is the link (link).

I agree that it would be nice to have terms with flags similar to semiverbal, demiverbal, verbalflux, choiceverbal and nonverbal + semilexic and nonlexic but inclusive to all disabilities because so many disabilities can cause difficulties to communicate verbally and/or the ability to use words.

Hey Alex, that is a really good question but unfortunately I never thought about it before you sent it lol

I tend to say yes to this because other autistic traits can and do change as well over the years. It's not "required" of course but it absolutely happens. Like for example the intensity and methods a person uses to stim might change and it's the same for other autistic traits.