#mute

there's a stoat hiding in that last one

Luckily, sign language was already slowly being learned in the manor due to Cass struggling to speak some days, so he already knew basic phrases

the major issue with his newfound mutism is using the comms

the comms are entirely functioning by voice, and without one, youre kinda screwed

Tim attempts to go out with no comms a couple times which makes Bruce very mad so he has to come up with another solution, he ends up installing a camera and chip into his domino so that the camera can pick up his hands and the chip can interpret them and read rhem out to the comms

one day while tim is out as Robin, he ends up confronting the red hood

tim is obviously silent, but instead of Jason noticing this, he chooses to almost tease Tim about it, not knowing the extent of the damage he caused, “what? too scared to even say anything to me now?”

It also doesn’t just happen at school, and adults can have it too.

uhh idk, i haven’t seen a lot of suggestion posts for what buttons to add to your AAC so i made one. here are my suggestions for super basic buttons

GENERAL

- hello, goodbye

- yes, no, maybe, i don’t know

- sorry, (it’s) okay, please, thank you

- who, what, where, when, why, how

- like, dislike, love, hate

- this, that

- up to you

- by the way

- excuse me

- is that okay?

- what’s up?

- i don’t think so

- do you have any ideas?

- what were you going to say?

- what do you mean?

- i need help please

add an acknowledgment section for phrases that show you’re acknowledging what people have to say (oh, yeah, that’s interesting, cool, etc.)

ADVOCACY

- i don’t like this/that

- that’s not okay

- that’s a slur

- thats transphobic/homophobic/racist/sexist/ableist/etc.

- that’s rude/fucked up

- intended or not, you’re being rude

- it’s ableist to take away someone’s communication device, either by force, or by asking them to stop using it.

- autism is not an intellectual disability, it’s a neurodevelopmental disability, it can come with commorbid intellectual disabilities, but that isn’t inherent

- no, not everyone is, quote unquote, on the spectrum, autism is a serious disability, not everyone has it.

AAC

- i’m having a verbal shutdown (depends on the user)

- i don’t want to verbalize right now (depends on the user)

- AAC stands for augmentative and alternative communication

- AAC is for anyone who needs or wants to use it

- i use AAC for/to/because… (depends on user)

- i would describe myself as [verbality label such as nonverbal, semi-verbal, verbalflux, selectively mute, etc]

- your verbality label and its definition

- please don’t look at my screen while i’m talking without asking

- please don’t talk on my behalf

- i am using buttons right now instead of typing, so i may be slower than normal

- sorry, i’m still typing

- please be patient

- my device needs to be charged so i can speak

Apparently it was all a part of his training. Something about discipline and honing his senses. Tony really thought that after months with The Avengers he would’ve started talking by now, but still the boy’s lips were sealed.

Sometimes people thought it was creepy, the way he would silently creep up behind them. He would bow when they did something kind - small and almost unnoticeable, but Tony could tell that’s what it was.

He was a strange kid, but extremely talented in combat. He could take down anyone, get into any building, get past every security wall. He could blend into any crowd and take down any man, doing it all with a straight face as if he was totally emotionless.

It made Tony uneasy, seeing the kid so robotic. He couldn’t trust him, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be civil with him.

“Anyone know five down: ‘seven letters, twice a year day and night are the same’?” Tony asked, tapping a pen against his thigh.

Peter was sat at the kitchen table fiddling with an old toaster. Natasha laid on the sofa watching some home decoration show and Bruce was playing sudoku. It was oddly domestic despite the crowd of misfits.

“Equinox,” Bruce said. He didn’t even look up. Tony had to wonder how fast Bruce was completing the sudoku considering he turned the page every minute.

“What about “lacking sense or meaning”?”

“How many letters?” Natasha asked, barely paying attention.

“Five, with an ‘A’ in the middle.”

Bruce managed to pause his work for a second to think. Natasha didn’t seem to show any interest in actually attempting the crossword.

“Stark?” came a small voice from across the room.

Everyone paused and turned to find a small smile hidden behind two working hands.

“You can talk?” Bruce asked just as Tony said “You can make jokes?”

Peter gave a small shrug, hiding his grin by looking down at his work again. Tony and Bruce just looked between each other and the kid with a smile and confusion on their faces.

“Inane,” Natasha says, finally sitting up.

“It’s not nice to call people names Natasha,” Tony says, looking down to make sure it would fit. It did, but he was still thinking about Peter finally speaking. He glanced up to see him nodding. “What, you think she’s right?” Tony asked, glancing back down at the boxes. He hadn’t ever heard the word before, but Peter was pretty knowledgeable about just about everything so Tony trusted him to know the right answer.

But the kid had that shit eating grin on his face again. “Stark,” he shrugged. Bruce gave out a laugh and Natasha snorted. Peter blushed a little at the praise.