Are you Nonverbal by Choice/need? (Poll) *revised*

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Okay as many of you know I am prodpminantly nonverbal due to need/choice and really my AAC apps for communication for the most part an even test and reiew them, but i got to wondering if there are others like me?

I chose to ask this in a poll as I know this is an intimate issue and some may wish to answer but not want to be publicly known from fear of criticism or being attacked!

since this cant be a multi level poll I am also wondering anyone would like to see or have a more extensive survey done via survey monkey or so please indicate yes if you would like to below

explanation of what nonverbal by choice or need means
Nonverbal by choice or need (can speak verbally but prefer to be nonverbal or you remain nonverbal because it is more beneficial and or speaking takes to much energy/ is hard)


****sorry the last one missed an otion if you voted please re-vote im very sorry and thank you )*****

am partly completely non verbal as opposed to mutism/lacking voice in spite of having the verbal capacity, was non verbal by the classical definition of the word up to teenage years,the non verbal side is also visible on EEG testing, doctors discovered this when EEG testing severe challenging behavior of mine.

when the brains verbal ability kicks in, am only able to speak echolalicaly and with a limited capacity-not at all like am able to post.

used to test a few hardware based AAC devices for companies like dynavox and used to use AAC software a lot but now days have gone back to using symbols and makaton more as its more difficult going through all the steps to access the AAC software than it is to just sign,try to verbalise in some way or use symbols.

have picked 'other' in the voting.

Usually verbal, sometimes I am semi-verbal.

I am verbal, but speech is very difficult. I use AAC when needed.

KingdomOfRats, that is very interesting about your EEG. I'd love to hear more.

I am verbal, but I have some problems with language....Sometimes I communicate successfully with words. Sometimes I have no words to express myself and that's just the way it is. Sometimes I have words, but they do not work (I'm not understood, or misunderstood) or I am so slow to think of them that I cannot use them unless I remember them in some future situation where they would be just as useful.

I often wish I could communicate without words at all (occasionally I do -- for example, I will usually show people things rather than trying to explain things, if possible -- even if I might be able to explain verbally with enough effort -- because it's much easier and more efficient and I am less likely to confuse people.)

I feel forced to talk because it is expected of me, but it is exhausting. After a day of having to be "on call" verbally--having to be ready to talk at any moment--I am always tired. I'm fluent in speech... usually... but sometimes it's not communicative. It's just formulaic stuff, mostly scripted. I don't think people around me realize just how much I script things.

It's like language in a can, open it up and throw it at the nearest person. If I get tired, my speech can be entirely meaningless, but most people don't really notice because it's grammatically perfect and somewhat fits into the situation. Most often, it'll just be irrelevant stuff that fits in okay, but doesn't express what I'm thinking or feeling, or rambles on about a favorite topic. Sometimes it's wrong--more like confabulation than lying, stuff I say because I had to say whatever fit into the conversation and I didn't have time to think of how to say what I actually meant to say.

I think a lot of the lectures I end up giving nowadays are because I was tired and that's just what came out. They're rather different from the enthusiastic aspie-lecture style, in that they're mostly just repeating old information which I learned long ago, and may even have already told the person I'm talking to. They're a product of the pressure to talk forcing me to talk, but without the energy and ability to carry on a proper conversation, stuff just comes out for no particular reason.

I do like the shift to text messages over phone calls over the last few years. It's wonderful to be able to just write out what you want to say without having to worry about conversations. Sign langauge isn't very appealing to me because of how much movement it involves and how much I'd have to constantly start and stop movements, but I would love to have permission to communicate in text more often. E-mail, text messages, online forums...

Do you guys feel that constant pressure to talk, too? It really gets on my nerves.

I wish I was non-verbal.

Went non-verbal for a long time then stopped (not my choice)
Speech is exhausting and wish I could stop again

I talk too much, except when I really need to make something known, then I can't make the words come out, no matter how hard I try...! I guess I'm partially verbal? I chose "other."

It's like I could tell anyone every tiny thing there is to know about Pokemon, but if I need my inhaler, oh no suddenly I am completely nonverbal and I can't say a single word. It's extremely inconvenient.

There are times I'm fully verbal.
There are times I cannot speak at all (and its not mutism; I've dealt with mutism as well and it feels completely differently).
There are times where speaking is unnatural, but possible. Things other people would say I'll avoid, I'll minimize words, but I'm able to speak.

I spend most of my time in the third of those categories. When I can't speak I will use an AAC app. When I'm fully verbal, I can tell the difference.

I suspect as the fatigue gets worse, I'll also reduce how much speech I use, because being verbal takes so much energy. On my worst fatigue days I am less capable of using speech.

I have no support network. If I do not force myself to speak I would surely perish. It is exhausting.

I've always been verbal, for the most part anyway. I mean I learned to speak at a normal rate of development, but my manner of speech was odd. Like, besides having echolalia, I would speak in a dull robotic monotone, and my parents compared me to "Vicki" on "Small Wonder". Eventually I learned to mimic the various accents of other people, and can now better enunciate my syllables. None the less, I probably would be all the more so comfortable using sign language. In addition to ASL, I've studied Plains Indian Sign Language. I personally favor using ASL for finger spelling, and PISL for hand signs, as I find it to be the simplest, and easiest to remember. The reason why I wish I could at least largely use sign language is that I've just found it to be challenging to verbally communicate with others, when certain auditory disturbances, such as the other person clearing her throat, can end up distorting my tone of voice, and give my voice a harder edge. Neurotypicals will generally tend to judge you by not just what you say, but by how you say it. So tone of voice matters to them.

I had no choice but to participate in the whole thing called life, and I hate it. I probably usually sound a bit dumb, but hey, being a girl that's fine. But I really don't do well with words, both in speaking and in writing. It's very frustrating, not being able to express yourself. It's absolutely not natural and exhausting.

I used to have mutism, and from time to time its creeping back up. Makes me sad Why cant I do the most basic thing people should be able to do? It's holding me back enormously.