What percentage of people with autism can't talk?

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i know that many can't talk and I know that many people on the autistic spectrum can talk, but I wonder what percentage of those on the autistic spectrum can't talk? Is it higher than those who can or lower?

10%

This is not exactly on topic, but I think it could be related to nonverbal autism. I cannot speak on the phone without extreme anxiety, and usually I will have no memory of what was discussed, if I do make or receive a phone call. Sometimes the other person will think I was drunk or mentally handicapped. The words come out, but there is something disconnected in my communications ability when on the phone. When at all possible (and even if totally INfeasible), I will drive somewhere to talk to the person or business I wish to communicate with, or I will write an eMail or letter. I also text fine without the anxiety of speaking on a phone. I have no problem speaking in person, and I never needed speech therapy, etc.

Charles

Approximately 25%, according to Autism Speaks, but I don't know where they got that number.

This 25% includes people who speak few or no words.

Not being able to talk on phone due to anxiety is probably selective mutism, not related to non-verbal autism.

And people who may not be able to speak verbally, might still be able to communicate just fine through a laptop (less flickering light) or with sign language.

Yeah, it's too many. I remember that one study--they tracked kids with a speech delay; by age 9, about 89% were speaking. So 11% non-verbal, among those who start out non-verbal.

That doesn't count kids who don't have a speech delay to begin with. Then there are those whose autism is part of a bigger picture including disorders that prevent speech, such as cerebral palsy or profound intellectual disability--those who might be non-verbal even without autism.

All things considered, I'd be willing to say about 5% of autistics are non-verbal in adulthood, and most of those will have some way of alternative communication, from leading other people to a relevant object, to PECS, to fully-grammatical typing.

Yes, autism has changed definitions; it's much broader now. We have lots of mild cases. Plus, we've stolen lots of cases from the "mental retardation" category--people with intellectual disability plus autism, or autism that causes enough impairment so that you can't tell if an ID exists or not (an untestable IQ; extreme skill scatter). Add a lot of highly verbal people; add a lot of people with complicated cases; add a lot of people where you just can't tell why they don't talk... Older statistics aren't going to be helpful, and newer statistics are too new to include a long-term outcome study for the new group of diagnosed autistics that would tell us how many of us grow up to speak fluently, partly, or not at all, and how many of the partly-verbal and non-verbal find effective ways to communicate other than speech. There just hasn't been enough time to find out how the outcomes look for this new cohort. We'll know in ten years, I guess, if someone has been smart enough to start up a study before 2015 or so.

Replying to, "autism that causes enough impairment so that you can't tell if an ID exists or not (an untestable IQ; extreme skill scatter)"

Yes, I agree that when autism is severe, it's not always obvious weather an Intilectual Disabilitiy is present or not. When I was younger, I was told I had an Intilectual Disability, but a Psyciatrist has now told me that I don't have one.

And you're probably right that older statics aren't going to be helpful when it comes to how many of those on the sapectrum are non-verbal.

When did Aspergers/High-Functioning Autism start becoming diagnosed more frequently?

I agree with 10%, but there are no reliable data I think. People with autism have some qualitative communication impairment, but usually can speak.

I agree with 10%, but there are no reliable data I think. People with autism have some qualitative communication impairment, but usually can speak.