Feb 09 2009
Non-verbal is Still Communication
My car was talking to me today. There’s a weird squeaking going on somewhere on the driver’s side. It could be a belt or it could be something in the driver’s side front wheel. I don’t know exactly what it is, but she’s telling me something is out of order. My job is to figure out what it is with what she’s giving me.
My clothes dryer was telling me something, too. Suddenly there’s a banging noise, as if a boot had somehow been slipped in with the laundry. Obviously, there’s something wrong, so I called the repair guy (who just fixed it 2 months ago) to come and take a listen.
I often hear people say about non-verbal autistics that they don’t communicate. This has never seemed quite accurate to me. They may not speak, but sure they communicate. Newborn babies don’t speak, but they sure let you know when they are hungry or wet or gassy. A smile universally means pleasure and a hugs is a sure sign of affection. While it is certainly not always an easy means of communication, it’s there and our job is to figure out what the nonverbal cues all mean.
Is verbal communication really all it’s cracked up to be? I mean, when someone says that a non-verbal autistic isn’t communicating, that just goes to prove that words can be inaccurate. Non-verbal communication: a look in an eye, a sound at a particular pitch, a hand gesture are all valid means of getting a message across. So let’s be careful in how we portray these individuals.
I am not, by the way, trying to imply that autistic individuals are inanimate objects, merely that I personally have a (possibly unhealthy) level of communication with the objects around me.
And now I am going to have a chat with my pillow because my brain is telling me that if I stare at this screen anymore, my eyes will fall out. Have a great night.
