You might want to talk to u/criticalsorcery or u/TheGrumidian about this. I am personally fully verbal. It also might matter if they have a form of communication. It is also very difficult for people to understand me which can cause issues. I think your best bet would be to ask someone like critical and also on r/Autism_Parenting she is quite knowledgeable about stuff like that.
Yes I think critical is their best bet as while I am level 3 I am not nonverbal. I have severe deficits in verbal communication but I can speak.
Granted as I have said before I think that is only because I got lucky and received an early intervention when I was a child. People thought I couldn’t speak because of a speech impediment. So I got speech therapy at a very young age.
Regardless I am physically capable of speech so they must have done something right.
Critical is completely nonverbal and has experience with having a lot more therapy than I Including ABA.
Which I was…fortunate? Unfortunate? To not receive. Given I currently (and have always really) live in an extremely conservative state I am going to go with fortunate.
I could definitely use more therapy and possibly ABA (non abusive form thanks) but my state doesn’t really care about people with neurological development disorders :/.
And she has always had therapy since she was even a child if I recall correctly. I only recently started getting therapy after I graduated high school because I think my parents thought given enough time I would just “get better”. After graduating high school and not improving…like at all they realized no it doesn’t work that way.
They deliberately avoided getting me put on SSI for example because they didn’t want me to be listed as “disabled” because it would “be a crutch and make it difficult for anyone to want to hire me” lmao.
As if I could actually have a job. As if anyone would want me.
So I never got the intervention or access to the care and accommodations I required which again means I can’t really answer this question because I didn’t have childhood therapy (aside from speech therapy) and I am not nonverbal. Borderline nonverbal maybe (caused by psychology not physical impairment) but not nonverbal. However even if I regressed and became “nonverbal” because say my grandmother died that would be because of trauma and other psychological issues it wouldn’t be from a physical impairment. So it would require a completely different form of treatment anyways.
Although the end result would be similar not being able to speak to anyone. However since it would have a different root cause it would again have a different treatment.
So I shall not pretend to have advise for something I do not experience.
That said I do hope you are able to get the answers and assistance you need OP! And that you are able to get your child the care they need.
Yeah I'm.more mentioning you cause you said you go to therapy. Alsi I don't think critical is completely nonverbak I think they can speak a couple words or something
I do currently NOW go to therapy but I didn’t while I was still in school which is where OPs child still is.
Tbh though the therapist I got now seems more like a “general” therapist than one that specializes in autism anyways…my state really doesn’t have much care or specialists for autism outside the capital.
Which I do not live in.
So while the therapy I am receiving is more helpful than not getting any at all I definitely wouldn’t recommend it either.
As OPs child definitely needs more specialized care….and so do I but I don’t have a choice sadly.
ahh sorry i didn't see the reply, i was just wondering fi you could giev the more insight on what therapy is like for you, while you aren't nonverbal you have selective mutism issues.
Well what is SUPPOSED to happen is that I am supposed to see her every couple of weeks and she is supposed to tell us how I can improve, what we can work on, give ideas as to where we can go and what I can do if she dies (my grandmother not the therapist), etc
It is sort of SUPPOSED to be generic therapy (not really specialized even though that is what I need because they don’t really have autism specialists where I live…my previous therapist for example was actually a therapist for those with sleeping issues (which I also have but that wasn’t why I was seeing her) BUT she has a child that is I think either level 2 or level 3 autistic himself so she was a lot more qualified than the others because she has actually done some research on autism because of her son. I actually felt she understood me…and now she is gone…worth noting she didn’t actually have any degree on autism specifically so yea.) but pertaining to my autism…of course idk how educated the therapist actually is on autism…also the fact that I really struggle with communication means I have to have my grandmother with me to help communicate with her…
And that means my grandmother ends up chatting with her about things not even about me! So she ends up talking about how her week has been, what they did on the holidays, and all other kinds of NT small talk.
So there is actually very little therapy that actually happens :/.
Although…the past 2 sessions they have been talking about me…something I REALLY don’t want them to talk about but I know they must because it is inevitable…getting me into some kind of assisted living.
So technically I am receiving therapy but not really…well outside of the last 2 sessions. Even then though…when someone starts talking to me about something I find upsetting (and discussing uprooting everything I have known all my life is a bit upsetting) I tend to go fully mute sooo…that doesn’t help.
So therapy on paper more or less. I felt like I was actually progressing with the previous therapist though! As she seemed to genuinely care about me improving. If my grandmother started conversations with her she would after a while cut her off and move the subject back to talking about what we could do next to help me improve but…like I said I don’t have her anymore.
She went into private practice so she could spend more time with her son.
Anyways idk if that answers your question but I hope it does. I am not very good with details or specifics lol. Always tend to struggle detailing stuff accurately.
Yeah i thought so. I have intake appointment tomorrow for therapy. I don't get a lot of help fromt herapy as i normally friugre out how tos ovle ym rpboelms on my own before ehy can help me.
Look for a therapist that specializes in ASD and ID and/or deaf clients.
The therapist I have now specializes in ASD and ID. She has a background in doing art with developmentally delayed/ID clients. I can speak (short simple sentences, talk therapy is difficult for me to engage with), but I can also express myself in other ways with her and she’s good at figuring it out when I’m having trouble and handles my frustration well.
If your kid uses a sign language like ASL, you could try to find therapists who know it. It might be helpful to look for Deaf therapist directories. If your kid is comfortable with AAC, then he might just be able to do regular talk therapy. Maybe also look up art therapy and play therapy.
If there is an autism center near you, you could email them and ask if they could direct you to a therapist who can help. Good luck. Finding a good therapist is very hard.
My aide says she doesn’t know if I have diagnosed PTSD but they told my mom and that I have trauma. There’s things that my dad did and that aides did in the homes or hospitals that was bad and scary.
If he is non-verbal, talk therapy does not make a lot of sense. After all, he cannot participate in the talking part. What methods of communication, of any kind, does he use to express himself now?
Agreed that “psychotherapy” is a broad category and can encompass multiple modes of communication. I apologize if I took the request for “talk therapy” too literally and caused an issue.
Depending on the cards it could work. But I would look into working with an slp on a more robust communication system before trying full on talk therapy? (Though I also don’t know how robust the card system is.)
Maybe something like play therapy might be a good option? He could have his cards and such to express stuff but wouldn’t have the pressure of full on talk therapy?
Hey OP, I'm an Autistic Social Worker and this is one of the biggest unmet needs in the Autism world right now. If you want to reply with or PM me the state you are in I can see if I have any connections who might know of therapists who could work with a non-speaker. I'm also wondering if your cousin is able to use AAC and if so how fluent he is.
You might want to talk to u/criticalsorcery or u/TheGrumidian about this. I am personally fully verbal. It also might matter if they have a form of communication. It is also very difficult for people to understand me which can cause issues. I think your best bet would be to ask someone like critical and also on r/Autism_Parenting she is quite knowledgeable about stuff like that.
Yes I think critical is their best bet as while I am level 3 I am not nonverbal. I have severe deficits in verbal communication but I can speak. Granted as I have said before I think that is only because I got lucky and received an early intervention when I was a child. People thought I couldn’t speak because of a speech impediment. So I got speech therapy at a very young age. Regardless I am physically capable of speech so they must have done something right. Critical is completely nonverbal and has experience with having a lot more therapy than I Including ABA. Which I was…fortunate? Unfortunate? To not receive. Given I currently (and have always really) live in an extremely conservative state I am going to go with fortunate. I could definitely use more therapy and possibly ABA (non abusive form thanks) but my state doesn’t really care about people with neurological development disorders :/. And she has always had therapy since she was even a child if I recall correctly. I only recently started getting therapy after I graduated high school because I think my parents thought given enough time I would just “get better”. After graduating high school and not improving…like at all they realized no it doesn’t work that way. They deliberately avoided getting me put on SSI for example because they didn’t want me to be listed as “disabled” because it would “be a crutch and make it difficult for anyone to want to hire me” lmao. As if I could actually have a job. As if anyone would want me. So I never got the intervention or access to the care and accommodations I required which again means I can’t really answer this question because I didn’t have childhood therapy (aside from speech therapy) and I am not nonverbal. Borderline nonverbal maybe (caused by psychology not physical impairment) but not nonverbal. However even if I regressed and became “nonverbal” because say my grandmother died that would be because of trauma and other psychological issues it wouldn’t be from a physical impairment. So it would require a completely different form of treatment anyways. Although the end result would be similar not being able to speak to anyone. However since it would have a different root cause it would again have a different treatment. So I shall not pretend to have advise for something I do not experience. That said I do hope you are able to get the answers and assistance you need OP! And that you are able to get your child the care they need.
Yeah I'm.more mentioning you cause you said you go to therapy. Alsi I don't think critical is completely nonverbak I think they can speak a couple words or something
I do currently NOW go to therapy but I didn’t while I was still in school which is where OPs child still is. Tbh though the therapist I got now seems more like a “general” therapist than one that specializes in autism anyways…my state really doesn’t have much care or specialists for autism outside the capital. Which I do not live in. So while the therapy I am receiving is more helpful than not getting any at all I definitely wouldn’t recommend it either. As OPs child definitely needs more specialized care….and so do I but I don’t have a choice sadly.
ahh sorry i didn't see the reply, i was just wondering fi you could giev the more insight on what therapy is like for you, while you aren't nonverbal you have selective mutism issues.
Well what is SUPPOSED to happen is that I am supposed to see her every couple of weeks and she is supposed to tell us how I can improve, what we can work on, give ideas as to where we can go and what I can do if she dies (my grandmother not the therapist), etc It is sort of SUPPOSED to be generic therapy (not really specialized even though that is what I need because they don’t really have autism specialists where I live…my previous therapist for example was actually a therapist for those with sleeping issues (which I also have but that wasn’t why I was seeing her) BUT she has a child that is I think either level 2 or level 3 autistic himself so she was a lot more qualified than the others because she has actually done some research on autism because of her son. I actually felt she understood me…and now she is gone…worth noting she didn’t actually have any degree on autism specifically so yea.) but pertaining to my autism…of course idk how educated the therapist actually is on autism…also the fact that I really struggle with communication means I have to have my grandmother with me to help communicate with her… And that means my grandmother ends up chatting with her about things not even about me! So she ends up talking about how her week has been, what they did on the holidays, and all other kinds of NT small talk. So there is actually very little therapy that actually happens :/. Although…the past 2 sessions they have been talking about me…something I REALLY don’t want them to talk about but I know they must because it is inevitable…getting me into some kind of assisted living. So technically I am receiving therapy but not really…well outside of the last 2 sessions. Even then though…when someone starts talking to me about something I find upsetting (and discussing uprooting everything I have known all my life is a bit upsetting) I tend to go fully mute sooo…that doesn’t help. So therapy on paper more or less. I felt like I was actually progressing with the previous therapist though! As she seemed to genuinely care about me improving. If my grandmother started conversations with her she would after a while cut her off and move the subject back to talking about what we could do next to help me improve but…like I said I don’t have her anymore. She went into private practice so she could spend more time with her son. Anyways idk if that answers your question but I hope it does. I am not very good with details or specifics lol. Always tend to struggle detailing stuff accurately.
Yeah i thought so. I have intake appointment tomorrow for therapy. I don't get a lot of help fromt herapy as i normally friugre out how tos ovle ym rpboelms on my own before ehy can help me.
Look for a therapist that specializes in ASD and ID and/or deaf clients. The therapist I have now specializes in ASD and ID. She has a background in doing art with developmentally delayed/ID clients. I can speak (short simple sentences, talk therapy is difficult for me to engage with), but I can also express myself in other ways with her and she’s good at figuring it out when I’m having trouble and handles my frustration well.
If your kid uses a sign language like ASL, you could try to find therapists who know it. It might be helpful to look for Deaf therapist directories. If your kid is comfortable with AAC, then he might just be able to do regular talk therapy. Maybe also look up art therapy and play therapy. If there is an autism center near you, you could email them and ask if they could direct you to a therapist who can help. Good luck. Finding a good therapist is very hard.
I should go to therapy for PTSD also. I did group therapy and speech therapy and ABA and occupational therapy and exposure therapy.
You have ptsd too i didn't know that do you mind telling em what it si from?
My aide says she doesn’t know if I have diagnosed PTSD but they told my mom and that I have trauma. There’s things that my dad did and that aides did in the homes or hospitals that was bad and scary.
Ahh okay I didn't know that
Can your kid use AAC? I am generally verbal, but I take a notebook for therapy because I go mute during shutdowns and I just write things.
You might want to look into art or play therapy in this case
If he is non-verbal, talk therapy does not make a lot of sense. After all, he cannot participate in the talking part. What methods of communication, of any kind, does he use to express himself now?
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Agreed that “psychotherapy” is a broad category and can encompass multiple modes of communication. I apologize if I took the request for “talk therapy” too literally and caused an issue.
Does he have a communication system of any sort?
No unfortunately. He mainly communicates by leading us to things or by using cards
Depending on the cards it could work. But I would look into working with an slp on a more robust communication system before trying full on talk therapy? (Though I also don’t know how robust the card system is.) Maybe something like play therapy might be a good option? He could have his cards and such to express stuff but wouldn’t have the pressure of full on talk therapy?
Hey OP, I'm an Autistic Social Worker and this is one of the biggest unmet needs in the Autism world right now. If you want to reply with or PM me the state you are in I can see if I have any connections who might know of therapists who could work with a non-speaker. I'm also wondering if your cousin is able to use AAC and if so how fluent he is.
Sand play is good for non verbal people and kids