Two days ago, I wrote a post about “Semiverbal Communication”. Today, I’m going to write about the fact that sometimes we autistics can talk a lot! There are many autistics who are nonverbal and struggle to speak, but I think saying that’s the only way to be autistic is very harmful for those of us who aren’t like that, and even worse for those who experience a mix of both.
One of the diagnostic criteria for being autistic is “having deficits in social communication and social interaction”, NOT “Being nonverbal/unable to speak fluidly in conversation” so even if you can talk, or even like to talk, it doesn’t mean you aren’t autistic! There are so many ways those deficits might show up. @strangerdarkerbetter has made a beautiful blog post about this called “DSM Criteria For Autism Explained”. Some examples might be speaking too fast, interrupting others in a back-and-forth conversation because you don’t understand the natural flow, and not engaging in small talk or subjects you aren’t interested in.
There are also quite a few ways an autistic might be “hyperverbal”. Here is some that I know about!
- Infodumping. A lot of autistics can take in and remember countless bits of information, especially if it is about one of their special interests. We like to share these facts and statistics with those we know because it’s how we interpret the world and interact with it comfortably. We can often go on and on and never really get tired of it, no matter how many times we repeat it to people. This can make neurotypicals feel that we talk too much, and they don’t get it when we suddenly clam up when they change the subject.
- Overexplaining. Autistics are used to being misunderstood because of the odd way we see the world and our black and white thinking, so a lot of times we may overexplain anything we’re talking about to make sure we get our point across correctly with no room for confusion. Overexplaining can even make us describe things that people are likely to already know, because we just don’t want to leave any space for doubt or we believe there may be something about it we know that isn’t usually talked about. Neurotypicals believe the three ways we might say something can easily be said in one, but they don’t know how many times we’ve tried speaking simply in the past and ended up causing confusion.
- Anxiety. It’s almost a given that all autistics experience some form of anxiety. and there are a lot of ways people learn to cope with anxiety. Some people learn to go very quiet while others ramble about anything to fill the silence, and autistics are no exception to this!
- Feeling Comfortable. Jumping off from the last point, if an autistic feels comfortable and safe instead of anxious, they might just talk more. This will especially happen with the people they trust most, or if they are just in the right kind of environment.
- Enjoying Talking. Sometimes autistics talk more just because they like to talk! They enjoy interacting with people, or they’re extroverted, or they like the way words feel in their mouth and throat–there could be many reasons to enjoy talking, and they are all valid. Autistics don’t have to hate talking to be considered “a true autistic”.
No matter which of these you relate to most for your “hyperverbal” tendencies, or if none of them fit you, I want you to know that you are still valid if you talk a lot and enjoy talking and any difficulties you go through as an autistic are still real.
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Ok to Reblog!
Day 22 of Autism Acceptance Month 2018
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