A Trait So Misunderstood It Can Be Tragic
Some autism traits are more challenging to understand than others. I know because this is the very first time I have ever written at length about it. A trait with varying degrees of intensity affecting our behavior and one that involves an ongoing social controversy. What it means for me to be nonspeaking, sometimes referred to as nonverbal, is different than what the general public may be used to seeing.
So, I will do my best to cover relevant examples. Have you ever seen something and pointed at it emphatically before you spoke to explain what it was? Do you prefer to post animated gifs or emojis, such as on social media, without using words to explain your meaning right away? A feeling as if you instinctively choose to communicate using as few and sometimes no words as possible. It might seem peculiar at first, if noticed at all.
That is because nonspeaking autism involves basic self-expression in the form of body language rather than spoken words being used all the time. Hand signals, gestures with your arms or legs, facial expressions, and cues such as winking with one eye or sticking your tongue out at someone are all examples of body language. Human beings started using it before spoken language evolved.
The tendency to use body language is also often easily overlooked because of its rudimentary nature. Nonspeaking autistic people, though, are typically more visible. Chances are, if you know a parent whose child is, they will make a strong impression on you for the simple fact that the accepted social norm is to speak a fluent language. So, someone who does not may be seen and treated as radical for their behavior. One case in particular stands out.
On March 20, 2019, only a year before my incident of discrimination, a mental health wellness check by police shocked the nation and forced autism into the public mind. Twenty-nine-year-old Osaze Osagie, a resident of State College, Pennsylvania, was shot and killed by police who were attempting to serve a mental health warrant. The check was hastily initiated, and the officers were not trained or experienced to handle a non-speaking autistic person of Osagie’s background.
Evidently, neither were they for his skin color. The officer’s attempts to de-escalate the situation carelessly triggered Osagie to rush them while refusing to drop a knife he was holding. He was reportedly shot in the back. Therefore, some suggest that his skin color contributed to his death. I live in the same state and heard about this as soon as the news broke.
As a result, ‘nonverbal’ autistic people have been given a bad reputation for violence, which is not yet understood by non-autistic people. I am fortunate that my tendency to be non-speaking is minimal and almost exclusively shown around my parents. One of the examples I gave was pointing before or without speaking. It has been one of my hallmarks and habits for communication for a very long time.
I am comfortable expressing myself here around my parents because I have no fear of a risk to my safety. Unfortunately, in Osaze Osagie’s case, he suffered a fate worse than my discrimination. Nonspeaking autistic people face an ongoing hardship when interacting with society that must be recognized and properly addressed sooner rather than when it is too late. Or, Osagie will not be the only victim to fall by the wayside.
Autistic people need to be better understood by the rest of society. Osaze deserves justice, just as I deserve justice for my incident of discrimination for oversharing and missing social cues. We are not a threat that warrants such stigmatized and radical responses.
#LetThatThinkIn
Welcome to the next Autism Experience.
The Most Unfortunate Trait to Date.
