How many non verbal children did you know growing up? How many do you know now?

[MaryMaryVeryContrary]

Not a goady thread and I wont be engaging with posters who want to speculate on the causes by starting debates about parenting and screen time.

But in the absence of any proper data, I’m interested to know whether others think there has been a rise in non verbal children (age 3 and over). I didn’t know any growing up, and now I know 3. So it seems to me there has been a rise but it may just be the area I live in.

Three. Well two and one was my dad who didn't utter a word until he was almost 5. My brother has verbal dyspraxia and didn't speak properly until he was over 12 and DD didn't speak until she was 3.5. My dad is a professional but very quiet in nature. My DD has been diagnosed with ASC albeit 'high functioning', but she speaks clearly and has good language skills although her inference skills are nowhere near in line with where her numeracy skills are. She has however passed 11+. My brother is 40 and has had a lifetime of therapy. He's sadly turned to drink and drugs due to confidence issues.

There's a couple of cousins on my dad's side who didn't speak and then had unintelligible speech and one was in and out of prison I believe.

I think today we are more aware how late speech can affect development and that is why we talk about it more and don't do as my parents did and say, 'oh it'll come.' They refused to let my brother have what we now call EHCP. He's a shadow of the little sweet boy he once was.

1 & 0.

None and none!

One girl with selective mutism, who disappeared from school by the end of term. My brother didn't speak much until he was about 9 - it was believed he couldn't read, but he definitely could; he just wouldn't/couldn't perform on demand to prove it.

The rest were hidden away/never made it into school in the first place.

I work in a SEN school and the majority of the students are non verbal, but I don’t know any non-verbal children (discounting babies!) outside of work; no children of friends/ family/ colleagues/ neighbours etc.

Growing up I had an adopted relative who was profoundly disabled and non verbal and one of our neighbours had a son with autism who was non verbal and at a specialist residential school.

So 2 in my group of family/ friends/ neighbours growing up. 0 now.

So selective mutism isn’t non verbalism, you can speak but are unable to in certain situations

I am still not sure what you mean or what you trying to say. My ds in his 20s has no verbal speech. He uses aac to his level. He has a microdeletion syndrome. In his SEN school there were several who had no verbal speech. Any child who hasn't verbal speech well there will be a reason genetic syndrome or other. Even if undiagnosed syndrome. Who are these children you know? Do they have SEN ? Are they otherwise cognitively able? Or have eg c p? . Are they using aac to communicate?

None and 5

I don't think non verbal children would have been in mainstream education whereas now they are.

None growing up, but now 100's. I work in an autism assessment team though.

None and none (presently in day to day life)

i did work though in a sen school for teenagers with GDD and autism and they were all non verbal. Most did use other forms of communication.

Zero and zero.

Years ago children with learning disabilities went to special schools. These days they are often encouraged to attend a regular school at least for some time

None growing up, 3 now.

None growing up.

I have met one child who was 3 and non verbal, but he seemed to understand everything, and in every other way seemed like any other happy go lucky and curious 3 year old. His Mum was on the spectrum and believed the boy to be as well.

There is also a child at the local school in reception who can't speak yet, but he seems to have additional needs.

That's it, and I have met a lot of small children (but I'm not a teacher or medical professional).

My brother (born 1960) didn't speak until he was four.

As for school aged children... well we didn't see them. They didn't go to shool. In fact in my generation they didn't go to special schools either. Many of them got locked up in residential children's 'mental homes'.

The daughter of one of my mum's friends had to go to one of those places for two weeks for reasons I wasn't party to. My mum went to see her and took me with her. It was the most traumatic of visits. The children there were like the children I spent my career working with in special schools. Except they were just crowded in a room, given no attention, and were rocking and wailing One was just wearing a nappy and smearing her faeces on the wall.

That was c 1968. 30 years later I'd look at some of my pupils and know that that's where they'd have been, and who they would have been, just a few decades earlier.

Sorry...a bit of a tangent. But basically we can't compare numbers of 'people we came across' in different periods. Thank goodness we're now in a time when people with disabilities are visible.

Lots growing up, but only because my cousin went to a SEN school. 1 now, my nephew, severely autistic.

I growing up, my friends brother, severely autistic .

Now I know a handful, mixture of autism and other miscellaneous severe disabilities. My dd was non verbal until 4 but learned to speak, she's autistic, and has unusual skills in certain areas just not social interactions!

Up to 2 growing up (1 selective mute school friend who only spoke to her family at home and one adult son of a neighbour who attended a 'special day centre' and had a severe learning disability - not sure if he was 100% non-verbal but certainly practically so as far as we were concerned)

None now, despite knowing lots of home educated children with various SEN.

None growing up.
Now I can think of two plus another couple who have speech issues.

Not sure whether it is now more common. I think the difference is as adults we tend to be in contact and know of more people and their families. As children we just knew about our close family, neighbours and friends at school. Plus it would have been unlikely a non verbal child would be in a mainstream school a few decades ago.

Lots and lots.

But then my DSis was non-verbal as a child and attended a special school so I mixed in circles made of kids with SEND. Now I have a son who was non/verbal until his teens and I work with people with autism and learning disabilities.

I really doubt there's lots more non-verbal children now than 30-40 years ago; just greater inclusion making them more visible in wider society.

Also being non-verbal is completely different to situational mutism (not selective!) those with situational mutism are perfectly able to speak. Most of the kids I know who experience it are extremely intelligent and fabulous young people, there are multiple differences at play which make them unable to verbalise in certain situations. (ASC, mental health challenges, etc).

2 and none now.

None growing up. Now I have an autistic child I know of a few who started speaking very late so would meet your not speaking age 3 criteria but they can speak now. And 2 fully non verbal. But again I mix with SEN people so would see more

My best friend sister when I was growing up was non-verbal & had other disabilities (not physical) though I don’t know what her diagnosis would have been at the time (early 90’s)

My cousin also didn’t speak until she was around 10/11. She rarely made a sound - occasionally screeching. She is now 28 and will never live independently.My aunt is her full time carer. It took a very long time to get any diagnosed for her growing up, eventually being diagnosed with autism.

My friends son is now 10 and with speech therapy he is slowly communicating. He rarely says a word - but does try. It’s like the wiring between his brain and mouth doesn’t work. He has a lovely sense of humour! But the struggle with communication is beginning to frustrate him :(

2, maybe more when I was growing up that I remember. They had cerebral palsy or Down syndrome. I now “know” far more because my child goes to a special school and there’s many children there who are non verbal for a whole load of different reasons. I don’t know them but my child does and will say hi. And a neighbour where I used to live has/had a child with selected mutism but don’t know if that counts.

Zero, and now 3