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.

None and none

@Perzival I wouldn't call him hyperlexic, he is a talkative person, and tends to try and dominate the conversation (and steer it to his topics of interest if he can!). He is not alone in our family in being like that though, we are a very talkative family and you have to work to get your word in! So there's a lot of typing, yes, but as conversation, not just for the sake of it.

I don't think anyone who knows him would ever call him non-verbal. Everyone is just used to his voice being a bit different as it is coming out of his phone speaker and not his mouth. You don't really think about it after a while.

Maybe Angelou, the author and poet, became non verbal at the age of 8 for several years after being raped, fortunately she found her voice again and evidently flourished in life.
This is the type of non-verbal I assumed the OP was talking about. Not those with other disabilities.

1 and now none

You do know that wasn't deliberate either, but a trauma response?

And why would you assume that?

@NoWordForFluffy no idea why I assumed that really. This seems to have just turned into the usual "are there more SEN kids these days than in days of old?" debate. I specifically thought the key point of the post was about non-verbal kids.
I guess I just didn't join up the dots. Apologies for getting the wrong end of the stick.

None and none.
I agree with the pp who said she doesn’t think the apparent rise is just down to a rise in diagnosis. Chemicals in the environment, UPFs, microplastics, who knows - but I’m sure there’s something that wasn’t present a generation or two ago.

The type of case I mean is where children simply fail to develop language for a reason that isn’t entirely obvious. So I didn’t mean selective mutism, mechanical mouth disorders, cerebral palsy etc. - there’s a clear reason there.

It just seems there’s been a huge rise in children who, for no discernible reason, simply fail to learn to speak, sometimes with other delays- and are usually eventually diagnosed autistic. I know autistic is a diagnosis but it described the symptoms rather than distinguishing a cause.

I’m not trying to be a ‘back in my day’ type but I didn’t even know it was possible for this to happen beyond about 7 or 8 years ago and if you look at this website, the vast majority of posts about it are from the last 5 years and they seem to be increasing and increasing

Plus along with just general observations; primary teachers have said on several occasions to me that it’s quite usual to have at least 1 such case in a reception class now, and very usually 2.

None and none.

One growing up. Now I know 4 including own DS. I work in a nursery and there does seem to be a rise in children who are either non verbal or very late to talk (about a year ago I was talking to a dad about his non verbal son but dad said he wasn't worried as he didn't talk until he was 7 so it's not a new thing).

One and none.

Then: 1
Now: 1

Back when I was a child, my mums friend had a child that was non verbal. He didnt say a word until he was 10. He didnt say sentences until he was 13. He is now graduated uni with 1st class honours in some type of computer science. He is obviously still autistic, but it seemed like a miracle at the time that he had came so far.

Now I have a work friend with an adult child who doesnt speak and never has his entire life. He is ASD and still wears nappies etc. However, he is also very intelligent in his own way. He texts, writes what he wants to say, and is very knowledgeable on certain topics.

That changes your question then, I don't know any children who have failed to develop any language skills without a clear reason for it. It has always been a consequence of a diagnosable condition- autism, mechanical issues, dyspraxia, selective mutism.

"Plus along with just general observations; primary teachers have said on several occasions to me that it’s quite usual to have at least 1 such case in a reception class now, and very usually 2."

It is more common now for non verbal disabled children to start off in mainstream schooling and in my experience is encouraged by LAs. Locally the only children that start off in reception in special schools are those with profound and multiple learning difficulties and most non verbal children are not in this group.

None growing up and 1 now. He’s such a great communicator in other ways though, you just have to be patient enough to learn how he communicates and work on how to communicate back.

@MaryMaryVeryContrary it's good to know I didn't get the wrong end of the stick then. You just meant kids who don't talk and have no underlying reason why. This was what I thought you meant.
No, I still don't know any. There were shy kids at school back in the day who were reluctant to read in class and wouldn't speak unless you got to know them well etc etc but I'm guessing there are still kids like this today.
And I'm guessing, if there was no underlying reason, they learned to speak so as to get on in the world - job interviews etc , although I suppose since covid you could do it all via emails and wfh doing something that didn't require speaking to people eg spreadsheets. and any issues are communicated via emails/texts and you just avoid the staff xmas party.