Benjamin Alexander, the first student with nonverbal autism to attend Tulane University in New Orleans, is an English major and a writer who’s had essays published locally. He uses a form of facilitated communication, or supported typing, and hopes to educate others about living with autism.
Here are some questions and answers about nonverbal autism and facilitated communication.
WHAT IS NONVERBAL AUTISM?
Researchers have found that as few as 1 in 10 people on the autism spectrum are nonverbal, meaning they have little to no meaningful spoken language. Dr. Paul Lipkin, an autism researcher in Baltimore, says a majority of people who are autistic and nonverbal generally don’t speak because of lower intellectual ability. But he and other experts say they have little doubt that some have inner voices and thoughts, some quite profound.
“It will always be one of the rarer conditions within the autism spectrum. But we are more likely to recognize someone’s ability than we would have before . and to focus on the abilities,” says Lipkin, director of the Interactive Autism Network at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
CAN PEOPLE WHO ARE NONVERBAL AND AUTISTIC LEARN TO COMMUNICATE?
Yes. There certainly are cases where nonverbal people on the autism spectrum have learned to speak a few words. More often, they learn to write or type. Dr. Paul Wang, vice president of medical research for the organization Autism Speaks, points to Naoki Higashida, a young man in Japan who has written a book about his nonverbal autism, “The Reason I Jump,” and Carly Fleischmann, a Canadian woman who is on the autism spectrum and has written a book with her father. In India, Tito Mukhopadhyay communicates with a very few spoken words and in writing and also composes poetry.