“ohh love your bag!”

reminder that being non-verbal is a permanent state of being. you cannot “go non-verbal”. you either are non-verbal/non-speaking or you’re not.

you can have situational mutism or you can be semi-verbal, but you cannot go non-verbal

non-verbal: a permanent state of being where a person cannot speak at all, or is only able to say a couple words

semi-verbal: a permanent state of being where a person struggles to speak, and has limited use of speech. the extent of the struggle can fluctuate, but the struggle is always there

situationally mute: someone who is unable to speak when overwhelmed, anxious, tired, or stressed. at other times they have full range of speech

for people asking for alternative language:

“non-verbal episode” —> “episode of mutism”or “wasn’t able to speak”

“currently non-verbal” —> “experiencing situational mutism” or “not currently able to speak” or “my verbality is restricted right now”

“I go non-verbal sometimes” —> “I experience situational mutism” or “I am situationally mute”

the English language is diverse, and there are definitely other ways to communicate your language difficulties that do not imply that being non-verbal is temporary or optional

Some other possible alternatives? (idk if these are used for other things or not, please let me know!!)

Low Verbality —> alternative to "non-verbal" - mute, unable to verbally communicate

Partial Verbality —> alternative to "semi-verbal" - can verbally communicate, but with a great deal of effort; or, are able to verbally communicate, but with (for lack of a better word) quirks (eg, using gestures or noises for some words; speaking in quotes or lyrics; one-word sentences; etc)

Level Verbality —> alternative to "fully verbal"; basically the "normal" setting; able to verbalize and communicate without difficulty

High/Extreme Verbality —> alternative to "hyperverbal"; almost non-stop verbality, when words come out too fast to be coherent, there's no filter to what is being said, and/or similar "too much words" kind of circumstances.

Fluctuating Verbality —> alternative to "Verbalflux" - having verbal capability that fluctuates (eg, times where one's able to verbalize with no effort, other times unable to verbalize at all, and other times experiencing an abundance of verbality, etc; it's different for everyone) [this is already used synonymously with Verbalflux which, to my understanding, mainly applies to system/plural alters? I'm not entirely certain. verbalflux on pluralpedia]

@notabled-noodle thoughts?

I’ve come across the verbality spectrum before, and it’s fine if people find that more helpful than saying “non-verbal” etc, but it definitely should not be an enforced replacement.

it is also still not okay for someone to start calling speech less episodes “going nonverbal”, just because some people are shifting their language around verbality… still not appropriate to co-opt language not meant for you

other options for people who have fluctuating verbality but don’t have situational mutism (which is its own disorder):

so yes — the spectrum of verbality as a concept can be useful, but the point of this post was to get people to stop saying “non-verbal” if they are able to speak most of the time

didn’t realise 2022 was the year of policing what people use to describe themselves on different spectrums - guess i was wrong

Send a type or two.

Normal: I love you. Fighting: I’d fight you. Flying: I’d date you. Poison: I’m envious of you. Ground: I want to meet you in real life. Rock: I can relate to what you’ve gone through. Bug: You bug me sometimes. Ghost: You scare me sometimes. Steel: I think you’re strong. Fire: I think you’re hot. Water: I think you’re cool. Grass: I think you’ve grown a lot. Electric: You surprise me sometimes. Psychic: We have a lot in common. Ice: I want to be closer to you. Dragon: I think you’re amazing. Dark: I’d fuck you. Fairy: I think you’re cute.

‪CATHERINE HOWARD, chaotic neutral rogue‬