On September 16th, Beth Frede addressed the Rotary Club of Nashua regarding, Autistic Non-Speakers and how they communicate. Ms. Frede spoke to us about her work with non-speaking autistic patients. She let us know while they suffer from motor skills, it is not a cognitive disorder. Patients can form words and language in their brains, but don’t have the motor skills to speak the words to others.
When autistic patients are tested, they’re tested for motor function, not intelligence. This can misrepresent the true capability if autistic patients.
Ms. Frede also spoke of more modern tools used to help non-speakers communicate to the world. While the tools don’t offer the nuance that speaking does, it does help these patients with day-to-day living.
She expressed one of her patient’s frustrations is that people should take individuals with autism seriously and treat them as individuals.