Speech struggles

Hi!

Can I just clarify do you lose speech when involved in conflict or experiencing intense emotions? If yes, you could be experiencing Processing Mutism - a loss of speech due to excessive processing demands. Many members of our autistic community experience mutism when overloaded or when facing excessive expectations, this is explained further in the article below: 

https://autistic-village.com/2024/02/07/my-autistic-experience-of-processing-mutism/

Also do you know how you feel when you can't speak, for example do you feel anxious? If so, you could be experiencing Situational Mutism (a phobia of speaking in specific situation or to certain people). Sometimes people with SM can become mute in situations where there is an expectation to speak, for example if your manager is not approachable they may make it impossible for you to speak. Situational Mutism is explained in more detail in the article below:

https://autismunderstood.co.uk/co-occurring-conditions/selective-mutism/

SM is often also talked about in our autistic community, however it is regularly confused with Processing Mutism so it is not clear how prevalent this is among our neurokin.

I hope this helps!

If I am in a group setting or around people I don’t know for example and feel uncomfortable I can’t speak so I just nod or shake my head when asked a question. Also sometimes I can be around someone I know very well and will have planned what I am going to say beforehand but when it comes to saying it I just can’t get the words out so end up stuttering a lot

Oh ok, it seems like you could be experiencing Situational Mutism then.

Oh ok, it seems like you could be experiencing Situational Mutism then.