N is for Non-verbal effect

Non-verbal effect is a term used to describe the treatment of those who don't speak. It refers to the fact that people who don't speak are treated as stupid, lesser, infantile. Those who don't speak are less likely to receive appropriate medical care. They are less likely to receive appropriate education. Doctors and educators often fall into the pitfall that A$ created: the idea that non-speaking means unable to comprehend. After having six seizures in one day my son was completely ignored by ER staff because he doesn't speak. The ER staff even saw two of the seizures, but they acted like it was nothing. One of the nurses actually said to me "That's just how those kind of people act." After his seizures finally stopped the doctors were ready to send him home the minute his eyes opened, asking me "So this is normal behavior for him, right?" It took months for me to get a referral for my son to see a neurologist, but only one EEG to find epileptic activity and receive a diagnosis.