Non-verbal historically used to mean “doesn’t use words,” but the term is increasingly avoided because it implies no communication at all. Many “non-verbal” people communicate richly through Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), gestures, facial expression, movement, art, etc.
A brief history
“Non-verbal” became common in clinical and educational settings from the mid-20th century onwards, largely as a label for autistic children who did not use speech. It was tied to deficit-based frameworks that treated spoken language as the only meaningful form of communication.
As autistic people and AAC users pushed back, the term’s limitations became clearer: it erased the person’s actual communication and reinforced harmful assumptions about ability, intelligence, and agency. This shift led to more precise language such as “non-speaking,” “minimally speaking,” or “uses AAC,” which centre the person’s communication rather than the perceived absence of speech.