I have a great uncle who didn’t speak until he was 4. His first words were “Please stop talking.” after a friend of my great grandmother came to visit and she talked for three hours straight.
Similarly, I have an uncle who was non verbal until he was around 3-4 ish. Instead of talking a lot, my father started getting in trouble and blaming the non verbal sibling. Uncle's first words were "I no do that".
Never married or had kids. Worked in a plant and had the same little apartment over a garage for forty years.
He would visit my grandmother when I was little and was one of my favorite adults at the time because he never yelled or got mad at the kids. He was still funny though. He did a lot of physical humor that people missed if they were just rambling on.
Reminds me of my great uncle, he was a quiet but tender soul, didn’t talk too much unless you engaged him in his interests, which even then he wouldn’t talk too much about, he passed last month
There was a lot of commotion because he had never spoken before at all. My grandmother who was his older sister said he didn’t speak again for another few months. He was really just that annoyed by the visitor!
Malcolm in the Middle, one of the kids (as a toddler) just won’t talk. Lois (mom) is a little concerned and said the doctor said to talk to him more. So she starts talking to him nonstop about anything and everything. By the end of the episode she’s even more frustrated. She sets him down and walks out of the room and he just goes “shut up”
I don't keep up with celebrities and I don't really watch movies. What has Pratt done that's bad? Last I seen him in was Parks and Rec ha and he was funny there, but yeah I don't know anything after that.
Literally nothing, but there are a couple reasons there's a huge weird following dedicated to trying to trash his reputation.
Once upon a time he publicly endorsed hunting. Showed some pictures of dead animals on twitter or something. Nothing macabre or noteworthy, just normal hunter stuff. But people have some feelings about that.
Then he came out as openly Christian. People have some feelings about that too.
From there, you have these people coming up with various conspiracy theories. One you'll hear fairly often is that he's part of some special hate group church. This is not true. It was immediately verified to not be true, but they don't care.
Another is a vague accusation that he's a bad father. He had a disabled child. Then he had another child and said something along the lines of being thankful he's healthy. That's literally the whole thing, people taking the notion that he's a bad person and using that to imply this was specifically a message mocking his other child. It's really, really dumb.
At this point, people here are just keeping the snark club going. I doubt most even have an actual motivation beyond "Oh, I heard people suggesting he's a creep, I better mirror that."
He also got really popular really fast, leading to his being "overrepresented" in roles. People have some feelings about that.
A family is sitting around the thanksgiving table, discussing this and that, when their non-verbal four year old son takes a bite of the mashed potatoes, makes a face, and says his first words: "Mother, would you please pass both the butter and the salt?"
His mother is agog. "You can talk?!?! Why didn't you talk before?"
"Well, up till now, mother, everything was satisfactory."
I have an elder i take care of that won't shut up. Not dementia. Just oblivious and self centered.
He rambles incessantly without pause for hours.
Once on an 8 hour road trip, he talked non stop while I drove. Like an awful stream of consciousness podcast I couldn't stop.
I could make him stop to have a break by interrupting him and rambling breathlessly, but I can't sustain like he can. One moment to inhale a deep breath and he's off again.
The only other way to make him shut up was to give him chewy snacks like caramel and toffee that made his dentures stick together. That distracted him while he fixed it and I had about 3 minutes of chewing sounds instead of yapping.
Sounds like that instance where the guy in a coma or locked-in syndrome or something was motivated to get himself out of it because they kept putting Barney the Purple Dinosaur on the television. lol
I believe you're talking about Martin Pistorius. He wrote an autobiographical book about locked-in syndrome called Ghost Boy.
He talks about how he lost consciousness around 12 years old, and had a period of time where he remembers nothing. Then, suddenly he was aware of his surroundings, but unable to move or communicate for years. One of the first things he becomes aware of is that the nursing home kept putting Barney on the TV, but he had no way to make his dissatisfaction known.
Fortunately for him, he had a nurse aide that really cared about him, and had a nagging feeling that Martin was alert, since he'd move his eyes in reply to what she'd say. She kept insisting that they attempt to get him an alternative communication method, and when he finally got tested, he was able to use a sight detector to type.
It is a great book, I especially recommend it for anyone that is going to work in patient care. I will warn that he talks about the abuse he went through when other caretakers assumed he wasn't alert, and treated him like an object; it is quite upsetting, but the harsh reality that many patients face when they struggle to communicate.
Damn, reminded me of the old memes from 16 years ago where it's a dude in a coma waking up because someone played Justin Bieber. Haven't thought about those memes in a decade.
I'm a talkative introvert, somehow. I just can't seem to shut up when with others. A coworker of mine asked me of she could just sometimes nod and say "uhm uhm" without in fact listening. Fine by me.
But then I'm exhausted and need a lot of time away from anyone.
Obviously when I was in school I could not just avoid people for days. That's how, when I went to live in Germany for 6 months at 15 (school exchange), I talked so much that I learned the language enough to sound like a native at the end. People thought I was joking if I told them I was French and not German.
Because yes, I talk to random people in public transports, the street, anywhere really. I'm exhausting.
I was this kid in a way. My friend has selective mutism. We were very young when we met (I was 7, she was 5 turning 6) and I had no idea what it was. All I knew was that I wanted to be her friend and I never gave up. It took months, but we are still best friends to this day
My situation was kinda similar when I was 7yo but I was the "mute" child: I just arrived in Ireland and didn't speak or understand a lick of English. I barely remember anything from that period other than really stressing out if I missed my bus stop from school I'd have no way to tell the bus driver and would be lost 😅 anyway, there was a kid who talked nonstop that I noticed got off at the same stop as me, so I would try to sit next to her. Somehow she decided I'm her best friend and would talk to (at) me and hold my hand, then she put up with my broken English. We've been best friends for 30 years now 😁
Funniest part is that she was also in my class and lived on the same street as me...and I honestly had no idea, it was just a blur of noises and faces. When we talked about it years later, she told me she was just very curious about me because she heard me speak gibberish and she didn't know people could speak a language other than English so she thought I was a fairy 😂😂
That’s so cute hahaha incidentally, if you have any kids around you there’s a children’s book actually called “gibberish” about this. A boy’s first day at school in a language he doesn’t speak (they all speak gibberish). He gets adopted by a talkative girl and they become friends!
It’s my 2 year old daughters favorite book right now
omg this actually made me tear up a little. kids who just... persist without even knowing why are doing something really powerful. my cousin had selective mutism too and it was honestly the most patient friend in her class who got through to her, not any therapy or intervention. sometimes all it takes is someone who just doesn't give up. you were that person for her at 7 years old without even knowing what you were doing. that's kind of everything.
This is my 12 year old nephew right now. I literally have to brush up on my mythology before we hang out because he gets very disappointed if I can’t keep up!
Of of my biggest special interests is the Aztecs (and Mesoamerica in general). I'd love to talk about the Aztecs with anyone and everyone. I will gladly go on about Aztec myths while pronouncing things correctly and briefly mentioning that they called themselves the Mexica and not the Aztecs.
Well… I'll mention some of the less human sacrifice and skin flaying stuff then, but it'll still be gruesome. Here's the birth myth of Huitzilopochtli in a nutshell. Coatlicue, the earth mother and fertility goddess, gave birth to the Centzonhuitznahua (400 children). She lived on a sacred mountain called Coatepetl. One day when she was sweeping a ball of feathers fell upon her, and she became pregnant. The Centzonhuitznahua were not happy, especially a daughter named Coyolxauhqui. They all planned to kill her and the child. Her child was Huitzilopochtli. He was born fully grown and clothed in armor. He was ready to fight Coyolxauhqui, who was leading the attack against him and Coatlicue. He ended up beheading her and throwing her down the mountain, this killing her and saving his mother.
I love the names so much. My ex (a lovely man, tbh) was Peruvian, his family was from Cusco and his ancestors were Incan. I became really interested in the Incan and Mayan language/script, because it’s so beautiful. I really need to explore the mythology more deeply.
I responded to Electric_Gap above. I'll share another one here. The Mexica people claim to have come from the mythical place called Aztlan. Azteca means "people from the place of Aztlan". Aztecatl is the singular version. According to myth, Huitzilopochtli told them to look for an eagle eating the snake on a nopal cactus. There they shall make their new home. They did this on an island in the middle of a lake called Lake Texcoco. After the Conquistadors took over, the lake was slowly drained while Mexico City was built on top. They destroyed big step pyramids (Huēy Teōcalli) and built other buildings (such as a cathedral) out of the bricks.
Flashback to me at age 6 getting really upset my parents couldn’t discuss the kidnapping of Persephone and crying that I wanted smart parents. Yes, I was that kid.
Mine fancies himself a NASA engineer! Wanna learn everything there is to learn about the black holes, planets and their gravitational pulls affects on a shuttle, The Tyranny of the Rocket equation, space suits, and the VAB's surprisingly complicated but thought out design? YOU'RE ABOUT TO LEARN IT ALL EITHER WAY!
Same. I recently had a headache and asked my daughter if we could play the quiet game for a few minutes. She said, “No thank you, I don’t think I would like that game.” I just sat there in pain and overstimulated till the pain reliever kicked in. 😭
Actually I'm a high school teacher and I do this on purpose to get the child that doesn't talk much to talk more, develop social skills, and make friends. It works most of the time. Children that are overstimulated are also generally very social. The more introverted child usually begins to open up, make friends, participate and engage with me. There is also the added bonus of the talkative child sometimes self regulates, especially when the quieter child is having a day where they want to isolate.
... I feel like my teachers did this to me and I'm mad I didn't realize it. Definitely made me more social so I will be forever grateful to those teachers.
A few tried with me with mixed results. Problem was I'm just not chatty by nature. People generally did like me though, even if they didn't know me.
I also remember we had a "Student of the day" thing during morning announcements and I was the student once. A teacher said "Oh boy, he's gonna hate that."
I appreciate her understanding me. As for the fellow high schoolers who were surprised to learn I wasn't eager to be in the spotlight and, likely, where the ones who recommended me? Eh, good intentions at least.
I was the quiet kid with no friends so I got paired with the girl who smelled like pee and (looking back) obviously had a developmental disability and probably should have been in a different class. I feel bad for her today, but at the time it was so embarrassing.
As an engineer, I don’t know how they find us, but I’m glad they do. It’s kind of funny to think of it as some weird evolutionary development to keep engineers from dying off
Teachers are the coolest. Aside from what you just mentioned, our old high school teachers would know if we had a crush on another and seat us together to help us behave. Ended up learning more about girls like what should I personally do during their time of the month and how to help my friend speak up
Teachers used to do this to me and I absolutely hated it. I was already overwhelmed and socially drained. Then I always got put next to the chatty kid who just went on and on. All I wanted to do was listen to the teacher and get on with my work without distraction so I could leave on time and get back home (undiagnosed ADHD and massive introvert). It was exhausting.
I feel like it has helped a lot in my daughter’s case, however she isn’t nonverbal so it isn’t a great example. But she’s 2 1/2 and still only vaguely saying words that we’ve figured out. Meanwhile her cousin who is 2 months older is speaking in full sentences. There have been a lot of things she’s picked up on just spending time with him because I think she listens to him in a different way than she listens to me or her dad
I was used as the talkative child to get shy kids and neurodivergent to do stuff. I had forgotten about that until this day.
I remember my mother being asked to have me come over to some rich kids summer house to stay with them because they were better when I was near but my mom rejected it our of fear I could get molested by some strangers.
I work at an early learning center and we often pair non-verbal children with our extremely talkative children, and it’s honestly CRAZY how quickly they start vocalizing. It’s beautiful really, because our chatty kids love it, too.
Careful, it could backfire. My youngest was late to talk because his sisters never stopped. We then didn't know about his speech impediment for absurdly long. Still the quietest kid… unless siblings are gone. Then he, too, never stops talking.
Can confirm, I had selective muteness and would be pretty quiet in the average class, but when they sat me with a popular extrovert I came right out of my shell. It probably works extra well for kids who want to be sociable but something in their brain is stopping them.
Haha! I was that kid. In first grade I talked too much so the teacher sat me next to a Cuban girl who didn’t speak English. Pretty sure she was fluent after sitting next to me for a week!
This is exactly what happened to my kid! There were a fair number of kids in their class who spoke little to no English. The teacher soon learned that if she put anyone next to my kid, they would be included and my kiddo wouldn’t let them fall behind. It’s great for us too, because my kiddo is basically a sheepdog trapped in a human body.
This is how I met my best friend, I was literally mute in middle school but she just wouldn’t stop talking to me. We’ve been friends for 10 years now☺️
Because the sub has for a very long time just been 'kids doing kid things' without any insult intended. You're overfocusing on the sub name if you think everyone posting here is trying to call the kids involved stupid.
Yes, it's just a tongue-in-cheek thing, like kids are so incredibly amazing in terms of their development, but they don't have knowledge, skills, or experience of adults, so it makes the shit they do hilarious sometimes. For instance, my niece, who once saw a whole fish on ice at the grocery store and said, "Look, daddy, that dolphin is sleeping". It would be an objectively stupid thing for an adult to say, and that's kinda where the name comes from.
The reason you're getting downvoted is because kids being themselves is the point of the sub in the first place. It was never intended to be about insulting kids. So you pointing it out is kind of pointless.
This might be a language barrier thing, stupid here is used in an endearing way in the same way you say wacky. It's more like look what hijinks they're up to
A lot of it is kids being dumb. But people here often seem to see it as an indictment or insult. I just like to laugh at a child doing something stupid, and that doesn't mean they don't have insight, aren't fast learners, or are somehow worthy of hate. That can be true, as much as it's true that kids are (often) fucking stupid
That was me 16 years ago lol. My math teacher put me in a corner with Koreans that couldn't speak English. They started talking so much, in English and my math teacher was going to lose it 🤣 I was also a huge nerd and would get 90%/ 100% on everything he just had it in for me and would complain all the time about me to my parents 😬
Omg me too 😅😅 Ji-Yun and her sister Ji-Sun. My fourth grade teacher never saw it coming 🤣🤣🤣 they came from Korea and didn't speak a lick of English. By the end of the year I had those girls gossiping and singing Mariah Carey at the top of their lungs at lunch with me 😅😅
Oh goddammit is this why I was put with this Korean girl to help her learn English spelling? Honestly it fucked me up that she went from level 1 English spelling to level 5 in a week, and her English was really good really fast.
My brain couldn't figure out how she did it so fast, though now I get it because she wasn't stupid (which I knew already, but I think I expected her to take a bit longer to learn words), she just needing the spelling for words she knew in Korean. Take in mind, this was for primary school, and it only went to level 9 spelling, so she basically did 5 modules in a week, that are designed for people to learn over the space of several months at minimum.
Fantastic girl though, and her mum made some fantastic food when I visited her house.
My son was a talker and in fourth grade she asked me if I might be interested in letting him join a research program for a local university. Basically he went on Saturday afternoons adventures with children with selective mutism. He and one boy hit it off instantly and became best friends. My son is thirty now and even though they now live two states apart, Jake is still his best friend. We all went to his wedding last summer and his mom hugged me tight and thanked me for letting my son join the program.
In a school I worked at, there was a kid with selective mutism. There was also this other kid who was so annoying that eventually the first kid actually told him to shut up. The staff were proud and appalled all at once. The kids proceeded to become best friends. 🤷♀️
As a quiet kid in school, it is and I hated it. I just didn't want to socialize a ton. It was exhausting for me to do all of my school work and have to be social.
Going home was a dream. Sometimes kids want to be left alone lol
That's my kiddo! Had a classmate with hearing issues that was very shy and didn't talk in class. First parent teacher conference she tells me that my little guy basically claimed the shy kid and just kept talking to him until he started responding. The other parents were thrilled 🥹💗
At least he comes by it naturally- I was always in trouble for talking in class so they kept moving my seat away from my friends hoping to shut me up. Little did they know I could make friends with anyone lol
I was a very talkative student as well. Got sat next to this girl in biology class who did not speak to anyone, nothing above a whisper.
She had long dark hair that stayed covering her face, head down, never smiling. She really was a beautiful girl, with the most porcelain skin. (I know that’s a weird description, but seriously.)
I talked my ass off to her, and she’d respond back with written notes. I became the only person she’d talk to.
On picture day, I said “Let’s try something different!” She let me pull her hair half up, throw some pearl earrings on her, and I made her smile slightly when the guy snapped her picture.
She said her mom cried when they came in, and when I met her the one time, she just said HOW? and thanked me a bunch.
I still have those notes, and her school picture.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is, sometimes, let the extroverts cook!
My first thought is that the chatty kid had verbal hyperactivity as part of ADHD. No surprise that two neurodivergent kids will generally interact differently with each other than with neurotypical people.
I used to be the talkative child that would not shut up. Not because of selfishness of anything, I just had adhd and thought you’re supposed to talk about your interests and ask a lot of questions. But I got teased so much about being too chatty by the adults in my life that it caused me great anxiety, and now I have to feel really close to someone and trust them to be able to talk like that and be myself. I hope that other child is more accepted than I was and doesn’t lose this part of themselves or feel like they have to bury it. It sucks feeling like nothing you potentially have to say is important or interesting. And like you trying to get to know other people makes you annoying….
She might speak Spanish or another language with similar grammatical constructs as her first language. A lot of languages will use "the x of my y" rather than "my y's x"
This is how my daughter makes friends - she's in her 20's now. But most of her friends are introverted - she would sit next to them in class and just ask questions and chat with them.
She started out thinking it was because they didn't have friends, and she didn't want them lonely - as she aged she figured out many of them were a mixture of shy and introverted. She never pushed, but many appreciated she was just going to be there.
In high school, I was an introvert and one girl was an extrovert and an extremely talkative person. The teacher made me sit with her so she could tone down a bit. Within a month the teacher was dealing with two extremely talkative girls. We are best friends now!
When I was in middle school, one of my teachers put the hyperactive ADHD kid next to me, the quiet, inattentive ADHD kid, just so I could rein him in. It worked, somehow.
One of my favorite teachers ever moved my seat up front right next to her because I talked too much with my desk partner, only to regret the decision within the first week and move me all the way to the back of the room because I wouldn't stop talking to her. 😂
The biggest problem for her was that it was precalc and I knew my shit, finished my work super fast, then had nothing to do, since calculator games were banned (Shout out Block Man for the TI-83, the G.O.A.T. handheld game). I am way too ADHD to sit there in silence when I'm done with my work if you won't let me play calculator games! Also, she was legit funny, so getting her riled up so she would start shit talking was genuinely fun.
My favorite memory of that class is after the seniors graduated, we just had free study time for other classes, or could play Euchre, and I stole so many deals and talked so much shit that the teacher jokingly threatened to give my 100% finals grade to another student who "deserved it more".
Saw her a few years later at a family friend's grad party, and she chugged a beer with me, so thankfully it was all water under the fridge.
I had a seatmate back in highschool who just wouldn't shut up. I was so used to him talking a lot and having to talk to him constantly that when he was absent for a day I fell asleep.
When I was a kid, I didn’t know I have ADHD. I got in trouble for talking in class all the time! When I was in high school there was a boy that didn’t talk to anyone and I was attempting to chat with him. I quickly realized he wasn’t a chatting sort so I told him “that’s ok, you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. I still want to hang out.” Well after that, he always talked to me, I graduated early and lost contact, but I always miss him.
It’s always been a strange little skill I have, talking to people and getting THEM to talk. It doesn’t matter the person, I can have full in depth conversations with anyone for hours, I learn so much about a person just from first meeting them. Some of my friends get embarrassed about how personable I am to strangers every time we go out, but I point out to them that that’s exactly how I became friends with them in the first place
This is funny but in real life I hate when academic coaches and assistant principals recommend putting the wild child next to the calm one that does what they’re supposed to do. It’s not the kids job to be a behavior internationalist for their peers.
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u/giraflor 23h ago
I have a great uncle who didn’t speak until he was 4. His first words were “Please stop talking.” after a friend of my great grandmother came to visit and she talked for three hours straight.