How Would You Communicate With Those Around You If, Per Chance, You'd Lost Your Ability To Speak Or Write?

You can have your husband write you out cards with sentences on them for instance...I'm cold...turn up the TV... I'm hungry...are you ready for bed...and I love you too....and he will easily understand what you want or need. You can file the cards in a recipe boxes with tabs that you can easily grab.   Djoyful...AND...you could also tape or glue the cards to your desk or a board. Point to the card you and your husband will know what you need.

This would hinder the ability to communicate to the ultimate level. What comes to mind first is the manner that has been displayed in many movies and other shows is by the limited one blink yes, two blinks no. But the limitations of even this are vast as how would one say I am thirsty? What is even more disturbing is to realize that even with the ability to speak and write is the fact that someone must be open to and receptive of communications. Some already are of the mind-set and attitude to not accept communications as they already have their own preconceived attitudes. Given that I have this ability of speech and the ability to write, lets face it, a lot of people only hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see regardless of what I may actually be speaking and saying and writing. As such if others are not open to one's communications without their predetermine mindset and attitudes and perhaps prejudices of what one is actually transmitting in their communication. If they are not receptive and open to clarifications of ideas and concepts that are unclear. Then these people will always only hear and understand what they want to hear and understand regardless of the actual communication being transmitted. Therefore communication is dependent more not on how one must communicate but on a receptive and attentive audience that has the ability to receive the communication with an open mind and a concern for the message as opposed to their own closed-mind and an inability to hear what is said and read what is written.

My roommate teaches autistic children. For the ones who are unable to communicate with words, they have cards and pictures to point to so they can show people what they want. Some of them carry around laminated cards on a key ring that they can show to people. They have phrases (and pictures for the ones who can't read) that they can show people. Inexpensive and easy to modify. Hope that helps. And incidentally, get the people around you to learn sign language. And if you have any little ones around you, teach them. Kids pick up languages--especially sign language--really quickly.

I know some sign language and well I would improvise and write with my feet... If I lost both write with feet sounds good lol... I have long finger like toes...

Special glasses with a optical reader hooked up to a computer with a voice synthesizer....a puffer(a device you blow air through to direct which key you want to hit) hooked up to virtual keyboard on a computer and then it synthesizes your voice or send mail,print it out, what ever you want..they could even rig up a control to any part of your body that still moves to allow direction of a pointer or reader.....i can't think of the guys name right now but he is a super genius that is stuck in a wheel chair but he controls his chair with a joystick pushed by his head and uses his computer with a puffer device...hawking....

Hi love!

This is an interesting yet tough question.  

Are we to assume one's hands have been lost due to an accident (heaven forbid), illness, or paralysis?

If one of these are the case, I should think that one would have to rely on those closest to them, those who seem to know what you're thinking before you even realize you're thinking it (kind of the way we are with our beloved husbands, Nassy! LOL), perhaps a dear friend, a relative or a significant other who is sensitive to your needs and feelings.  In the absence of such a person/persons, I guess I would just hang around and wait until my caregiver finally understood the rules of the game and got the picture!

Thanks for such an interesting and perplexing question, love!

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah to all!

For you lovy I would learn it again I had a friend a long while ago that could not speak and she was my friend she ended up married and we lost touch but it is worth it for a friend and good to know period but I suppose to keep it up because unless you are around someone you don't use it and you lose it,but for you yeah,heck yeah will learn all over again.....

People who can't speak do hand signals what they call "hand speaking" and they use body language too.

Sign language, gestures, facial expressions, help and support from family/friends?

Oh wait, I know...A VOICE BOX!!! Yes, that would solve it. Those machines that speak for you when you type in phrases. Bingo.

I would have to assume that I would have to have suffered a stroke to be in such a state. Therefor I would probably, also, be confined to a wheelchair. So, with all this in mind, I would probably carry a baseball bat, and use it, when necessary, to gain attention to my needs. I believe this would be a very effective way of communicating.

Everyone agrees that you would be dependent on someone else no matter which solution you come up with.  I like Djoyful's answers on cards in a box.  Our family knows a lot of sign language.  Years ago one of my girls thought it would be a neat way to communicate across a soccer field.  We all learned simple phrases.  It is easy and the gestures themselves sort of act out the message.  I think everybody gets five stars for their answers.

Well if it was me....
First with a smile...
Second with body language.... It is more comfortable (well.... I am)
then if i am able to write, then yes last resort is typing... I can use device like notebook or even a PDA to type thing out... I can do this even if the hand and fingers are unable to be used..

I would learn American sign language.  We have a deaf ministry at church, with sign classes for those who wish to learn how to sign.

I would ... Uhhh well first I would tell that is a hard question well let's see ... Well I would act or sign language

It's all in the movement Body language can attract people as well communicate w/them.  Kissing,hugging,handshake etc.  There are many ways to communicate through body language.

I think mostly with my eyes and hands , my eyes seems to talk more and shake my head some -- I know me and I'm sure to get my point across - lol

Good question NASCAR

Actually Nassie, dear... Nomad1 has a point. The man in question is Stephen Hawking. He is a brilliant theoretical physicist who is nearly completely paralyzed and wheelchair bound. This does not keep him from traveling around the world giving lectures and teaching, as well as the work he does on his own.
The video Here shows him asking some 'Big Questions' and giving his knowledge of our current understanding. While he has pre-written the portions of his speech, it is not one continuous paragraph, so each time you hear him pause, he has to activate the next paragraph. This is done through the small device you see attached to his glasses, as well as a very small tube he 'puffs' air through to indicate an 'Enter' or 'activate'. He is also quite capable of carrying on a regular conversation, but they usually do not show that process, as he has to pick and choose his words from the tables of terms in his speech synthesizer and the process can be quite slow.
However since the question was not "How would you make public speeches if you lost..." but how to communicate... A system of this sort is quite current in technology, and is perfectly capable of giving a person who can move their eyes and puff air through a tube the ability to both speak, and control external devices (Dr. Hawking moves his own chair around, thank you very much)...

I think if I were in that position, it would depend on how much mobility I DID have left, as opposed to what I had lost. If I could even move one hand and one finger of that hand (I'd certainly prefer two...) I'd arrange to have a mouse or other control device attached to a laptop computer with numerous pages of words and have not only the software to synthesize speech but also to add the words I click into a sentence until I click the 'Talk Now' icon... Such a system would not give me anywhere near my current ability to orate, but would let me get my point across.
If I could still type, (even if slowly) I'd probably just use any one of the many programs that are available for very little money (and many of them for free) that convert typed words into speech. I used to live in a shared household with a 74 year old man who thought it quite funny to enter offcolor comments into such a system and play the resultant voice saying them through the (rather large) stereo speakers in his room... (^_^)

Technology has come a great distance in the field of communication for the seriously handicapped, and I'd certainly want to take advantage of anything I could afford to obtain to make it easier to communicate. My thoughts trapped in my echoing skull?? Certainly not! I'd HAVE to find some way to let them out to cause those around me the confusion and fear they so justly deserve!! Bwa-ha-ha!! (evil laughter, if you didn't notice) (^_^)

That's my two cents' worth. Hope it gives some food for thought...

If that thing really happened, I think I'd like to try my best to communicate with others by my action. I mean I would avoid "saying" something as much as possible, I would just do something, do something to express myself. :)  sometimes I feel I have said too much, while done little.

Body language or signlanguage sounds like the logical answer .

You can figure out different ways to communicate with the people  around you  because you already have  different signs for things and don't realize it already

You can work on a question basis, blink once for yes, two for no, or you can use a typing method if the hand/s will cooperate, or even work on the speech therapy. All in all though, I think Celticgirl said it best. Sorry I can't help more on this one.

I guess I would have to learn sign language, hopefully I could still type so I could still use blurtit.