Need help right now?
If someone needs immediate help with nonverbal emergency, use emergency mode.
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DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — A person who does not speak verbally needs medical help — AAC user, autism, stroke, or intellectual disability.
The essentials if you need to act right now.
Find talk device. Yes no gestures. Call 112 say nonverbal. Watch pain signs.
What might I see? Observable signs — no diagnosis required.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Grabbing body part, altered breathing, device not working.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Caregiver says "this is not normal for them."
Optional deeper explanation — not required to act.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — AAC batteries die — low-tech backup on wallet card helps.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Autistic meltdown looks different from medical distress — know baseline.
Check the scene before you approach.
Civilian-safe actions you can take.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Show phone to dispatcher video relay if service exists.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Scan wallet for medical ID QR.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Offer pen paper — some literate nonverbal prefer write.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do not force eye contact if sensory painful.
When and how to get professional help.
Any breathing difficulty, seizure, or unresponsiveness needs ambulance regardless of speech.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Interpret behavior with caregiver input — do not assume lack of speech means lack of pain sense.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Call 112. Nonverbal adult/child, signs [list], caregiver phone.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Request paramedics familiar with disability — if option.
Dangerous actions, when not to attempt rescue, and common myths.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT ignore because person cannot describe pain verbally.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT confiscate AAC as "distraction."
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Nonverbal people cannot feel or express pain
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Pain shows in face, breathing, guarding, behavior change — assume pain until assessed.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Undertreated appendicitis or fracture.
Other scenarios in the same family.
Seizure emergency
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Person with known seizure disorder having prolonged or repeated seizure, or first unusual seizure.
Wheelchair evacuation
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Fire, flood, or attack requires moving a person who uses a wheelchair when elevator is unsafe.
Language barrier emergency
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Patient or caller speaks limited local language — need help calling 112 and explaining symptoms.
Oxygen failure
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Home oxygen concentrator failed, cylinder empty, or tubing disconnected — user breathless.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Hospital with communication partner allowed.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Document baseline behavior for clinicians.