Absolutely. So this particular client is considered non verbal despite the fact that he is capable of some speech. He can say very simple sentences and has a few catch phrases but he largely only responds with yes, no or I don't know answers.

Occasionally if hes in an uncharateristically good mood he'll become slightly more talkative.

The problem is how he talks. Hes unable to pronounce most words due to his many diagnoses and the physical limitations they bring. So he might be trying to say "goodbye" but it'll come out sounding like "the sky" but in a very mumbled and disjointed way. Almost like his mouth is full of cotton when hes talking. He also just plain doesn't understand a lot of words. Similar to how a 3 year old might not know what construction means. If you talk using large words or too many words he will get confused because he can't keep up with the conversation. He needs short direct sentences.

He gets extremely frustrated by this and if a staff member is unable to understand what he's saying he'll sometimes fly into a rage. He desperately wants to communicate and he's a very smart individual. So when he decides to converse with me its an amalgamation of verbal words, sign language, pointing, and charades. Ive actually gotten pretty good at determining what hes saying 60% of the time which is no easy feat. So he'll try to communicate with me instead of other staff on duty because its less frustrating for him.

Now this client cant do much on their own. He needs help with bathing, the toilet, hair and nail care, eating, and Every thing else a human does in a day. This is what he uses as manipulation.

Hell come down and say "bath?" Or "nail?" Or he'll motion for you to follow him somewhere. This is all both normal and a setup. Since this is how he communicates, this is what he says when he wants a bath or nail trim or needs something he doesn't know how to say. So you have to follow him and determine what hes saying.

Sometimes though hes using the bath or nail trim as an excuse to get you alone in a room with him away from other staff and then he will attack you. He'll block doorways and do his best to prevent other staff from intervening. And those are just examples. He does this with Every thing from food, to the tv, to hygiene, etc. Its a 50/50 shot if hes actually asking you for help or not. So he might stand to the side quietly while I run his bathwater for him and then he'll smile and go do his thing. Or he might attack me as soon as I turn to turn the water on.

I'm getting better at reading him though and most of the time you'll notice his little mannerisms change when its an attack instead of a request. So it gives you a few seconds to put space or furniture between you both.