I can't speak. Here's how I get people to listen | Jessica Irwin

0:02You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. Jessica Irwin is many things. A photographer, artist, author, keynote speaker. She also happens to be nonverbal because of a form of cerebral palsy that affects the muscles she needs to talk. That never stopped her from sharing her opinions. She communicates through a device that turns her written words into speech. That synthesized voice is the same voice you'll hear in her talk, delivering the words she wrote. Here's how she puts it. I am Jessica Irwin, and I have never spoken a single word in my life.

0:42Even to say my name, nor the vital word of, stop. The truth is, I have so much I would like to say, many witty comebacks rolling around inside my head. In her talk, Jessica offers a sharp, funny, and urgent reminder that being nonverbal has nothing to do with intelligence and that the world is badly set up to hear people like her. The problem, she says, is especially bad in healthcare, the clinics and hospitals that are supposed to serve people of all walks of life with all kinds of communication modes, needs, and styles. The good news? She has some ideas for how anyone can better communicate with nonverbal people.

1:21And when people hear the words brain damage, they automatically jump to intellectual impairment. But when somebody has brain damage, it should not mean their entire brain should be disregarded. My case affects movement, not intelligence. That's coming up right after a short break. Thank you. It's pretty much all he talks about, in a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com slash bank. Capital One N.A. Member FDIC.

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4:03And now, our TED Talk of the day.

4:30The other 75 % stays trapped inside my head for only me to hear. This happens, every, single, day. Why is this? I have a level of cerebral palsy, that means my mouth muscles, simply won't allow me to physically talk. That is the sole reason. Let's focus on, slowly sounding out the letter, J. Did you feel your tongue on the back of your teeth as you sounded the letter out? I am unable to move my mouth and tongue that way. Which means, the only way you can hear my intelligent thoughts and ideas, is when I type them out for you, on my communication device, at the rapid speed of, seven, words, per, minute.

5:17The robotic voice outputs what I'm saying. But it doesn't express my quick wit. Or can it quickly express something in an emergency? imagine seeing your little niece about to touch the hot stove. Gracie, stop! I am unable to quickly say those words. My only hope is that I can manage to push her over. With love. Many non-verbal people spend a lot of time in hospitals. We enter a system that is brilliant at some things, but untrained in hearing voices like ours. So it becomes a place of fear. Many people in my situation can't physically use our communication devices when we are lying down, our voices are suddenly not there.

6:04Imagine lying in a hospital bed with an injured hip, with wounds and bone fractures. A nurse comes up to your bed, bypasses your notes, and goes to roll you straight onto your injured hip. What can you do to prevent the extreme pain that you know is coming your way? Absolutely nothing. You can't say the single word, stop. I mean, you can start crying, but you are on pain medication, that has a side effect of irritability. This is misinterpreted by the nurse as, the patient is just fussing because they don't want to roll. And your only option is to brace for the extreme pain and take it like a non-verbal person.

6:48this is not hypothetical it has been my horrifying reality this is why i'm bringing communication training into hospitals i don't want other patients to experience unnecessary pain and here's the brilliant thing this problem is solvable all it takes is knowing one simple thing assume the patient is intelligent ask yes and no questions and ask them to look up for yes and look down for no. Let's try it together. If you're with me, look up for yes. Now look down for no. Awesome. Just like that, without a single spoken word, we've had a conversation. This also works for complex scenarios like, are you in pain?

7:41Do you want me to call someone? Can I examine where you are hurting? Can I run through the alphabet, so you can spell out a word by looking up on the correct letter? Four simple steps. But they can save a life. Sometimes people ask me to squeeze their hand to signal yes. In my type of cerebral palsy, I have a high involuntary muscle grip, so my hand muscles will begin to involuntarily squeeze. Like a bear trap. You will be thinking, why isn't she letting go of my hand? and I will be thinking, bollocks, my hand won't let go, I'm stuck, and they don't know. It's hilarious sometimes. Here's the thing.

8:28Cerebral palsy is a brain injury. And when people hear the words brain damage, they automatically jump to intellectual impairment. But when somebody has brain damage, it should not mean their entire brain should be disregarded. my case affects movement not intelligence being non-verbal doesn't mean we don't have opinions and knowledge to share we often get loudly spoken down to and patted on the head because people just don't know how to approach us so here's a tip simply start a conversation with hi my name is and just let the conversation grow from there there's no need to talk loudly or slowly.

9:12Speak to us like you would the person sitting next to you right now. Can you imagine patting them on the head? How weird would that be? And these head patters are likely the people to assume, I'm the one with unusual behaviors. Look at our facial expressions and eye movements. Try humor to see if we laugh. If we do, that proves we can hear and understand you. Observe whether we are typing on our communication device. Look for a digital screen in front of us. You hold the power to give someone back their voice. That is a beautiful thing. So whether you are a professor, doctor, nurse or a future friend, please try to communicate.

9:58Remember, I'm so much more than my physical appearance. My name is Jessica Irwin. I am a photographer, artist, author, keynote speaker, and a human being. I am just like you.

10:23That was Jessica Irwin at TED 2026. If you're curious about TED's curation, visit ted.com slash curation guidelines. And that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is a podcast from TED. This episode was fact-checked by the TED Research Team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Lucy Little, Emma Taubner, and Tansika Sungmarnivong. Additional support from Daniela Ballarezzo, Christopher Faze-Bogan, Valentina Bohanini, Banban Chang, Brian Green, and Lainey Lott. Learn more at podcasts.ted.com. I am Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feet. Thanks for listening.

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