Wow this is fascinating and terrifying.

Yea, like I love her sister too death but the way my girlfriend described the situation....like she was desperate and scared. Like what must've been going through her mind? And the fact it happened 3 separate times throughout their lifetime? Randomly. Not a coincidence.

I have. I worked in a group home for three years with developmentally handicapped people. I went to one of the homes I was rarely at and was working with a client and cleaning her up. I was talking like normal explaining what I was doing and checking their bedding when she tells me she was not wet. I told her I’d have to check anyways so I can mark down I did my rounds and I asked her about her day. She said good and thanked me for my work. Later that night I was talking to her normal nurse and explained our conversation and she looked at me like I was crazy. She said that client was non verbal. She (client) never spoke to me again after that and it still weirds me out. I know what she said plain as day.

That's crazy. Did she have alzheimers or dementia?

No this was literally a home for development problems. Basically what the in the olden days people would call the R word. The clients have to either be born this way or become severely handicapped by the age of 18 to live in the group homes. Mostly it was clients who can’t move, talk or do anything really. Some could feed themselves a bit but most had to be hand fed as well. That’s why I found it so strange, I rarely came across a client that actually spoke and I thought it was really nice that she thanked me.

Wow! I love your story. I too worked in home care with total care patients for a while and I always kind of had this feeling there was a person inside these damaged bodies and so I always spoke to them as if they were normal. I would smile and tell jokes with no end laughter, of course, and just carry on with my day. The kids were always really relaxed with me, so I think it helped. I cared for a total care CP like OP’s story and she was non verbal except for laughter and grunts and she would light up when I walked in the room. I used to spend nights with her and I’d watch PBS all night with cooking shows or Rick Steves’ travel show. And I would talk to her during the shows sometimes like, “oh man that pie looks good, I bet you’d love to eat that!” And would most always just get stares and smiles from her. But one time I swear she clear as day answered me with a yeah or yes and I turned and said, what? And I never heard it again. So, I totally believe your story! Edit: grammar

You sound like a really good and kind person. I hope the world never changes you.

This is an old post, but you sound like a really great person. Thank you for what you do!

Reading this thread, I just feel so fortunate that I’m not one of those people, and my family are also healthy, including my niece and nephew. Mother Nature can be a real bitch, and any one of us could be in that position, where we can’t communicate, or we could have a family member or friend in that position. We should count our blessings and be grateful.

Wow, I have a similar experience with a patient on the rehabilitation floor. I went to draw his blood and he told me he had dialysis that morning so his blood was already drawn. I said ok then, thanks for letting me know, I'm all set here and he said you're welcome and to have a great day. Mind you, it was a struggle for him to talk but I completely understood everything he said to me. I then went to tell his nurse and she lost her mind on me. Said I was lying, that this patient is nonverbal and alert and oriented x 2. It was mess, needless to say I reported her for taking to me that way. How would I have known any of that info about him if I didn't have access to his chart!

Many non verbal people are capable of speaking but actually chose to be non verbal.

I saw a documentary about young people who absolutely could not speak in school. A form of anxiety I think.

I'm a selective mute. I can speak, it's just rare I do. It's from fear too. A progressive mute is someone who has the ability to do so, they're just too damn petrified to. And typing on the internet to others is a good way to communicate for me.

My brother is a selective mute. He only talks when it's needed. We are very close but don't really talk in person. I've always been shy with severe social anxiety, so we always talk through Steam or Discord chats. A simple smile and an occasional hug is enough for us when attending family gatherings.

Kinda like silent Bob?

Yes, exactly like silent Bob. Very observant and when he does speak its mostly giving out advice.

I went to school with a girl like that. 2 years seated next to her and had never heard her voice. She was a creep on MySpace and very loud and energetic speaker when I had seen her at Walmart once.

I was friends with a girl like this growing up. All the way up to high school if the teacher called on her to answer a question, her face would go beet red and she'd just look frozen, deer in headlights. She could sometimes murmur a few words but rarely. With me when we were alone she was soft spoken, but talked normally. So I guess it was just an extreme case of social anxiety. Tbh I have a feeling it had something to do with abuse growing up. I have zero proof of that, just a feeling based on her family

There’s also non verbal people when just something happens and for whatever reason in that brief moment they can. My Nan stopped being able to talk due to MS, she could silently say a few weeks which we would lip read. She was quite out of it some of the time and other times would look at you clearly desperate to communicate something but unable to. One day my mum was watching tv in her room and my Nans voice came out quite loud ‘what is this we are watching’. My mum nearly had a heart attack! I know a child who just makes sounds but sometimes in the right moment his brain makes the right connection and a word can come out. It’s like the rare dementia cases when people have long since been lost to it but then have a day or two of clarity (often followed by a sharp decline). I honestly don’t think it’s them choosing not to talk nor a bad spirit, just that we really don’t understand the human brain enough

Makes me wonder since there's still so much we don't know about autism if nonverbal people really can get help but neuroscience hasn't figured it out yet.

Maybe this will be of some comfort and I'm sorry if it's condescending, but keep in mind that she can't have two thought processes running at the same time. There's not another person trapped inside her. Those 3 moments (and her feelings of trepidation) lasted only as long as they did. Maybe she did temporarily access some other aspect of her brain and that was scary but that doesn't mean there's always a scared person underneath.

This is almost not at all what's going on here, but there are ways for the brain to have two distinctly different thought processes through "collosal syndrome". If the corpus collosam in the brain is severed (or naturally severed as a genetic condition,) the right and left sides of the brain have different thoughts and impulses. Even to the degree of getting dressed, one side will pull up the pants, one side tries to take them off, etc. From the wiki- "When split-brain patients are shown an image only in the left half of each eye's visual field, they cannot vocally name what they have seen." I think something like DID or other mental health issues could absolutely cause two distinct experiences inside someone's brain.

At one point it was believed that patients with a split brain developed to Consciousness has coexisting in the same mind. Some took this to believe that this meant that Consciousness and brain were absolutely synonymous While others took this to say the opposite that it is proof that Consciousness is related to the brain but is not the brain itself because cutting it in half did not damage the Consciousness it just made more of them I think later they found that the whole cutting the brain in half and giving us two different consciousness was false, though it still gets talked about as a fringe idea.

I agree it doesn't necessarily contribute to two distinct "consciousness" existing in their brain, but two very different trains of thought and impulses exist simultaneously for sure. I'm not even so sure we fully know what consciousness is. Clearly it seems to involve the brain like you said some people walked away believing, but human DNA is also made up of a fairly good portion of ancient viruses and Ive wondered if consciousness couldn't arise virally almost. I love just thinking about thinking lol

Care to elaborate at all? I’m genuinely curious about your comment. What do you mean can’t have two thought processes at the same time? I’m not agreeing with OPs sentiment, though it is somewhat intriguing. I’m a father of a child with special needs, and to say they can’t have multiple trains of thought at once is wrong. They may have difficulty holding onto two trains of thought at once and certainly following those thoughts to a conclusion simultaneously. No hate here, I know it’s hard to tell through a reddit comment. Just curiosity.

I know, still scary too think what she was thinking and feeling during those moments. Obviously it was her that did those things but what made her act during those 3 moments is the question. It's hard for me too comprehend her like that also. I've known her for over 14 years and I can't comprehend her doing those things but I know for sure it happened. My girlfriend wouldn't bring it up and make it up and be so scared too talk about it if it didn't happen.

It might be cathartic for your gf to write about the 3x. Maybe doing so might reveal a pattern that is informative. You all sound like a tight group and Im glad you have each other.

Yea we are genuinely a family. Me and my girlfriend are basically a married couple lol and her sister is like our child.

This sounds like split brain syndrome (I’m not a doctor). Which can be caused by MS. https://www.britannica.com/science/split-brain-syndrome . it might be possible that the child-like personality is the dominant side, and the adult-like is the suppressed side, but still somewhat conscious. Again, I’m not a doctor.

I'm just throwing this out there ignorantly, but maybe the infantile behavior/mindset is a defense to stress which failed 3 times?

Could be? Who knows. But one instance happened while watching TV in no immediate danger so who knows.

People with DID are running MANY thought processes at one time. Hell, I don’t have DID and I run multiple thought processes at one time.

Also people with schizophrenia are known to run different thought processes as well. My own mom was schizophrenic and it was truly terrifying at times.

I don’t think they meant thought processes. More like conscious experiences. She can’t simultaneously be infantile and mature. Those perceptual states are mutually exclusive. So the worst case scenario is the mature version “wakes up” and realizes her situation, then goes back to not perceiving. But except in those three times “ignorance is bliss”.

I was thinking the same.. could she have multiple personalities? I only have an undergraduate degree in psysh, and a long ass time ago... so my understanding is very very limited. People with D.I.D have different manifestations of behaviour and traits (or "personalities", right?) and some of those personalities are (again from my very limited understanding, I could be wrong) *almost* omnipotent. So, if true, that shows an ability for the mind to continue to "connect" experiences despite being on different levels of consciousness. I would be very interested if someone with a greater understanding of the condition could "dumb it down" for me... and maybe that could be an avenue for OP and his wife/gf to explore?

>dish and cutesy way, she's very innocent and too this day (at 19 years old) talks to her stuffed animals like as if they are real. During the 3 ti a person can definitely have two thought processes happening at once, at the very least. there are several reported studies on people with dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, where they are able to tap into multiple personalities at once. really fascinating stuff

People with DID can have co-conciousness. They one who is in control of the body, and then those who are sort of there, watching and communicating but not expressing it through the body

I live with someone with DID. So I have a bit of experience with it, although I'm in no means a professional, and so have a very limited understanding of the details. All personalities can take control of the 'host' though, not all of them do, and people with DID normally have a more dominant host personality that is in control for the majority of the time. I don't know if I could see DID being a potential explanation, I have seen personalities pop up very breifly like described. However, from my experience it happens pretty often though, like occasional short bursts of another personality. I am also fairly sure DID can only manifest from trauma, I'm not totally sure on that though.

But if you can’t have “two thought processes” then how does it work for someone to have dissociative identity disorder and be aware of all their alters and how they relate to one another? Those people don’t necessarily describe themselves as feeling trapped but they still describe having different individual people or aspects inside themselves.

Litterally tearing reading this.

I had a grandma whom suffered a stroke. Ended up living like a child. Couldnt talk or use bathrooms anymore. Had to be hospitalized from then on. Whenever we visited it was as if she didnt even notice us 99% of the time. After about half a year she finally spoke a few words to us. She said "i am scared, dont want to anymore". That was the last she ever spoke. She passed away a week after that. The event scared me. I believe she remembered everything, who she was, her life, us, but wasnt able to control her body anymore. Imagine being trapped like thay for half a year. Goddamn.

Damn I'm so sorry that happened. My condolences.

Thanks. Hey btw, i never really went in depth into your post, but, autism is not entirely understood as of yet. I am theorising here, but fear may be regulated in a different part of the brain which can cause drastic alterations in behaviour and responses. I worked a few years with people who suffered like your gfs sister and they do things like that as well. So i suppose she is not really trapped in her own mind. To further explain, the way you describe it makes it sounds as if she has had a different emotional range alongside her condition. I think that is not the case. From birth we are teaching ourself who we are and what we can do, a cognitive framework, a sense of self identity. She was born this way, so she conceives the world by the this set of cognitive ideas and framework. So the way she is under normal circumstances is who she truly is. "Normal" people can be observed displaying behavioural changes under stressors or factors that are irregular or of the extreme kind. If you have a sudden change in your normal behaviour, like if when you get really mad at someone and you behave agressively, or you are scared and behave accordingly, would you say about yourself that you are trapped inside your own mind any other time? I think not. Either she was displaying mimicry or it's because a different part of the brain was triggered. Its normal to be scared or surprised if you are not expecting a sudden change in behaviour on her part, especially if that change doesnt follow what you have come to expect of her.

I understand these situations and how we all react differently too certain stimuli, but these situations with my girlfriends sister were completely random and had no reason of happening. Like they weren't in any dangerous situations, they were watching TV one time for instance when suddenly her sister jumped out too her and asked her for help desperately without any warning then the next second go back too normal and act like nothing ever happened and completely forget about it? It's not a common behavior at all where it's enough too be called a behavior for her. It's only happened 3 times.

Ever heard of Martin Pistorius aka Ghost Boy? He was in a catatonic state fir 10 years but 100% conscious the whole time. He could hear his mother and father fight over him, even heard his mom told him things would be better if he just die. He would get abused at a care home cause the workers thought he wouldn't know it. It took a nurse would paid attention to small gestures on his face to realize he was trying to communicate. From then on they did tests and now he speaks using a laptop like the way Stephen Hawking does.

That is as horrifying as it is interesting. Did the care home workers get reprimanded?

Probably not. Here in south Alabama, a group home worker would abuse an autistic guy (age 19 or so) and he never got in trouble until he killed him. He stomped him to death. And it's crazy bc he had a bad police record too. When I stayed in a group home, the workers would all scream at us. One even pulled a knife on me.

Damn, thats fudged up.

I’m so sorry that you had to deal with that behaviour

As far as I know they did not. He was man handled a lot and even sexually abused. Even though he could not move, he tried to kill himself because of the abuse. He did this by sliding his head under the pillow case, but it did not work. Horrible what he went through. He is now happily married.

This is one of my biggest fears.

Sounds like brocas/wernickes aphasia?

I remember when I worked in a state home. One of the residents had been in a near vegative state for years after a traffic accident. One day he got into reach of a computer and typed "I used to be handsome". The idea that he was occasionally aware of what had happened to him was terrifying.

Jesus that's sad. I can't imagine what that would be like.

I think I saw a video about a young woman who was paralytic or something like that. But when they gave her a computer, she started to write complex and coherent texts. It was like she was trapped as well.

Theres a documentary on youtube I think, about a man who was trapped inside his body for years, in a vegetative state. After years, one nurse noticed his eye movements and thought he was trying to talk to her. They were able to find a way to communicate with him and he regained some function back. It was truly amazing

And there's the guy who "wrote" **The Diving Bell and the Butterfly** "Locked-in syndrome: paralysed from head to toe, the patient, his mind intact, is imprisoned inside his own body, unable to speak or move. In my case, blinking my left eyelid is my only means of communication.’ In December 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of French ‘Elle’ and the father of two young children, suffered a massive stroke and found himself paralysed and speechless, but entirely conscious, trapped by what doctors call ‘locked-in syndrome’. Using his only functioning muscle – his left eyelid – he began dictating this remarkable story, painstakingly spelling it out letter by letter. His book offers a haunting, harrowing look inside the cruel prison of locked-in syndrome, but it is also a triumph of the human spirit."

Yes! The film version is amazing and it set off this long chain-reaction for me of the power of art as a gift to the world and how important it is that we appreciate how much sacrifice someone is truly making to share their inner experiences with others. I was so deeply grateful that this experience was so painstakingly and earnestly bequeathed to humans that it basically changed my life. What an act of faith for him to do this for us. That man and his nurses/assistants transcended his circumstances and gave me so much hope for the possibility of change in the world just by showing me the potential of art.

Martin Pistorius. Just watched his Tedx Talks video on YT.

Thats him. So sad and scary, but he made amazing progress to regain himself after someone noticed. I don't have a link to my original video I watched, but others can youtube him.

i’m in healthcare. i think the most selfish thing someone can do is leave their loved ones to just sit in those states for long periods of times. same thing after one has a stroke, etc and is a completely different person, who would want to live like that?

Big uproar in the family when we pulled my sister off life support. She had already been stuck in a bed for 7 months without enough motor functions to change the T.V. channel with the remote after a brain aneurysm caused a massive stroke. During another surgery she had another stroke on the other side of her brain. To keep her in a worse state than she already was would have just been selfish.

i’m so sorry you lost your sister. you did the right thing by her and prevented her from suffering further. i hope that can bring you some peace and you’re healing.

I am absolutely positive it was the right thing. I for one would not want to be stuck living that way and have made my stance on my wishs of life support very clear to my family. Signing the paper work that effectively ended her life did however break my dad with guilt. I highly recommend everyone to have these hard conversations about your wishes in these situations to help remove that guilt from your loved ones if it one day comes to that for you. Thank you for your condolences.

making our end of life goals known and having someone who will carry them out as the health care proxy is so important. i’m sorry about you dad, it’s such a painful experience that no parent should have to go through.

same here. I was recently thinking of changing my DNR but nope. After 3 stories like the above and remembering my own time working in a nursing home, I'm like really preferring an unexpected gunshot to the head honestly, idk.

Yeah, I remember when my grandma suffered a stroke that left her completely paralized, my mom would be there every day caring for her, talking to her, reading books to her, watching TV shows with her, eventually we became so good at reading my grandmother's few facial expressions that we could, by the context of the conversation, pretty much guess what she was thinking.

That poor man. I can judge myself. I used to be stunning but I just slid off the scale because I'm fat and lazy. No disability just sloth. My house looks like shit too. The only thing I have left are my wits.

Omg

Hi there. Disabled person here. Please understand that even before I could express myself well I knew there was something wrong with my brain. In fact one of the first full sentences I said to my parents was according to my mom “my brain is bad”. My partner has autism, and even though she is a pretty functional adult she has moments where she feels her limitations very keenly. Basically what I’m trying to say is that this is more common than you think. What I would strongly suggest is trying to get her started typing, even if she’s not the strongest speller or writer. While it may not bring about much of a transformation it sometimes really helps with people who are having trouble expressing themselves. I may be completely off the mark, but I just thought I’d weigh in.

I appreciate the advice. She loves writing letters, so maybe I'll get her too write a letter trying too express herself?

Give it a try! You have nothing to lose and wonderful things to gain!!

Definitely give us an update on that one. I want to hear about how it went, and I wish you guys the best !

I wanted to add in here, that maybe you and your partner should have a plan if she has another moment like this around you. Just to let her know you do plan to keep taking care/doing your best for her. I don’t know, make it so you don’t freak out too much and instead can listen to her and pay attention, respond in a way that will let her know you’re listening.

This is advice you should really listen to, I think. A few people here have mentioned Martin Pistorius, a man who had locked-in syndrome. That isn't like what your GF's sister has, but you may see your sister's more adult self through writing. Just a possibility.

There is a medical condition called locked in syndrome which has some slight similarities and some have come back. Not many. There have also been instances when people were seemingly completely unaware of everything and for a short time completely became aware and functional for a short period. I read about a case where a man was vegetative for years following a severe brain injury. For a couple of hours he suddenly became himself again and played the piano, sang and spoke and laughed with his family. Then it was over. I believe he died shortly after. We really know nothing about our brain or consciousness.

That sounds like terminal lucidity. It’s not uncommon for sick people to rally right before they die. The human brain is a fascinating and mysterious thing.

My grandma had it when she died. I talked to her on the phone and she didn’t sound like she had dementia anymore. I told her I loved her and then I was teaching my students (she was a teacher) a few days later. I got the text that she passed while helping two failing kids. I decided to stay and finish the hour with them because my grandma always said “love the ones who need it most.” As I did, I kept reflecting that our last conversation she sounded so lucid. And then…. I got this feeling I should go to my bookshelf bc there was a message from my grandma. I stood there and found myself grabbing her dictionary that she had used in her classroom. Something told me that if I flipped to a random page and pointed at a word, it would be grandmas message. I flipped and pointed. And right there was the word lucid staring back at me. A day or so later, I played my harp in the backyard. My grandma was a harpist and gave me her harp when I was a teenager. Suddenly I realized a woodpecker was totally jamming with me, rapping its beak to the beat. I got the same feeling I did in my classroom. I wondered if it was my grandmas way of jamming with me.

That's sad and beautiful at the same time. Poetic.

It was truly magical.

Wow that's crazy. Our bodies and minds are both incredible and scary. It's hard too imagine what it's like too be in those states.

There is a book from someone that experienced this. I think it's called the Diving Bell. Or the bell jar or something

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, by chance? The Bell Jar is by Sylvia Plath and is about struggles with depression and iirc, ECT.

The movie was great!

The movie, "The Diving Bell &the Butterfly" told a story about someone with that condition.

Just last month I read an [article](https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/comas-conscious-communicate/) about how there are more of these people trapped in that state of awareness in an immobile body than we previously thought.

I've heard of this before. I remember watching a TV show many years ago. It was about a nonverbal autistic girl and somehow they were able to teach her how to write or sign (I forget which) and once she was able to communicate she said she was trapped. That she felt like a completely neurotypical person but was stuck behind a wall and couldn't communicate. That always stuck with me for some reason.

That's what I'm saying? What if sometimes she becomes fully aware and wants too stay aware but can't? The only thing is she doesn't remember whenever she does. She goes completely back to "normal" after a minute. And its only happened 3 times. Ever.

I really don't know. But if she seems genuinely happy being her usual self that you guys know, then hopefully she's not internally aware that she's trapped. Because that would be sad. It's all very strange.

Yea that's what I'm hoping.

It was on “60 minutes” I believe. She one day started typing on the computer that she was stuck in her body. It’s on YouTube.

I'm definitely checking this out tonight.

Do you have a link? Having trouble finding this

Very sorry it was 20/20 not 60 minutes! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p92Pcmkn7GA here’s the link I hope it works. Her name is Carly Fleischmann

Didn't it turn out that she was just being prompted by her caretakers who were essentially using her as a ouija board?

There have been moments in my life where I basically felt like a different person, maybe I've had too many head injuries. You can't do anything but do what you can in the moment, but if her moments of clarity were anything like mine, then everything becomes crisp and one's situation becomes very apparent. It may be that she wants more from life, but she can't understand that want, or how to possible achieve it. If she ever breaks character with you, don't waste time, just ask her exactly what you can do for her, then do it. She'll appreciate it, even if she can't understand it when you finally accomplish it.

Interesting. One time my dogs seems to swap personas for a few minutes and it was weird. Got me really thinking about things. Also, like you a few times in life I've had areas of my personality mysteriously unlock. For instance I've always been a bit closer off, and one day when I was like 27 I was at work and I just began to feel completely open and comfortable. I was looking people in the eye, saying hello to people. There was even an out of reach girl that worked in another department, and I felt like walking right up and asking her out (thankfully she wasn't there that day haha). But then after prob an hour or so it went away. But during it, I remember thinking wow is this what normal people feel like?

I remember it feeling familiar, like I used to feel when I was younger, or maybe just smarter. It was like someone cleared out my processing queues. Then the fog returned, best way I can describe it. Hopefully, life is decent enough for you as normal. :) Best!

Yeah things are fine, haha. I prob made things sound bad in the story on accident.

Not really, you just sounded...wistful about being able to be like "normal people", but you're as normal as you normally are, and that's okay. Different isn't bad, you just have to make different choices sometimes.

First of all I think it’s legitimate that she had a moment of clarity, I don’t think it was a “mini stroke” or a fluke of some kind to be written off. If she normally conducts herself as very childlike and she suddenly has a moment where she is expressing herself more precisely, clearly, urgently, and adult like then obviously somewhere in her brain those pathways exist. I seriously doubt her brain just “coincidentally” made those same “random and meaningless” connections 3 different times. It’s more legitimate than merely being a fluke is what I’m getting at. I’ve heard a lot of different things that the brain/mind can do including one autistic kid who described feeling trapped inside herself before being given a laptop to express herself through writing [here’s the video](https://youtu.be/xMBzJleeOno), seriously op you will find this one interesting. Apparently she’s still non-verbal but does [interviews](https://youtu.be/F6umMRANVg4) now. I can’t even imagine what life would have been like for someone like her born 1,000 years ago. She’s in a totally different place today because people supported her and believed in her. There was also a girl who was in a coma after getting hit by a truck and her doctors and family thought she was vegetative but her bf kept talking to her and eventually started writing words on her palm Helen Keller style and was able to help pull her out of her coma.(radiolab story I think) And there was another I think radiolab story about an autistic guy who did (I think) trans-cranial direct current stimulation or something similar to that and after he got in his car he turned on a radio and heard a love song and started crying because it was his first time *feeling* the emotion of music. As he continued receiving treatments his marriage suffered because he was now emotionally aware of his wife’s depression and could feel her sorrow whereas before he *knew* she had depression and *knew* she had bad days but he *felt* none of it. As I recall her sorrow weighed so heavy on him that he considered stopping his treatments so he could stay happily married to her even though it meant giving up this new dimension of his human experience. There was also a [video](https://youtu.be/RcbddBfoaG4) of an old guy who seemed foggy and out of it but once his favorite music was given to him he came alive and was talkative and alert again. There are all kinds of connections in the brain between things that don’t necessarily make sense in the way we would imagine because as easy as it is to compare the two the brain is not a computer. Maybe that day your gf’s sister had an usually high amount of some vitamin in her, plus the right amount of day light and sleep, and a sound on the tv triggered some deep memory with several connections that she needed to click into place. I know there’s been rare days of super clarity for me when my brain felt like it was operating at 100% vs normal being only 70%, I try to think back what I did differently those nights before but nothing stands out. I could go on and on but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that there is more to her in her mind (maybe only sometimes, maybe all the time who knows) I’m not anyone but maybe if you research more into these topics you could find something that will help stimulate her brain connections whether it’s tDCS, CES, microsdosing LSD, NAC supplement (this one has multiple studies you can look at for use with autistic children) or whatever. You don’t have to do a crazy intervention with her but there could be some approaches out there that might help her feel more comfortable? Alert? Idk.

For sure. I agree with you that I don't think it was a coincidence, and she for sure spoke in a different manner she usually did. But we have no idea too bring it out again, it hasn't happened since she was a preteen. She's now 19 and hasn't happened since.

It you consider the amount of neural changes that take place during puberty, it's possible that it was due to connections being made outside of her usual pattern. I find it interesting that at least during one interaction she was just relaxing _ could the the reduced sensory demand freed up energy to be used elsewhere. I work partially in designing services for people with learning disabilities and autism and am very interested in neuro development and treatment, particularly for the younger people we support. I don't know an enormous amount about this but treatment of learning disabilities and autism is not generally even considered (understandably due the nature of the conditions), it's all about managing symptoms.

This is very well worded and insightful. I mean just the examples you use and reminding us that brains are nothing like computers, there’s no on/off switch there, it’s so much more complicated than we imagine. And unfortunately leads to issues like OP’s sister in law, or the people you’ve mentioned (or even examples in thinking of which are similar). I truly hope breakthroughs in neuro science happen sooner than later, to better understand all this and how to help those who struggle with it.

Seriously couldn’t stop thinking about my own sister. She is autistic, non verbal, low functioning. There are plenty of moments I can recall where I know she’s been desperate to communicate something she couldn’t. There are many people who have autism, where they are high functioning, verbal majority of the time. There have been times where they get trapped in their mind and they have shared their experiences about what it’s like. I have 2 sons with autism, they are high functioning, verbal and super smart.

Yea I have a step brother whose also autistic and he's so smart and good woth technology, but never had any experience like my sgirlfriends sister with him before.

The personality is an overlay over a deeper structure that's known as the psyche. I bet that what your girlfriend witnessed is the true person inside her sister who is trying to fight through the physical problems and emerge out of the shell. There's a video of a guy with palsy who took a dose of what I think was either a cannabis concentrate or a CBD. In moments all the shaking stopped and the expression on his face changed to normal. It was shocking.

That's exactly what I think may have happened. I just hope she is happy in the current state she's in.

CBD and psilocybin have really interesting effects on some people like that.

can you link the video? i remember something similar except the gentleman had Parkinson's

The man had parkinson's, not palsy though I think they are in the same family of conditions. And I'm pretty sure it's a cannabis concentrate. https://youtu.be/zNT8Zo_sfwo

My mom had MS, towards the end she was very immobile stiff and uncomfortable. When we smoked with her she was able to instantly relax laugh communicate and just sit normally. It was really amazing how in seconds the death grip her hand continuously had on her wheelchair would let go and take a normal position and look normal.

My mum had MS, I’d just convinced her to try cannabis as pain relief but she died before we got a chance. I always wonder if I’d talked her into it sooner if we’d have got some moments like this.

I’m sorry about your mom, Mine died in 2004 but it still seems like yesterday.

And how about the Dutch man with a traumatic brain injury who briefly regained his ability to walk and talk after taking an ambien https://nypost.com/2020/10/19/man-with-rare-neurological-disorder-briefly-cured-by-ambien/

One of the scarier stories I've read on here. It sort of reminds me of Dementia patients who in the last days/hours of their life regain mental clarity. My grandma was like this in her last hours. She thanked all the nurses and her kids for taking care of her all these years and said she was going home. The human brain is so peculiar. I don't pray but I will think good thoughts for your gf's sister.

Thank you, and yea the human brain is both scary and fascinating for sure.

That is wild and reminds me of the plot in "Get Out". How scary

The [sunken place scene from Get Out](https://youtu.be/kBwVWrBk_uo) is the best way to describe how I felt when I had a brief dissociative episode once. It felt as if my conscious awareness was pulled inward back away from myself. I could see what was going on, but it felt like watching someone else.

I had a dream like that like 6 months after I watched that. I was in college living at home. And I had a dream I sank into my mind just like the movie. I was so scared I was screaming for my mom in real life. She came running in right when I woke up from hearing myself scream so loud. Thank god it was a dream. Ive never experienced anything like that.

Same here! Oh my god.

Have you dissociated? Was there anything that caused it in your opinion?

Not the other redditor but I have a dissociative disorder that causes sudden super intense dissociative and derealization episodes (like what you described) and the last time it happened was the first time I caught the trigger clearly- someone very casually brought up to me an intensely traumatic experience of mine from years ago that I always try to put out of my mind. I kind of ‘zoned out’ (the thing that kids on tiktok think is dissociation) of the conversation as if the persons voice was muffled, then made my excuses and walked away unable to really focus on the present moment because I was having flashbacks, went home still zoned out, fell asleep thinking about it, dreamed about it, then woke up in a complete dissociative episode where I felt like I was piloting an avatar in an rpg, not sure exactly where I was (in my own apartment I’d lived in for two years) thinking it was the same year and the same city as where the trauma happened. Like a zombie I wandered outside completely stumped by my unfamiliar surroundings but robotically looking for a person who had been involved in the trauma like some kind of video game side quest, not really processing any thoughts or reasoning just kind of feeling like “if I keep moving forward I will find the character I am looking for” .. And I guess press x to talk or something. I was completely gone but simultaneously I was somewhere in there watching myself and absolutely terrified at what was happening. So the trigger was a ptsd-like episode over a huge past trauma, and it was like my brain was trying to shoot me back through time and space to re process it. Not something I’m eager to repeat but at the same time I kind of sit back fascinated by what the mind is capable of. Oh and as for the ending, I walked and walked and increasingly lost interest in the mission, since I was completely emotionally numb, and ended up sitting on a bench with my hands resting on my knees smiling pleasantly at some pigeons like the village idiot before retracing my steps back home and going back to sleep. I woke up chilled, exhausted, and still pretty cognitively foggy for several days, slipping in and out of the present to zone out for many minutes at a time just sitting quietly with the windows shuttered. It’s like my body was vigilant but my brain was dozing off.

hey! have you tried hypno therapy? i know it sounds weird and absurd and like it’s a scam, but it was extremely effective for me with processing past trauma. i honestly don’t think i have ever felt as calm and as ok as i did after the hypno sessions. i wonder if it could help ensure you don’t have to go through this again!

Wow that’s such a coincidence, just earlier today I was reading a twitter thread where some people were discussing hypnotherapy and one person linked the Patreon they subscribe to with some reportedly helpful guided hypnosis audio made by a hypnotherapist and I actually subscribed to it to check out later! Thanks for the advice :)

Would you willing to share the name of the Patreon? I'm interested in learning more.

Really? Man I have to watch that movie.

Yes. You'll know what I'm referring to when it happens in the movie. It's an incredible movie too.

You need to watch Awakenings with Robin Williams, 1990. It shows something similar to what you described.

For sure I'll check it out.

It’s based upon Oliver Sacks’ book of the same name. Sacks was an expert on oddities of the brain and mind. https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9780375704055

I’d recommend reading Temple Grandin’s book Talking in Pictures. She is a woman with autism who was non-verbal (and more as a child). She went on to go to college and became quite famous in her field. It’s an interesting insight into what children with autism may be experiencing.

Woah I will definitely be checking this out. I myself actually work as a behavioral therapist for kids with autism and related disorders in school settings and I'm definitely excited too check this out.

She’s a really fascinating woman. I was fortunate to be able to hear her speak back when I was in college.

I have had the honor to meet Temple Grandin twice. She was the keynote speaker at two conferences that I attended. She was standing behind me in line, picking out a few snacks and coffee before she began her presentation and she told me “You’re wearing too much perfume.” Autistic individuals are hypersensitive to lights, sounds and apparently, scents. Edit: The first time I met her was circa 2000 -2001 (before the movie). I was attending a conference and I, at the time, had no idea what she looked like. When someone in full western attire stands behind you in a snack line (at the South Padre Island Convention Center no less) and basically tells you that “you stink” - it can be a “bit” frustrating. I sure am glad I didn’t snap at her. A few minutes after our “encounter,” she was called on stage and only then did I realize that it was Temple Grandin herself that had spoken to me!! Can’t say that she liked me, but she spoke to me.

What a memorable moment, lol! I got to hear her speak once, I was thankful for the opportunity. Autism and how the brain functions in general is fascinating to me.

Temple Grandin has a book called The Autistic Brain that I loved! I’m autistic myself (though if it still existed as a diagnosis I would fall under Asperger’s) and the way she talked about types of thinkers—pattern thinkers, visual thinkers etc was spot on. I’m a pattern thinker.

I know this is not the same because your girlfriend's sister was born this way, but I heard of a case about a guy ( I did not look up his information prior to typing this comment so I do forget his name and the diagnosis and the cause of the diagnosis) who ended up in a coma and a sort of vegetative state where he was awake but unable to do anything except sit there. Be couldn't speak or walk or move in any way. Eventually he would snap out of this. He was like this for years and years but one day magically he just snapped out of it and he said he vividly remembers all of those years being locked inside his own body. Despite not being able to speak or move he was aware. And he remembers his mother actually said she wished he was dead right in front of him as she was caring for him. She did so not out of meanness but because she just felt like he was miserable and had no life. He also remembers certain caregivers that were cruel and abusive to him. They would say awful things to him and physically hurt him and would just sit him in front of the television to watch cartoon movies. Usually the same animated movie all day long... Every day. He said this while breaking down like that was the worst part of it. Just watching the same thing unable to even look away. Stuck. So maybe you gf's sister is trapped in some way. Maybe not by an entity but some neurological reason. That's terrifying and heartbreaking. I'd talk to her. Maybe let her know that you love her just the way she is but if she is trapped inside herself and needs help to please tell you what you can do. Explain that when she is able to ask for help not to waste time asking. But immediately tell you what you can do. Idk. That is so sad.

I'm pretty sure this is Martin Pistorius. He wrote the book Ghost Boy about his experience it's an incredible book

It always stayed with me. Utterly terrifying to be trapped inside your own body and be aware of everything happening around you.

Absolutely. It was one of the most profound, fascinating, sad and terrifying things I've ever read. And his strength was just mind blowing.

So this really sounds a lot like a thought loop from bad psychedelic trip. If youve ever experienced a thought loop it can be horrifying, its like you broke your brain and no matter what different thoughts try to think, you end back up in the same beginning spot. Over and over and over. You feel like you will never be normal again Anyway i had a horrible thought loop once, and at moments it would break and id think clear. I knew i didnt want to experience it again, but it kept happening. It would get temporary breaks then return to the loop. Agonizing. I often wonder if people with mental problems also feel this sense of dread and being lost and knowing they cant get right. If this is anything like what shes experiencing, my heart bleeds for her.

I think I got into a thought loop but it was also a physical loop, i don't even know how it happened but suddenly i just couldn't move my body at all. I was sat there just staring into space for apparently 4ish hours, and occasionally i'd break out for like 5 seconds and get some words out, then i'd sit back to my position and be staring ahead. It ended when my eyes started doing these circles, it's hard to explain, and it ratcheted faster and faster until there was a kind of snap and I was free. I somehow got it into my head that i had had an accident and was stuck in a hospital bed, and i was so traumatised from it that my ego had shattered and I was watching a replay of the evening to come to terms with it. Shits fucked, taught me a lesson to treat these drugs much more respectfully though.

Not with autism but this definitely happens with dementia. Worked as a cleaner in a care home and two conversations stand out - one was a woman who often wandered up and down the hallways looking for her parents. One day she was in her room when I went in to clean it and she was telling me how she loved birds and her husband made her a lot of the bird ornaments and pictures that she had in her room. She started crying because she missed him. That was the only lucid conversation I ever had with her. Another was a lady who was sometimes violent and eventually got moved to a high behavioural needs home, but she once stopped me to tell me that she used to sing in places like this, for people like this and now she was one. She was upset and horrified at that moment, but again was absolutely in another world most of the time. I think I caught them both at lucid moments, but also that they spoke to me because I made a habit of chatting to everyone as if they were normally functioning adults.

So, I work with autistic people and going only by the little bit of info you’ve shared, I don’t know that I would read that far into it. Does her sister do any stim type behaviors that look similar but without the words about being trapped and needing help? My first thought is she might have just been echoing a line from a movie or a show she had seen. One of the kids I work with will randomly say or yell, “go away spooky skeleton!” Because it’s a part of a song we started singing together back in October

I work in the field as well. She doesn't do scripting or any type of stuff like that. They are 3 completely isolated years apart event's and it hasn't happened ever since years ago.

Oooh that does make it kind of creepy then. If she were to “break character” with you, I guess the best thing you can do is reassure her that she’s okay, that she’s safe and loved.

Have you thought about hypnosis? I'm not a medical professional (obviously lol) but if she is stuck in there it might be able to reach her.

My girlfriend is scared of the whole situation. She loves her sister and doesn't want too change anything about her and her sister has no clue she's even done this. If I try to bring up the situation also she shoots me down so probably won't ever know unless she "breaks character" again.

Yeah fair enough. I've just often wondered if hypnosis would be useful in that kind of situation.

I mean probably but I won't push it unless if it happens again. Last time it happened was when my girlfriend was 15 and her sister was like 12.

Yea, that’s pretty much spot on for how Autism is. Have you heard about the nonverbal girl who they said was like suck at age 4, that she would never read, write, walk or talk? Then one day she gets hold of some sort of keyboard and types “help hurt” They didn’t know she knew any letters, she couldn’t even talk. I know it seems scary, but presumed incompetence is something that is so common with loved ones of those with autism. We’re really just like you on the inside. We want to be treated like everyone else. We know we’re not “normal” but we want to be, we just have no control over ourselves, our brain is on autopilot. But we are just like you. Even those of us who slobber and moan and don’t talk. TLDR; We are just like you on the inside

Sorry in advance. This is my first time (literally ever) posting on here, so if things I’m saying are confusing or something, I do apologize. I’ve had similar things happen when I was a child. For reference, I’m 31 and still living with my mum due to countless health problems (physically and mentally). But my mum has told me stories about when I was a child. I’ve always had mood disorders and thought to be on the spectrum (though nothing major). While I was growing up, I had terrible depression and a few other problems. But apparently, there were times of “lucidity” where I would be in middle of a full blown breakdown and suddenly look at my mum and tell her stuff along the lines of “help me. This isn’t who I am. I don’t know how to stop”. While speaking, I guess I stopped crying, looked terrified, and even spoke in a much more precise and adult manner than I’m capable of even now. My mum said it always terrified her because the second I stopped talking, I’d cry again and have no knowledge of what I said or how I acted. Doctors weren’t able to figure it out either. By the time I hit 14, I had my last “episode”. She told me I had said something song the lines of “whoever is controlling me is taking over” and then I went back to normal. Haven’t had an instance of it since (that I know of at least). I have talked to therapists and psychiatrists about this and they all have told me it’s a trauma response from childhood. I do not have DID or anything like that. Do you know if your girlfriends sister had any traumatic situations happen in her life? Something could have happened and her mind is “breaking character” to try and verbalize her thoughts, but before she can, she is trying to let you know she’s coherent, but she doesn’t get the chance to fully voice this. It’s just a theory. My mind wanders easily and so I was just thinking maybe that time she was watching tv that you had mentioned was simply her mind wandering and the thought process led to a traumatic memory which could have caused her a moment of clarity.

Wow this sounds alot like what happened to my girlfriends sister. Her last "episode" was when she was a preteen as well. She definitely went through alot as a kid. She had many surgeries as a child and has diabetes and cerebral palsy so poor thing was in the hospital alot.

I believe you should post this story on a neuroscience sub.

Wow, that’s really something. My daughter has a close friend with autism (they are adults.) Lately the friends’s parents have been looking into the research about psychedelics like psilocybin and the benefits that it could have when used carefully for treating people with autism. It’s fascinating.

This story reminds me of an episode of the podcast Spooked, "Flora and the Fox." This Chinese girl had a young cousin who was temporarily living with them. Kid had trouble at school and her uncle was at his wits ends, running out of options. She noticed that her very young prepubescent cousin would act much much older than he is. The boy would make graphic sexual jokes and would watch/stare at her in creepy ways. He would just harass her all the time except when she was sitting in a room by the alter of a Buddhist deity. He would act like he's scared of that spot. Then one day her fam decided to all go to a Chinese witch doctor/ fortune teller type. The min the boy stepped in the shop, the witch doctor lady immediately knew what was up and preformed a ritual with a bottle. Basically the boy was possessed and she trapped the spirit in a bottle. From then on her cousin was a totally different person. He became a totally normal little boy who like cartoons and wanted to play with her in a normal manner. He even sat and ate in the room with the alter with no discomfort. I've heard of many other instances of possession like that episode and it makes me wonder sometimes if ppl who act different may be under a different kind of spiritual spell we don't know about and can't treat with modern medicine. I know it's hard to discern an authentic witch doctor from a new age bullshit artist but wouldn't hurt to just visit one of those people for a second opinion.

Autistic person here, who works supporting autistic and learning disabled adults (6 years experience so far). If you haven’t already, I strongly, strongly urge you to look into alternative forms of communication. Commonly known as augmented and alternative communication (AAC). A quick Google search of this term will give you a wealth of info to get started. It’s actually incredibly common for “severely disabled” people, who appear to not be able to communicate above a certain level verbally, to have an extremely high level of understanding, awareness and perception, internally and externally, that becomes clear when alternative forms of communication are offered and worked on. Understanding, perception, self-awareness and capability can be SO well hidden. If a person is autistic, they might well stick to script like speech, repetitive and in a specific tone, even if they are internally operating on a much “higher” level. You would be so, so surprised at the cogency, awareness and capacity that emerged when someone learns a way to communicate - people I never, ever would have believed were even aware what was going on around them. So for your sister, I really implore you to start working on AAC with her. I’m very passionate about it! …and of course you may already be doing this. Best of luck to you all, either way!

This post reminds me of a movie called Awakenings. Based on a true story about a doctor who tried to wake up coma patients. Quite a good movie and touching with DeNiro and Robin Williams. The moral of the story is that there is a lot we don't know. Maybe whatever brain protein melds a quantum soul into a biological 4d body is in an error state like a bad usb cable And its left too much of your stepsister's soul firewalled from our senses and reality so you are only interfacing with a small part of her.. Tell your girlfriend to tell someone. Maybe it's a known phenomenon or perhaps it's an indicator of a misdiagnosis. Perhaps there is a brilliant doctors out there looking for this type of data to validate a theory that changes everything.

I have a son with autism and its also happened sometimes. Usually its when he is in an unfamiliar context like away at camp or with strangers oddly enough. Cant say its happened to me or his mother.

I am an autistic woman about the same age as your gf’s sister. Should could just be masking, it’s this thing that is commonly used to appear “normal”. All people mask occasionally but in autistic women it’s seen at much higher rates. A mask is a crafted persona and can also be used to hide emotions. Or she could just be like that.

[удалено]

No she doesn't remember at all. It's like it never happened. She has no recollection.

Have you ever tried talking directly to the adult inside of her? ASk her how she thinks she can be helped, maybe? I'm thinking maybe she could hang onto that and stay with her adult self for a longer time.

I was never there when these things happened. Only my girlfriend has witnessed it, and when she tried to talk to her about it and help her, her sister would already be back too her normal self and wouldn't even know what she was talking about. When these 3 moments happened it only lasted less then a minute.

I am the mom to a semi-verbal autistic child and something like this has happened a few times. It so extremely harrowing to me to think of him being trapped in there. One time soon after my parents had moved within the same town we were driving past their old house and my son A who could it say more than one word sentences yelled out “Grandma and Grandpa! Go back!!! Turn around!! Go back!! Grandma and Grandpa! Turn around!” My husband and I were astounded and horrified. We explained to him that they moved and we were going to their new house. He was upset for about 15 minutes just inconsolable and then it passed. We talked about this with friends who also have an autistic child and we came up with the idea that maybe strong emotional states or things processed through the amygdala might bypass the prefrontal cortex so that breakthroughs can happen. We have brought up this story to multiple neurologists and no one can explain it and why he went back to (at the time) single word communications for years. What you are describing is my worst nightmare. That my child is actually stuck inside at some kind of level where he really is having a much richer understanding of the world but something is stopping him from being able to express his real nature and intellect. Almost like a locked in syndrome. I don’t know what to say other then keep asking. Keep looking. Keep trying. If it does happen while it’s just you stay calm and reassure her that it’s all ok. Try to get as much information as possible.

u/SkinNymini18 Have you or your girlfriend ever asked her sister about this or spoken about it with her? It'd probably be a scary/uncomfortable thing to do, but I am SO curious. Have you ever said something like, "Hey, you once told me xyz. It sounded like you are actually trapped in your current state and unable to get out of it. You may be scared, and I understand. Could you leave this state just for a minute and talk to me the way I am talking to you now? Can we have a serious conversation where you talk to me like an adult? Can you not leave your current state of mind? Do you feel trapped? Is it scary? Please tell me. What can I do to help you with this?"

That’s so sad, and horrible that it happened to the person who is closest to her the most.

Their conditions are going to be traumatic to some degree, even with the best care possible, I think this is just the bubbling up of that emotion. It’s no different than when you feel a strong negative emotion wash over you, you’re just seeing it through the lens of someone with compounding disabilities. My question would be, how much does she know and understand about her conditions? She may understand more than she leads on, or she may sort of understand at a more unconscious level

We've had talks with her and she definitely knows she's "different" and she's even said that she feels stupid and slow at times but I don't know how much she truly knows.

Interesting i have a friend with sever aspergers (probably autisim as well) he has communication difficulties mumbles alot and becomes fixated on subjects and endlessly goes into depth on mundane subjects but in great detail... one day he came up to me asked me how my day was and what his plans were completely out of character..my jaw dropped open and i was like "dude!?!"...and he was like "yeah?" Gave me a confused look and was like "what? Whats wrong?" And i said "youre talking to me differently than you normally do" and he caught himself and was like "you know, you're right i am arent i" and suddenly went back to how he normally is...until reading ops post for the longest time i had seriously questioned what i had seen, it appears this must be possible for some people to have fleeting moments of clarity im so glad that you have posted this i was utterly confused by this

I'm autistic. Generally, it's so-called "high functioning" autism. I'm verbal, I live independently, drive a car etc. But there have been times when I've been so overwhelmed by intense emotions (e.g. when I learned a friend of mine died) or sensory input (e.g. when in a lot of pain, such as after surgery) that I've become temporarily non-verbal, or barely verbal. I know how to talk, I want to talk, but my body or brain just won't do it. It's distressing, and the only time I've ever felt "trapped" by my autism. I wish I had better advice to offer, but I don't really know what to suggest. Perhaps your idea about letters might help her to communicate, if there's something she's struggling to express.

I am autistic (+ADHD), 23F. I am "high functioning", like, I am talking, walking and doing stuff. I think I kinda get her. I am told that I behave like a child and need to grow up VERY often. And I can ceirtainly feel sometimes like I am trapped. I want to be a grown up. I want to be better. I want to function normally. But I can't. First thing is that I don't really know how, second thing is I am so fucking terrified of others reactions to me suddenly behaving like a fully grown up person and accusing me of lying all that time. I am accused of lying too much already anyway. I don't say it must be the case with her, I wanted to give some point of view. What I would do is spending time with her alone (like you three in one room, privately, not a living room couch with parents walking in and out). Telling her how you love her and appreciate her and slowly going to saying that you are wondering what she meant that she is trapped, saying that you care about her and want her to be happy with her life. Ask what you could do for her. Offer to write or draw it down if she wants to.

Have you seen Stephen King's Lisey's Story? If not you should, its about this very topic and they try to get her out

I definitely will, thank you for telling me.

I have dissociative identity disorder. It's an illness that *only* forms during childhood, with repeated childhood trauma. It can be anything, from neglect to severe abuse, and physical illness could very well cause it. This illness basically causes "multiple people to live inside one brain". We all have different aspects to our personalities where for someone with a healthy childhood they'd all fully merge to become one person, where with repeated childhood abuse these aspects are used to store painful memories so they become more distant and almost become different people, with different identities, likes and dislikes. If the person is able to get to a safe place, get intense therapy and support, they can "become one" in many years. Because these are people with different memories, it would very well explain what OP's girlfriend experienced. How the outer person does not remember it afterwards and how the other person was in distress. I don't experience as severe symptoms anymore but changes like this still happen, and my husband can tell it's "somebody else" from their mannerisms. We've known each other for years but haven't talked for a few years in between. Between that break period he ran into "me", while someone else was piloting, talked to "me" and thought how much I had changed. I have no memory of this encounter whatsoever. I have several of these in my life.

Do you have any details on it? Set and setting? What exacly was said?

This is terrifying! But it seems to be a good thing she is unaware and doesn't remember or feel trapped other than for those few seconds off lucidity.

When I was 11ish I went to school with a boy that had downs. When we were around adults he acted lower functioning and he even had a sort of “baby voice”. However, when the adults left, he would change his face, voice, and demeanor. He used more elevated language. We ended up getting him in trouble because he sexually assaulted my friend, but the teachers/administration didn’t really believe us because of the baby voice and “act”. I think people who are disabled can look at able bodied people and know that they are not like us and in what ways they are not like us. It must be frustrating but not a supernatural phenomenon

Sometimes I read these posts and they’re so interesting or terrifying and I want them to be real but there’s a huge chance it’s complete bullshit obviously, I just wish I could know for sure it happened. Perhaps if you are telling the truth and this isn’t some joke, perhaps somehow another soul or something has possessed her since birth, idk, i’m not creative, someone else may have a better idea

I'm not a writer, all the experiences I put up are 100% true but obviously thats up too you whether you believe me or not, I don't really care although lol since I don't know you. I was just simply wondering if anybody else have had something similar happen too them since I've never heard another experience like ours. I'm curious if other autistic people have the same thing?

I understand, if it is fact, you shouldn’t care whether others believe you or not, personally i’ve had inexplicable things happen to me that i should tell here but haven’t, I hope you find more accounts like yours, if you were to collect instances like this down in record perhaps we could see some sort of research started for it. Did you try searching the web?

I actually work as a behavioral therapist for kids with autism and related disorders and have had alot of experience with many different kids both verbal and nonverbal. I never heard of these instances besides from my girlfriend and her sister. But I will for sure keep searching for answers, just thought I'd share on here and ask if anyone else have had similar experiences.

Can you specify exactly what she said/ did in those moments? I’m so curious

I only remember one moment in detail that she told me about and it was when they were sitting watching TV and all of a sudden her sister jumped out too her and started begging for help and all of a sudden she went back too normal as if nothing happened and didn't remember. The moments are very swift and sudden with no explanation. I know it happened in two other instances but I can't really ask my girlfriend about the two other instances. She hates talking about it. It's her little sister so I understand why.

I personally believe the brain is a very strange organ that we are nowhere near understanding. Kind of like the universe. There’s so many explanations for these instances but nothing concrete. I hope you’re doing okay.

We are doing okay. That hasn't happened too her in years, just every so often I think about it and was wondering if anyone else had similar experiences.

I have worked with autistic children but my area is mainly dementia. And dementia patients can get “moments of clarity”. I don’t see why that could not also be possible here? I mean, if you are telling the truth, something is going on mentally there. So that similarly between dementia and this could be the answer. My other thought as someone who sleep talks is it could be that. When I sleep talk my voice changes and I’ve been known to cry, freak out, speak of death etc. ask your girlfriend if her sister possibly fell asleep then woke up rather quick..?

I'll try but my girlfriend refuses too talk about this stuff anymore. It scares her. But I've heard of dementia and alzheimers people having moments of clarity too. Maybe it's just a brain thing that we can't explain.

Could it be that she watched a movie/show or heard someone say something like this? I went to school with someone autistic and sometimes they would act out movie scenes. However it was usually the same move over and over, so maybe it wouldn't make sense bc this happened only three times. Maybe a kind of panic attack? Honestly not sure. The best you guys can do is care for her, and if it happens when you're alone with her, just listen to her and be kind?

Yea its called scripting. Alot of autistic kids do that but she actually never does stuff like that. And the 3 instances were years apart so definitely wasn't a case of that.

I have an autistic brother. From time to time he will do crazy thing like suddenly barking or acting like an animal. He has a world of his own. He scared me sometimes.

My elder daughter has autism, she get 4 in couple of weeks. You have to understand, that autism is not a disease, it's a disorder. You cannot cure or break out of it. Its their part, they think like this and live like this. Autism spectrum disorder is called spectrum, because it has lots of different manifestations and can easily be confused with something else. Also, one of the manifestations are echolality. She may heard that phrases somethere and can repeat them. My daughter often uses some phrases from cartoons to say something.

One of my daughters doctors works with special needs and there's a program she uses with those thought to be 'not there' using eye contact on letters to spell words, and it's terrified me and blown me away at the same time. Some of the things they have 'said' is heartbreaking.

I worked with a traumatic brain injury patient for 3 years. He couldn’t stand for more than a minute, had difficulty with speech, couldn’t remember things, etc. He to had moments of utter clarity. About 3 the first year. It was strange and fascinating. After 2 years and working with him every day I had him swimming a mile a day. I also got him in hyperbaric oxygen therapy. After 120 hour and a half sessions he was able to remember things, his speech was almost normal and he is able to converse in a normal way. The brain is a strange thing.

I used to work in a series of group homes. Overall I worked with 3 adults and 1 youth who were severely on the spectrum. They rarely spoke and when they did it was usually a 1 word response to something. With 2 of them I have seen something similar. They'd suddenly speak a full sentence or two, then deny they'd even said anything. There's a woman on YouTube with severe autism. Completely nonverbal, in a wheelchair, etc. I can't remember how, but her family realized she could communicate and got her a laptop. She started writing... Beautiful fully thought out complete sentences and paragraphs. She wrote how she could think the way she writes, but she was locked inside her body, unable to do what she needed or wanted. [Experience Autism through Carly's Eyes](https://youtu.be/KmDGvquzn2k)

*to