Mom was confused when nonverbal autistic son suddenly squeezed her leg—it led to one of the ‘greatest moments’ of her life

It can be challenging to truly understand and communicate with nonverbal autistic children. Figuring out their needs and worries and hoping their expressions can be understood is a goal every parent strives for. A mom named Desiree Mouzoon Probolsky (@desireeprobolsky) has long been doing her best to communicate with her autistic son, Asher, who is nonverbal. Though the boy can’t say it with words, he has been learning how to express himself through creative ways. On a special day, the mom was confused when Asher began squeezing her leg as if he were hinting at something. When she realized what it was, she was instantly reassured that his nonverbal trait couldn’t overpower love.

Probolsky revealed that Asher has autism and apraxia. According to Autism Speaks, apraxia is a condition prominent in those with autism. It causes children difficulty in coordinating their tongue, jaw and lips to create sounds or words. Furthermore, their speech and words are more slurred and have errors, hindering their communication. Despite this struggle, the boy seemed to find a way to say something out loud. Recently, on October 1, the mom marked “Nonspeaking awareness day” and shared in a video something she learned from her own son. “I want the world to know the truth about what I didn’t know for many years,” she remarked.

She explained that despite his communication barrier, Asher is a “full person” who understands things well. “He hears what we hear. He sees what we see. He feels what we feel. He thinks like we think. He loves like we love,” she remarked. She highlighted that words are not always necessary to create bonds and be one’s truest self. “Non-speakers are the strongest, most perceptive and intelligent people I know,” Probolsky said. She added that they, too, have much to contribute and share with the world. Her feelings were all the more reassured when Asher rendered a beautiful gesture.
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It was her birthday and the family was having dinner together. In her video, she captured the boy seated at the dining table with the rest of the family and playing with a toy. As she approached and sat on the chair beside him, she mentioned that he started squeezing her leg. He persisted in doing so and even refused to take the next bite of food until his mom paid attention to him. As she looked at him to understand what had happened, she realized that there was a “Happy Birthday” song that started playing on Asher’s toy. Aware of it, the boy wanted to wish his mother and immediately squeezed her leg to alert her.


“When the birthday song came on, he refused the next bite of his food, leaned over to squeeze my leg and held still until we realized that he was telling me happy birthday. This is one of the greatest moments of my life,” the mom revealed. Without words, the boy managed to reveal that he acknowledged his mom’s special day and loved her. The entire table erupted in applause and smiles, adding to the memory. @divineemy95 remarked, “Always pay attention to the nonverbal, they have so much to say.” @naturallynatasha5 said, “Love this moment.”
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You can follow Desiree Mouzoon Probolsky (@desireeprobolsky) on Instagram for more content on autism and parenting.