SARAH ACKERMAN IS AN AUTISTIC WOMAN. FOR MOST OF HER LIFE, SHE WAS UNABLE TO COMMUNICATE. THEN IN 2017, SHE LEARNED THE SPELLING TO COMMUNICATE METHOD AT INSIDE VOICE IN SPRINGFIELD, PA. SINCE THEN, SHE HAS FOUND HER VOICE THROUGH HER STORIES.
SHE HAS A PASSION FOR BOOKS AND BEING IMMERSED IN DISCUSSIONS. MANY OF HER PROJECTS CENTER AROUND EMPOWERING AUTISTICS AND WOMEN. SARAH IS AN ADVOCATE FOR HER FELLOW NONSPEAKERS AS A MEMBER OF THE I-ASC’s SPELLERS AND ALLIES ADVOCACY NETWORK AS WELL AS SEEN (Spellers Empowering Education for Nonspeakers).
I wanted to write this blog post to give some added depth to my story “A Hard Tomorrow.” It was not planned at all. The idea came to me during a lesson a handful of years ago. I was learning about Spider-Man and had a moment of inspiration.
What if I created a tale about someone who knew someone who inherited powers and never realized it? That was the beginnings of Natasha and Holly’s story. It was meant to reflect the dynamic between us and our hidden abilities. We all possess something special within us. Sometimes we need a Natasha to bring it out of us.
This story was a piece of me that I wanted to share with you all. I think all of us desire to be Natasha too. We all wish to see the untapped potential in someone else.
Way back when I first started spelling there were several people who saw that same potential in me. I am forever grateful to them. Now it is me that gets to see what untapped potential is out there. I get to find my own Holly. You can do that too. You can change a life by believing in someone.
The mission of I-ASC is to advance communication access for nonspeaking individuals globally through training, education, advocacy and research. I-ASC supports all forms of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with a focus on methods of spelling and typing. I-ASC currently offers Practitioner training in Spelling to Communicate (S2C)with the hope that other methods of AAC using spelling or typing will join our association
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