A Perfect Christmas Gift
The Autistic Mind Finally Speaks!

By Gregory Tino

Picture of Gregory, a tall white man with brown hair, smiling and holding his book in front of him. He is standing outside.

In May of 2017 my life was forever changed by an S2C session with Elizabeth Vosseller. That was an awakening to everyone in my life. At the time I could never have envisioned that I would be able to write a book! It has been a labor of love. At long last I am excited to announce that my book “The Autistic Mind Finally Speaks” is available on Amazon! My mom was my communication partner and my Aunt Lori helped design the layout. The illustrations were done by four other nonspeakers who also have autism. All proceeds from the book sales will be donated to Inside Voice, which is where I take letterboard sessions. It took over a year and a half and I am so proud of myself! 

The book explains the reasons behind common autistic behaviors that many don’t understand. As an author I am trying my hardest to get the message across that nonspeaking does not mean non-thinking. What better way to prove that then by autistics blogging and writing to show what they are capable of! The autistic people I am friends with are the most creative people. They are artists, poets, and talented creative writers. The illustrations in my book were done by four such friends.

Image of the book cover of The Autistic Mind Finally Speaks! Letterboard Thoughts. The cover is a painting of Gregory in a large red chair. There are a variety of colors rising out of Gregory’s head.

Since accessing communication by using a letterboard, everything in my life has changed completely…..the way my parents and friends treat me. They include me now in decisions pertaining to me. I make the decisions of what I wear, eat, and do. I think the way the world sees us is as a child in an adult’s body. The letterboard proves otherwise. Talking to my family has been the best thing. Telling them how much I love them was better than winning the lottery. 

Autism and I think that anyone with an autistic person in their life should read it! Autism is a totally misunderstood disorder, and at this time all of the people I am friends with are waiting silently for the world to understand them. The best Christmas gift in the world would be for people to learn how to relate to and understand them. This book explains just that!

A black and white image of Gregory sitting at a table. He is wearing a plaid shirt and smiling. He has a letterboard in front of him.

Gregory Tino is a 27 year old man with autism who was able to find his voice in May of 2017 using the Spelling To Communicate Method and has not looked back since. He is a fierce autism advocate and has sat on multiple panels to showcase the S2C method. His plans are to become an author. His first book is a children’s book called The Land Called Boring and his most recent is a book of his writings from his blog The Autistic Mind Finally Speaks. 

Gregory works with a job coach at three different jobs, attends a program called Peaceful Living on the days he is not working, enjoys book club, bike riding, puzzles, and the computer.

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