Sexuality and Sex: Another Hard Conversation by Noah Seback Nonspeakers and sexuality. Nonspeakers and sex. Can these be mentioned in the same sentence?  Is this an oxymoron?  Did I read that correctly?  Yes!  I’m a nonspeaking autistic broaching the subject of sex and sexuality as it relates to our population. This topic is too rarely […]

Voting 101: Happy Disability Voting Rights Week! When it comes to voting, you ideally want to support a candidate who has the same morals and ideals as you. Voting for specific candidates will not be an overnight solution to the problems you see in legislation. Not only is it important to vote in both local […]

The Urgency of Inclusion I spent the last weekend in July wrestling with a torrent of strong emotions:  unexpected optimism about the future, the deep sense of comfort and belonging that comes from being in a truly inclusive environment, and a profound sense that all of us, starting with me, need to participate more actively […]

Get Groups Going! You don’t need us to tell you that the spellerverse is all about inclusivity and increasing access to communication for all. But how can we extend that beyond our one-on-one sessions with our spellers? GROUPS! With so many S2C practitioners starting their centers from scratch, it may be difficult to find open […]

Letters are Everywhere Take a moment to imagine that you are attending a baby shower. When you look around, what types of gifts do you see? What patterns are emblazoned on the toys, blankets, and tiny clothes? I recently attended my own baby shower and, in my experience, there were lots of letters. I received […]

Being An Advocate On The Nonspeaking Leadership Council Recently I was asked to join the Nonspeaking Leadership Council. It is a group of nonspeaking autistics from all over the country. We are advocates whose goal is to help change the perception of autism. To me, it was my biggest honor to date. I had to […]

A Dawning Inspiration 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 […]

Embrace your Differences Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez is an Autistic Deaf author, educator, Occupational Therapist, and international speaker. She was also the first openly Autistic person elected to serve in the United States government at any level. Sarah is passionate about occupational science, sensory processing and mental wellness, and positive disability identity. Her vision remains centered […]

A Shift in Perspective Vikram Jasawal is a professor at the University of Virginia. He is currently conducting research that focuses on social interactions and communication styles in autistic individuals. His previous work has ranged from word learning, categorization, social cognition, and memory development. At the UVa Jaswal Lab, the main priority for their research […]

The Birth of Unrestricted Interest Interview of Brian Laidlaw by Caden Rainey and Joel Nyland February 17, 2022 conducted via Zoom “WE HOPE YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG.  WE SPENT HOURS EDITING OUR INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN LAIDLAW.  WE LEARNED A LOT.  WE CREATED THE QUESTIONS AHEAD OF OUR INTERVIEW.  WE DID ALL OUR COLLABORATIONS ON ZOOM.  […]