About Spellers & Allies

advocacy

nothing about us, without us

Our spellers and allies aspire to be a true partnership. We advocate strongly for the belief that “nothing about us without us” and work together as a force to direct our advocacy. Our allies embrace this perspective, collaborating with spellers to share a mutual purpose and commitment to affect positive change for nonspeakers while forming friendships and having fun along the way.

Mission

We know that true accessibility requires more acceptance and awareness in our communities at large and that young people are a strong voice in advocacy. Spellers and Allies wish to create a network of passionate and informed young people working to make acceptance and awareness a reality.

Vision

We strive to advance the I-ASC mission of communication access for all nonspeaking, minimally, and unreliably speaking people by educating everyone about the importance of neurodiversity and acceptance through public education and advocacy campaigns. We seek to make real change for all nonspeaking people.

spellers & Allies Advocacy Network faq's

What is an ally?

An ally is any person who doesn’t identify as nonspeaking, unreliably speaking or minimally speaking and who is interested in listening and advocating with nonspeaking people. Allies contribute skills and expertise (like taking notes, co-facilitating, and editing) while making space for nonspeakers to make the final decisions and guide the process. In Spellers & Allies, we use the term “allies” instead of “neurotypical” because we have a lot of speaking allies who are neurodivergent. We are looking for more allies and encourage you to join! For more on being an ally, read this blog post or review our guide on how to be an ally.

What if I have never interacted with someone from the nonspeaking community?

That is absolutely fine. We encourage you to join so you can learn more.

Who can join Spellers & Allies?

The Spellers & Allies Advocacy Network welcomes nonspeaking, minimally speaking, and unreliably speaking adults above the age of 18. We welcome allies and anyone interested in becoming an ally who is willing to assist spellers in realizing our goals and is above the age of 18. In order to keep the authentic voices of spellers in leadership and in recognition of the fact that parents typically serve as Communication Regulation Partners (CRPs) to spellers in the group, parents are asked not to join Spellers & Allies as allies. We encourage you to support our work in other ways.

I’m a parent of a speller. Why can’t I join as an ally?

We value parents SO much! Our network would not be successful without the dedication parents have to support their spellers as CRPs, by creating time so that spellers can participate in our advocacy projects and by sending numerous emails. Many of our spellers have shared that Spellers & Allies is one of the only spaces in their life where the focus is on them entirely. For this reason, we ask that parents support Spellers & Allies in different ways. Parents can amplify the voices of nonspeakers by supporting spellers as CRPs, attending our events, and spreading the word about our work.

What if I’m not 18 yet?

We are collecting names and contact information for those who are interested in joining a youth advocacy group. If you are under 18 years old and interested in being involved, please email spellers-allies@i-asc.org.

I am a nonspeaking advocate but not fluent on the letterboards yet. Can I still join?

Yes, listening is also a great way to participate! Please get in touch with a Spellers & Allies coordinator at spellers-allies@i-asc.org and we can meet with your CRP to think of ways to change our questions so that you can participate as much as possible.

I want to join Spellers & Allies but I have limited availability.

We want as many people as possible to be involved in Spellers & Allies. Please email spellers-allies@i-asc.org with the times that you can meet, and we will see if there is a subcommittee you can participate in that has a flexible schedule. You are also welcome to participate by watching our meeting recordings and offering your thoughts through email.

When does Spellers & Allies meet?

We routinely meet twice a month as a large group. These meetings are co-facilitated via Zoom by a designated duo of a volunteer speller and a volunteer ally. We take great pride that our meetings are always facilitated by one of our nonspeakers! Spellers attend with their CRPs.

Is there an agenda for the meetings?

Agendas are preplanned and sent out in advance, allowing ample time for reflection or preparation. We seek to fuse our individual talents and energetic collective so all overall direction and specific work products are always a group consensus, and all perspectives are valued and honored.

Can Spellers & Allies do a presentation for my business, school, or community?

Yes, Spellers and Allies Advocacy Network is run by nonspeakers. This entire presentation is created by nonspeakers spelling letter by letter on letterboards or keyboards. There are many misconceptions about nonspeakers which our presentations address.

What can you expect to learn from our presentation?

What does nonspeaking mean, who is nonspeaking, and how does it affect our lives
Why can’t nonspeakers use their mouths to communicate? How do we communicate and how did we learn to do it?
How are schools treating us?
What is the Spellers and Allies Advocacy Network?
How can you help us?

The presentation is entirely online and lasts about an hour including a Q and A session with nonspeaking members of the Spellers & Allies Advocacy Network.

sequat.

Commit. Collaborate. Communicate.

Ready to Join?

Welcome to the Spellers & Allies Advocacy Network! We are always excited to have new members join us! Because the Spellers & Allies Advocacy Network is a collaborative effort, it will be important for the Spellers & Allies coordinators and network members to know how best to contact you. Contact spellers-allies@i-asc.org with any questions.

After completing the registration form, a Spellers & Allies coordinator will guide you through an onboarding process which includes a welcoming presentation, getting to know existing members, and assigning a mentor to help you get settled.

First Name

Last Name

Please make a selection and tell us who you are.

What personal pronouns do you prefer? (We ask for your pronouns because it important to the Network that everyone feels respected and included, this includes members who identify as non-binary, trans, etc. We want to use the pronouns that you feel good about. If you've never thought about this question before, you can learn more at https://www.mypronouns.org/what-and-why.

What is your personal pronoun preference?

What is your email? (If you don't have a personal email address or a gmail account, we recommend you create one to make sharing information easier).

Your Email

What is your phone number? (Please share your number and not your CRP's number if possible).

Your Phone Number

What is your address?

What school do you attend? (if applicable)

What are your social media usernames/handles? (please include all that apply- facebook, snapchat, tic-toc, etc.) If you don't already have some social media accounts, we recommend you set one up. Advocates in the network enjoy being part of a community who connect online. Social media is also a great way to advocate and share our message online.

List your social media here.

Sometimes nonspeakers don't get the chance to check their email often, if it is easier for you to have us email your CRP, parent or other designee as well, please share their email address.

Designee Email

If you will be attending meeting with a CRP, please give us the name of the CRP who will likely be attending meetings with you?

CRP Name

If you need the assistance of a CRP to prepare your meeting contributions, how many days in advance do you need to get prepared?

Is there anything else that might be helpful for us to know about communicating with you and about making the network accessible for you?

Tell us about any skills, experiences, or contacts that you have that might be helpful for our advocacy work together? (e.g. experience with presentation, writing articles, member of an ally organization, etc.)

We keep track of our members' contact information, socials, access needs and strengths so that we can effectively facilitate and empower each other. Do we have your permission to include your information on our S&A members public document?

Yes, you have my permission to include my information on the S&A members public document. No, please keep my information visible to S&A coordinators only.

Thank you for filling out this survey and welcome once again! Monica will be in touch with information about how to get involved and our next meeting date.