Talking Thoughts Moving Finger
Insights from a Conversation with Tarun Paul Mathew
After a wonderful visit to France, the next stop on my Spellebrity Zoom tour landed me in Bangalore, India with my new friend, Tarun Paul Mathew. I felt that I knew Tarun Paul from watching (on repeat) his SpellX presentation, A Peep Into My Life’s Journey, but as always, it’s even better to see him “live”, even if my trip to India was a virtual one. Here’s what went down that day.
GS: Tarun, you were nominated and selected as a spellebrity in the category of Humanitarian. What are the qualities that make YOU a good Humanitarian?
TPM: Look naturally at people positively. Taking no hurtful actions specially would be careful around people weak and vulnerable. Being loving and kind. Taking your thoughts to how you can help everybody. You think good with bad people. Years together doing work that helps perfect the sad lives. Typing to talk about my world so people understand more about autism. The thought others perhaps need light to keep going too.
GS: Tarun, I could read or listen to your words all day long. You have such a gift. You sound like you have a loving and forgiving personality, and that is something that Humanitarians have. The category was well selected for you.
I remember your SpellX presentation well. In reviewing my notes, I see not only that you are a lover of music and poetry, but you carry lyricism and poetry into some of your own writing. Tell me what these art forms do for you.
TPM: Music induces inner calm, anticipates my lost state, and moves me into better phases. Count on music in being able to not become generally looking non-functional. Road that inner listener travels through music and poetry leaves my totally blank mind blown.
GS: You could write lyrics for music, easily. Maybe that is something you will do or are doing already. I can see that someone who writes beautiful music would only benefit from someone who writes lyrics like you can.
Thanks to the advocacy of nonspeakers like you, doors that were once shut are opening. With this in mind, what are your plans for the future?
TPM: I entertain the hope of studying math because it is a simple soulful vortex of more happiness.
Opened doors, to remain so, more has to be done keeping in mind our going forward. In my little way be more closely involved in speaking for my community of nonspeaking autistics.
GS: I hope so. There’s no pressure for you to do that, but you do it so well. I can’t think of a better person to do that in your community than you.
TPM: Thank you for all that you said.
Next, Tarun, a multimodal communicator, proceeded to type out the rest of his interview answers “live” by sharing his preferred communication app on the Zoom screen – and educated me in the process on how to do this during a Zoom meeting! I love learning something new!
Tarun typed his answers out “live” while sharing his Cough Drop app on the Zoom screen. I always like to see the variety of tools fluent spellers use to apply their advanced skills!GS: If your life was a book, what would the title be?
TPM: Talking Thoughts Moving Finger.
GS: What’s one thing that puts you in the very best mood or makes you laugh?
TPM: Yes, life has lots of good moments that does make you happy. The one thing that always gets me in the happiest mood is music. Only mind break.
GS: I suspected that that (music) might be your answer, based on your SpellX presentation, but I didn’t want to assume. What superpower would you choose to have and why?
TPM: I would so love to be possible to share far more things through mind. The power of telepathy. This would let active free participation be perhaps more perfect through making light conversations possible without the struggle to type.
GS: I wish you had that superpower! I wish we parents had it too. We guess about what your wants and needs a lot of the time and sometimes we get things wrong.
GS: I want to thank you so much for your time and effort you put into this and into everything that you do. We appreciate your work. What you do is very important. Do as much as you can but no pressure, you should also enjoy your life as much as you can.
TPM: Thank you Giorgena for the opportunity.
Described by family and friends as calm, soft, a happy person, smiling always. and feel things deeply. “I am proud of having lived life like other people on my own terms. I really felt proud that I passed the London School of Music exam. I have just made it to grade 9 trusting the resilient person I am proud to be thought to be. I love poetry, math, music and art because they always have patterns. Perfection is all about patterns.” Follow Tarun on Instagram @happy_maverick_tarun
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
extremely positive story… loved Tarun’s responses!! Way to go dear Tarun and Chitra
Amazing! Eye opening and soul stirring. Tarun, I love your responses. Your Mom is my old student and you fill her life. You are her world. May God bless you and your Parents.
We agree, Amazing! So glad you enjoyed it.