Lately I am having some health complications, and it has made me realize how fortunate I am to have a method of communication in which I can participate in my own healthcare. You see…I am epileptic in addition to being a nonspeaking autistic.
Lucky me.
I do know that not all epileptics are nonspeakers, but imagine if you couldn’t speak and you knew you were having seizures and couldn’t let anyone know!
Sounds like the beginning of a good horror story, right?
My horror story began in 2012, before I could communicate, and I do remember having a seizure but I could not explain what happened to me. Lucky for me my mom saw and knew it might be a seizure, but what if she didn’t? I know this must happen to countless others about seizures, as well as pain, abuse, depression, anxiety….
The list goes on….
Fast forward to yesterday. I had an appointment with two of my doctors after a particularly scary incident after a seizure which sent me to the hospital. My doctors now include me in the conversation, ask me how I am feeling, what symptoms I am having, and include me in the plan of action.
Believe me, this has eased my anxiety and helps me to feel in control. This is why the DisAbility Aware HealthCare Campaign (DAAHC) is so important, and we need your help to succeed. We want to educate healthcare providers about nonspeakers to improve their healthcare as well as the quality of their lives.
Autistics and nonspeakers like myself are certainly up for that!
We are calling on all spellers and others in the spellerverse to please join us in educating healthcare professionals about nonspeakers and our method of communication. It’s so simple to do! Just hand or send the 2-page Spellers and Allies informational handout to the members of your personal healthcare team and to your friends and family who work in healthcare. Click HERE to get started. Also share your personal story about a medical condition that could not be diagnosed or treated adequately if you were unable to communicate. Click HERE to write about it and send it to Spellers and Allies staff so that we can post it on our social media.
About the Author
Gregory Tino is a nonspeaking autistic who has been spelling on a letterboard to communicate since 2017. He is an advocate for other nonspeakers, presents at conferences, and his goal is to educate people on the incredible capabilities of people with autism. He has written five books, all available on Amazon at Gregory C Tino. He also has written the narrative for multiple videos on his YouTube channel which is entitled Gregory C Tino. He is a proud member of the Spellers & Allies advocacy group and SEEN (Spellers Empowering Education for Nonspeakers). In his free time he enjoys writing for his blog The Autistic Mind Finally Speaks on WordPress and spending time with family and his Inside Voice friends.
One Response
Hi Gregory,
My name is Anne and I met you at the conference in Virginia last July. I traveled from Melbourne, Australia to meet you and some of the other spellers and to see for myself if S2C could help my 27 year old son, Matthew.
You and the many spellers I had the pure pleasure of meeting have changed my life and the life of my son and family forever.
Your words, beautiful smile and big hug touched my heart so deeply, that I knew I had to find a way of reaching as many non speaking individuals in Australia as I could.
It has been a hard journey to bring S2C to Melbourne, but I’m doing it, thanks to you and all the wonderful spellers I met last July.
Whenever I come up against obstacles that seem too large to handle, I read one of your blogs and I keep going. (Thank you)
My ‘Open 2 Communication’ Centre is almost ready and I pray I am able to reach hundreds of non speaking people.
My son is working hard on his boards and we all can’t wait for him to be open.
I look forward to seeing you this July at the conference again.
Thank you for all your inspirational words, you are truly a wonderful man.
Anne. 😊