The breakthrough that transformed our family, our understanding, and his future

For most of Avrumi’s life, he lived inside a world shaped by limited communication. With only minimal verbal abilities, he relied on simple signs and sounds to express his most basic needs. Yet we always sensed there was so much more—thoughts, opinions, humor, depth—locked inside him with no reliable way out.

Imagine, even for a moment, what it feels like to have a full inner world—ideas, feelings, knowledge—yet no way to share it. Imagine knowing the answers but being unable to speak them. Imagine having a rich, complex mind that no one acknowledges simply because they can’t see it. 

This was Avrumi’s reality for 19 years.

Years ago, I read I Am In Here, the story of Elizabeth Bonker, a non‑speaking autistic girl who learned to communicate using a letterboard. Her poetry, her insight, her brilliance—it all stunned me. But when I mentioned the possibility to Avrumi’s teachers, they dismissed it immediately. “He doesn’t know his ABCs,” they insisted.

Still, something in me couldn’t let it go.

Then, I watched the documentary titled Spellers Seeing non‑speakers spell out complex, insightful thoughts—including Elizabeth herself—shattered everything I thought I knew. She stood there, still profoundly autistic in appearance, seemingly oblivious to the audience before her—but when she put her fingers to those letters, the thoughts that emerged were astonishing.

If she could do it, maybe Avrumi could too.

After much research, I found a place called "Mouth to Hand Learning Center," run by a remarkable woman named Judy Chinitz.

The sign on the front door reads, "Silence is NOT Golden"

I brought Avrumi to Judy for an evaluation.  She read him an article with advanced vocabulary and high-school level concepts, then asked him questions which he answered by pointing to letters on a letterboard. Though he identified many letters correctly, he also made many errors. I was deeply skeptical. At that time, I didn't even know Avrumi knew the alphabet, so how could he possibly be spelling words??

Judy gently challenged my assumptions. "Presume competence," she urged. She explained that many non-speakers are exceptionally bright, and Avrumi was no exception. His intelligence wasn't the issue, it was dyspraxia, a motor‑planning disorder that makes coordinated movements difficult, including speech and accurate pointing. With practice, accuracy improves.

This made sense to me. Judy explained that Avrumi's difficulties—touching adjacent letters, struggling to scan the board, automatically looking at the bottom line—were all motor planning challenges that would improve with practice. We committed to six months.

It changed everything.

As Avrumi practiced weekly—and I practiced with him at home—his spelling grew more accurate. 

At Mouth to Hand, I met many other parents of non‑speakers and watched, incredulously, the things their children were expressing. The center offers community classes where students interact with peers through spelling. Parents told me this place had made a profound difference in their children’s lives. Many shared that behavioral outbursts, self‑injurious behaviors, and anxiety had lessened dramatically.

This experience was life-changing for us. We began speaking to Avrumi in an age-appropriate manner, fully aware that he comprehended everything we said. This shift in our approach had a profound impact on Avrumi. He too began to behave in a more mature, age-appropriate manner. His negative behavior almost disappeared, his anxiety lessened, and he became a calmer, happier, and more pleasant,confident version of himself.

Avrumi now knew that we knew him-that we understood him and validated his intelligence.

To us and many other observers, he didn't appear to be learning—his body language didn't show the typical signs of engagement we expect. But appearances can be deceiving.

A year later I trained in another communication method called Supported Typing. With gentle physical support for regulation—not direction—he began typing on an iPad. And then it happened: the words poured out. Profound thoughts. Insightful reflections. A voice we had been missing for nearly two decades.

So in addition to our weekly visits to Mouth to Hand—where Avrumi works with Deb, his Communication Partner—he now also meets weekly with a most patient, soft‑spoken practitioner named Galilee Damiao at Accessible Therapies now works with Avrumi weekly too. Between Deb’s gentle consistency and Galilee’s calm, encouraging guidance, Avrumi now spells out profound thoughts that reveal the rich inner world we had been unable to access before.

Many, if not most, of the non-verbal people with autism we are charged with caring for,  are far more intelligent than they may appear. "Do not judge a book by its cover" takes on special meaning here—it means do not judge their intellect by their outward appearance. Even when they cannot speak or seem emotionally distant, there is a deep soul inside, crying out to be understood, validated, cherished, and loved!  It's about recognizing the profound depth that exists within each person, regardless of outward appearance or communication abilities.

And we must be mindful: Never discuss them in front of them as if they cannot understand. They can.!

Raising Awareness in Schools

Recently, I was invited by a speech pathologist at a special-needs school to speak with their staff and parents about the Spelling to Communicate (S2C) method. While the pathologist was already familiar with the approach, many others were encountering it for the first time — and understandably, they were skeptical. After all, it’s hard to imagine that students who struggle to speak could be capable of expressing complex thoughts and mastering academic content.

I shared my own journey — how I, too, was once unsure. But what I’ve witnessed through S2C has been nothing short of astonishing. These students are not only intelligent — they are deeply aware, curious, and capable of spelling out ideas that reveal just how much they know. Once the staff and parents saw this for themselves, everything changed.

Today, that school is actively using the Spelling to Communicate method. Parents who were once hesitant are now practicing regularly, and they’re amazed at the academic depth their children are demonstrating. It’s a reminder that communication is not limited to speech — and that every student deserves the chance to be heard.

My Call to Action for Parents & Future Professionals

So, if you know or any of you are considering a career in special Education or pursuing a degree in Occupational Therapy, I implore you to consider getting trained in these communication methods. The need is enormous, and the impact you could make on countless lives is immeasurable. The instructional videos on the Communication4All.org website is a wonderful resource for parents to teach them how to get thier kids to spell with them.

Something precious surrounds you every day—our children, our students. Celebrate and appreciate these young souls. Let's truly understand what a privilege it is to be around them. They possess wisdom and insight beyond what we often recognize, waiting for the opportunity to share it with us.

Every child has a voice, though some voices are expressed differently than others. When we create spaces for our children to open up, they offer us a tremendous amount of strength and encouragement—that can transform our perspective as parents and caregivers. Their unique viewpoints can illuminate our understanding in ways we never anticipated.

Methods like Spelling to Communicate or Supported Typing have shown us that many children, particularly those with communication differences, have rich inner worlds waiting to be expressed. These methods don't create abilities; they unlock what was always there, hidden beneath communication barriers. By embracing these methods, we witness the emergence of thoughts, feelings, and insights that have been trapped inside.

In any way possible we need to give them the opportunity to allow them to open up. The ‘cognitively impaired’ diagnosis must be removed from their evaluation reports!

After reading this I hope you will be inspired to take the necessary steps to help non-speakers thrive.

 Resources:

Communication4All.org-see the Instructional Videos, and Case Studies

MouthtoHandLearning.com: Judy Chinitz Mt Kisco NY (914) 241-2500

Galilee Damiao, MS OTR/L Accessible Expression Therapies https://accessibletherapies.com GalileeOT@gmail.com 

Abilis STeP Supported Typing