Sign and Spell, LLC

10/11/2026

Sign and Spell Sunday!

The brain/body disconnect affects motor planning, not intelligence.

10/04/2026

Sign and Spell Sunday!

Dignity and respect is what EVERYONE wants and deserves.

10/01/2026

Access to reliable communication is a lifeline!

“Kindness matters. So do access, challenge, and the chance to show you what I know.” -William

William’s words ask us to look closely at what a classroom feels like when you have ideas to share but no reliable way to share them.

He describes adults who were kind to him, while the education he received became less appropriate as the years passed. Kindness matters. So do access, challenge, and the chance to show what you know.

A student’s speech and movement do not tell us the full story of their understanding. Let’s keep asking whether the education we offer matches the person in front of us.

Thank you, William, for sharing your experience.



ID: Coral and peach graphic with William’s photo, the Communication for Education logo, and the label “William A. Nonspeaking AAC User.” His quote reads, “I used to spend every day in a self-contained autism classroom and it slowly became torture. The adults who worked with me were so kind, but I was treated like a toddler no matter how many years passed. Finally getting access to appropriate education saved my life.”

09/27/2026

Sign and Spell Sunday!

09/25/2026

Age-appropriate education for all!

We talk a lot about meeting students where they are.

But what happens when we decide where they are before giving them the chance to show us?

For many nonspeaking students, years can be spent working on the same basic concepts like clocks, coins, and colors, while opportunities for meaningful, age-appropriate academics are limited.

Gordy knows what that feels like.

He shares:

“Imagine spending every day from age 5 to 21 looking at clocks, coins, and colors. Are you bored enough to riot? Are you defeated enough to unravel your shorts and eat them? I’ve been there and it sucks. If I could change just one thing about education before I die, it would be the idea that nonspeaking people can’t handle real academics. Do better.”

His message is clear: the ability to communicate in a traditional way is not a measure of someone’s ability to think, learn, or understand.

When we lower expectations based on how someone communicates, we risk denying them years of opportunities to learn, grow, and be challenged.

Presume competence.

Offer real academics.

Give students the chance to show you what they know.

09/08/2026

This is a great discussion about apraxia and how the outward body doesn’t always mirror the true mind. Go check it out!

THEY WERE NEVER EMPTY. WE JUST WEREN’T LISTENING IN THE RIGHT WAY.

That is the conversation.

Not “How do we make a non-speaking autistic person communicate?”

But…

“What if they already have something to say?”

I had the honor of sitting down with Dr. Lauren La Rose, MD, for Episode 100 of The Little Brain Campaign to talk about non-speaking autism, apraxia, letterboard communication, and what happens when we stop assuming a person’s outward presentation tells us what is happening inside.

Dr. La Rose is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and adult psychiatrist, and I appreciate that The Little Brain Campaign creates space for conversations that look beyond the usual answers.

SPEECH IS NOT THE MEASUREMENT OF A MIND.

A person can have a brilliant thought and be unable to get their mouth to say it.
They can live inside a body that does not reliably cooperate with what their brain is telling it to do.

And if we mistake that motor struggle for intellectual limitation, we don't just misunderstand them.

WE BUILD THEIR ENTIRE WORLD AROUND A FALSE ASSUMPTION.

At VIBE, we don't begin with:

“Prove to me you understand.”

We begin with:

“I believe there is something to understand.”

There is a person in there.
There are thoughts, opinions, jokes, fears, dreams, preferences, memories, questions, brilliance and an entire human being in there.

THE ABSENCE OF SPEECH IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF A VOICE.

Thank you, Dr. La Rose, for giving this conversation a platform and stepping into a subject that deserves far more attention.

To the families who have been told their child doesn't understand:

KEEP LOOKING.
Keep questioning.
Keep presuming competence.
And most importantly…

DON'T DECIDE WHO THEY ARE BEFORE THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN A WAY TO TELL YOU.

🎙️ Episode 100 — Non-Speaking Autism: Unlocking Communication Through Letterboard
with Dr. Lauren La Rose, MD
The Little Brain Campaign
👇 Watch the full conversation.