As you may know, my son Aidan entirely lost his ability to verbally communicate when he was five years old. I understand that Aidan deals with and overcomes personal challenges daily and that I may come off as trivial or even selfish when describing my own struggles. But as a mother, not being able to hear my son tell me he loves me is heartbreaking.
This year, at 21 years old, Aidan is beginning to find his inner voice.
Spelling to Communicate
Spelling to Communicate (S2C™) empowers non-speakers to overcome communication barriers posed by traditional oral communication by pointing to letters on a board as an alternative means of communication. This innovative method promotes synchrony between cognitive and motor systems. Through repeated practice, new neural pathways become myelinated. By teaching the motor skills necessary to point on a letterboard positioned in front of them, non-speakers improve motor planning and control, enabling them to communicate their thoughts and ideas quickly and accurately.
Our Experience With Spelling to Communicate
I could not believe what occurred during Aidan’s second session with his S2C therapist. Aidan’s first milestone happened when the therapist asked him a series of open-ended questions, beginning with spelling her name by pointing to the correlating letters on the letterboard. As he began to answer her, I noticed Aidan’s eyes scanning over the board, attempting to locate the first letter of her name. He pointed to it, then pointed to the following letter and finished spelling it flawlessly.
Earlier during that session, the therapist had casually mentioned her son Alex. More than half an hour later, after multiple different exercises, she asked Aidan what her son’s name was. Aidan scanned the letterboard again and then pointed to A, L, E, X. I’m not sure if I could even remember a name someone mentioned in passing after 30 minutes had passed. But what happened next is a moment I will cherish forever.
The therapist asked, “What’s Mommy’s name?” while holding up the letterboard. Aidan scanned the board again, then put his forefinger out to spell J O H A N N A.
I was beside myself. But I was not prepared for what happened next.
Aidan’s therapist paused momentarily, then asked him if he loved Mommy.
A B C D E
F G H I J
K L M N O
P Q R S T
U V W X Y Z
Y E S
I cried in joy at that moment, and it’s happening again as I type this. I could not be more proud of Aidan.
I cannot count the number of times I’ve told my son I love him. But the first time he was able to say he loved me? At that moment, I was the speechless one.
I will be sharing more about this incredible form of speech therapy in future blogs. But for now, I’ll leave you with this: never give up hope on someone you love.
