This is by a writer named Quincy.
And one of the interesting things
about this spelling as a means of communication
is that it's relatively new as things go.
And so there's a lot of folks, including
the folks here in the room, who for much of their lives,
did not have a way of communicating.
They were not able to speak.
And so folks were assuming that they were like nonverbal, which
is different from non-speaking.
And so it wasn't until discovering this possibility
of using the letter board as a way
to communicate that the incredible interior worlds
within the minds of these young writers
was able to find its way outward.
And so a lot of the writers that I've worked with
have described, they've even used the same image
of the silent cage, which is the way that they're
talking about that time before being able to communicate.
They're following everything in every conversation around them.
They have opinions and ideas of their own.
They have things that they want to contribute,
but there's not a way for that to be externalized.
And that shows up in a lot of these songs.
But this one is a particularly memorable way
of putting it that Quincy has come up with here.
So this is called "Coming Into My Own."
(SINGING) I was not heard.
I was alone.
No one saw me, even at home.
I had to make my own world within myself.
No one could see it.
I had to make my own world within myself.
No one could see it.
But now I am knowing all I can.
And my knowledge is my destined plan.
I'm setting the course in charge of my directions,
spelling my way to my independence.
I had to make my own world within myself.
No one could see it.
I had to make my own world within myself.
No one could see it.
But I'm bringing about a change so profound.
It will have lasting effects on everyone around.
I had to make my own world within myself.
Now you can see it.
I had to make my own world within myself.
Now you can see it.
[APPLAUSE]