All right.
Perfect.
OK, so we got some index cards here.
You guys can write down your questions,
or you can just shout them out.
We did a little pre-planned Q and A.
So these questions and answers are right from the speller's
fingertips.
So Brian explained some of this.
And I think the songs explain a lot of it as well.
But the first question they asked the spellers was,
tell us a little bit about yourself as an artist.
And Joshua answered this.
Joshua's here, walking in the back there.
He says, I hope to help other non-speakers' depression how I
helped mine, by writing poetry.
My kind friends need help getting hard memories out
of their heads.
I'm so proud of myself for never giving up hope
for getting my voice.
Now I want to help my friends who are locked inside.
Sorry, I shouldn't do a lot of commentary,
but I just have to say, Joshua has
done that for a number of people as one of the first spellers
in the state of Arizona, including my son Aulton,
introducing us to spelling.
So here's Aulton, he says, I have
grown as an artist over the last few years.
I'm aware more of my sensory system
and recognize that writing heals my soul
and helps sort out deep emotions,
especially as I grapple with the energy of politics.
Being an artist means I have a way
to connect my emotions to others.
I hope to spread loving light to others.
Ethan, who is also here with us.
Ethan, I see you.
He says, I'm so excited to be considered an artist.
I am new to art, but so far I love it.
My interests lie mostly in the realm of creative writing,
such as poetry and songwriting.
We got to hear one of those songs today, Ethan.
That was fantastic.
Niko, another artist who is here with us.
He says, as an artist, I see value in the small, understated
details.
I think that definitely shone through in a lot of the songs
that Brian sang today.
Jake says, I use what experiences I have seen
or things that have impacted me.
That's fantastic, Jake.
And Ashton, Ashton's here as well.
He says, I am a non-speaking 26-year-old man who loves songs
and poetry.
You can see most of these songwriters,
they write the lyrics for the songs
and they also write poetry as well with Brian and others.
The next question they asked the spellers are,
what are the main sources of inspiration for your poems,
songs.
Little common theme here, you'll see.
Aulton says, I am inspired most by nature.
All things living and past living are connected.
Senses are extremely important to my writing,
even if they aren't included explicitly.
And Joshua says, one of my inspirations is nature.
Open your eyes.
It will fill your inner thoughts.
It doesn't take too much lasting images, just
impressions of sound, images, smells, feelings on skin.
It is pure time for imagination.
Light and trees releasing greetings to a weed.
Wind trying to whisper your name.
Very, very beautiful Joshua.
Ashton, common theme again about nature.
And Ethan says, I find inspiration everywhere.
It shows itself in the unspoken world that surrounds all of us,
in the nature of the desert, in the depths of human emotion,
and in every part of the world that goes unnoticed.
I went unnoticed for a long time.
Having empathy lends itself nicely to finding inspiration
in the small things.
Jake says, my inspiration comes from things I've learned.
And Niko says, language is more than the spoken word.
Connections through art and music
strengthen bonds in more meaningful ways.
There's an interesting question that they asked
the non-speaking spellers.
Says, what do you like most about being autistic?
[CHUCKLES] It's kind of flipped the script there.
Joshua says, how hard is my body to control
but I love synesthesia.
I see colors in hearing music.
I hear in my head sounds with numbers.
Ashton says, my special abilities.
Ethan says, my sensitivity is trouble at times,
but it's also a gift.
The senses of an autistic individual
like myself are unique, to say the least.
Having the intense sense of others
is my autistic superpower.
Jake says, proving to everyone that I'm more capable than what
people think when they see me.
And Aulton says, I think that being autistic
has given me eyes to perceive the world in a special way.
I understand my place in connection with nature.
I think this gives me wonderful gratefulness for every element I
encounter.
For example, I appreciate bees, beetles, gophers and jaguars
as important creatures with a purpose not so unaligned
with mine.
I also understand that my relationship with plants
is so unique and almost sacred.
I know many autistics feel the same.
I love and value my conversations
with my spelling friends.
Being autistic is a blessing if you choose to see it that way.
Goodness is founded in gratefulness.
The next question that they asked
the spellers was, how long have you
been able to communicate by spelling.
Joshua said, I started RPM, which
stands for rapid prompting method, when I was 13.
I loved it, but I felt I needed physical support
to fill my body in space.
My mom pushes against my wrist or forearm,
that was when I was 18.
I'm 23 now.
I pity my time free of spelling.
Wish I did it just all my life.
Aulton says, I have been spelling for almost nine years.
My progress is slower than most, but it
is the most important thing I have ever tried.
It primarily gave me a life.
Ethan says, I have been spelling for two years, two whole years
openly, and Ashton says, a year and a half.
So we got some new spellers here as well.
Did you try other methods of communication,
is the next question.
Ashton says, yes, sign language and PECS cards and AAC devices.
Joshua said, yes, just about everything.
I used to try to use toys that talk, kind of trying
to join the conversation.
Mom thought it was a coincidence,
I wanted to reach her.
It was so hard.
PECS was impossible.
Requests only.
Sign language was too hard for my apraxic body.
The AAC device was too slow and too
difficult to remember pathways, and it
didn't have the words I wanted.
I used YouTube videos to tell people
the things I want or feel.
I've done that for many years and my mom finally understood.
Spelling is the best, by far, for me.
Aulton says, I tried so many things.
Nothing is even close to spelling.
Common theme here as well.
Ethan says, I tried it all.
Nothing really worked to help me truly get my thoughts out.
New methods like letter boards helped me so much more.
And Jake says, yes, but I think this way of communication
helps me bring out my voice.
Next question they asked is what is the most important thing
that you want neurotypical people to know
about non-speaking or autistic people.
It says, I think it is important to remember
that we are intelligent and we understand everything.
We feel the same feelings in the inside.
We just might not look like it because our bodies
are hard to control.
And Aulton says, I firmly desire everyone must value individuals,
regardless of disability, gender identity,
race or anything that makes a person unique.
I want reverence for all lives.
I, like all autistics, have individual interests, opinions,
talents, gorgeous perspective and influence.
I have wonderful relationships.
I don't appreciate when many assume
I can control my whole body.
My brain is intense, but often impulse overruns it.
Please don't underestimate anyone, ever.
Jake says, I just want people to be
aware of how people talk to me and others,
because some people act like I don't understand them or talk
like I'm not here.
The majority of what people talk about on the news is garbage.
When you begin to work in the world of non-speaking autism,
you are told we are all profoundly intellectually
disabled and will never amount to anything.
This is a load of crap.
LOL.
I'm censoring myself for better social media use.
The truth is, autism has nothing to do
with intelligence and everything to do with motor.
Ashton, definitely that we are smart.
And Ethan says, a piece of my heart
heals every time I get to answer this question.
I want people to know that non-speakers
are the toughest yet most sensitive people in the world.
Having no spoken words doesn't mean that we aren't in here.
Long years of just listening have
made us more intelligent than you might expect.
And finally, the last question, pre-planned,
was, what was it like before you could communicate?
And Aulton says, to be honest, it was not good.
I was loved by only a few people because others thought
I was so dumb that I would not care about their lack of concern
for me.
I had a lot of medical problems and Mom,
Dad and Lila tore their hearts out for me.
Elody had not been born yet.
That's his sister, other sister.
But no one else cared.
It seemed like people thought my misery didn't count because they
thought I didn't think.
I did think, that's all I did.
I taught myself math while I sat in a classroom being ignored.
I taught myself to spell.
I learned patience, strength, and empathy.
Empathy for those I watched suffer, especially the kids
in my classroom who didn't even have a Nikki, Mike, and Lila.
Now my heart has healed.
I learned all that I can.
I work so hard and contribute to society.
I am involved in my medical care.
I have faith in myself like I never had before.
I have plans for college and a meaningful, loving career.
My life is so different than I had even hoped.
I want every non speaker to find a way to share their lives.
Jake says, it made me frustrated and sad.
And then how is it now?
What isn't magical about freeing your mind?
Quite magical sharing your thoughts and love
with the world.
Every time I spell, there is order in a disorderly world
and life.
And Ashton sums it up here, he just says, miserable.
Ethan, not being able to communicate
was like having a cage around my soul.
So that's all for the pre-planned Q and A.