Two Handsome Guys

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With Autism, Apraxia and Autonomy: An Afternoon of Spelling with Andrew & Jakob

Jakob and Andrew, often misunderstood and underestimated due to their non-verbal communication, have the intellectual awareness of neurotypical 23-year-olds. Their journey highlights that non-speaking individuals are not non-thinking. After 22 years of struggling to communicate, with the help of skilled communication partners, they learned to express their thoughts through spelled communication, transforming their lives. The upcoming event invites parents, educators, therapists, and everyone to understand and support individuals with communication challenges. It’s an opportunity to learn how to become communication partners, free trapped voices, and change lives. Allies are needed to spread awareness and create lasting impact.

We need parents, educators, therapists, communication partners, and allies.

Jakob and his best friend Andrew walk in the everyday world and are consistently misunderstood and underestimated.People think they have the minds of 8-year-olds. That they don’t understand what’s going on around them. That they are incapable. Of pretty much everything. People speak to them loudly and slowly because they believe their minds to be simple. They are not.

They have the intellect and awareness of neurotypical 23-year-olds. We would argue the wisdom far beyond.

The world needs to understand that just because someone struggles to verbally communicate, it doesn’t mean they’re incapable. Non-speaking does not mean non-thinking. And unreliable speech cannot be taken as truth.

We are having an event. These Two Handsome Guys will sit on a stage. They will tell you their stories. How they spent 22 years unable to reliably communicate. What life was like for them living inside a body that didn’t cooperate with what their minds wanted. How after a lot of hard work and help from experienced communication partners, they became able to share all their thoughts. How remarkably their lives have changed in one short year after having their communication breakthroughs. And how this process of spelled communication works. Where to learn. How you become involved.

This event is for everyone. Parents, educators, therapists, those with autism and apraxia, and everybody else. We need people in the general population to understand those like them. To see them. To accept them. To treat them like competent, capable children and adults. To help spread the word. About this amazing way to free voices that are trapped inside bodies that just don’t work quite right.

We need allies. And we need people who want to learn how to do this. We need more communication partners. Anyone can learn. You can free a voice.

So no matter what part of this intrigues you, you are needed and welcomed. It’s going to be eye-opening, heartwarming, and mind-blowing.

Two Handsome Guys

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