I am being an advocate to help others like me achieve living a life with the chance to communicate with his or her own words. I was not born with the ability to speak freely. I was not born with a body that cooperates easily. But I was born with a thinking mind. I was misunderstood for years because my inabilities masked my intelligence. I became like a prisoner of my own silence. I am now free because of RPM.
I tell my story because I am not the only autistic person who thinks but can’t talk. I am convinced all nonspeaking autistics have thoughts they would love to tell if they could. That’s why I advocate for my nonspeaking brothers and sisters.
Imagine if you could not talk or write on your own. How would you feel? You would feel enormous frustration and sadness. That’s how I felt because no one really knew me or accepted me as I was. No one thought autism was ok. Everyone saw it as bad. Mom was so depressed because of me. But now Mom is so happy because she now understands.
I know not everyone is an advocate. That’s ok. I am an advocate because my life was saved by learning to communicate by spelling. I cannot remain silent about this when lives are at stake.
Old ways are eventually abandoned for better ways. Some will fight for the old ways but in the end they will lose. May you find yourself on the winning side of history.
One of the self-advocates presenting at Motormorphosis 2018
Copyright 2018 Philip Reyes. All rights reserved.
Thank you for being such an inspirational and effective advocate!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I really appreciate your words.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty much in tears reading this. This subject is so close to my heart because my daughter, who is four, has autism and a hard time speaking. I have always wanted to know what she was thinking and communicate with her. I want to hear her voice, whatever that may look like for her. Thank you for sharing your story, you are a great advocate!
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