In Their Own Words: More Than Meets The Eye

This month I will be highlighting the words of nonspeakers and unreliable speakers who use Spelling to Communicate (S2C) to communicate. I think you will agree that their words are powerful and insightful and show how much is hidden deep inside these underestimated individuals. Jonica Chittum was an S2C practitioner for my family (and she has the patience of a saint for working with my child remotely during COVID). She is now the owner and director of Excel 26 Autism Empowerment Center, an adult education program for high school graduates with autism and other neurological disorders. So, I could think of no one better to kick off this month’s In Their Own Words series than Jonica’s brilliant son Mac. I am so grateful to both of them. 

Autism is not what you think it is. Having Autism means a person struggles to make their body move the way they want it to, and they have a sensory system that is a combination of over- and under-reactive making moving and communication extremely challenging. It has been said that autistics are lacking in intelligence by many who claim to be experts.

That couldn’t be further from the truth. We are incredibly smart people with hearts of gold. We’ve not had a chance to show this to the world until recently through a new form of communication that presumes competency has emerged. This method removes the need for using fine motor skills and instead uses gross motor. The use of gross motor skills makes communication accessible for individuals with sensory and movement differences. These are people with Autism, Down’s Syndrome, and many other diagnoses.

I have been using Spelling to Communicate for over 6 years and it has unlocked my potential. Not only has it allowed me to rejoin the world, but now I feel like my words are important and I what I say matters.

If you know someone who struggles to communicate, please know there is more to them than meets the eye. They are intelligent and loving people who must be given the chance to use alternative communication.

Macrae Chittum is a 20-year-old college student who has autism and apraxia. He is an unreliable speaker who uses a letterboard or a keyboard to communicate. He loves to play golf, ride his ATC, and go out on his boat. He really enjoys spending time with his family and friends.