Oh my goodness, talk about worlds colliding. I love your work, Charles, and also work with spellers every day. I had to read the title three times to make sure your name and the word “spellers” were in the same article, haha.
Also, people interested in learning more about spellers as people should check out Danny Whitty’s podcast called “All our brave hearts.” Danny is a fluent speller and puts the podcast out with his sister who is his main communication partner. They have a big following from the speller community but I know it’s their hope to have more people who aren’t already in community with nonspeakers, listen and get to know life from such a perspective, as well.
(Fwiw, he’s not a big fan of the spellers + telepathy conversation, but there is diversity amongst all communities).
Oh I’m very excited to read this, and fully absorb it. For now I’ve just skimmed it.
This is a subject close to my heart, and my son (also my heart) who is very verbal, and also autistic. He has read my mind and quoted things back to me verbatim since age 2. Even books I am reading, or courses I study. He knows the details, even when I’m not discussing any of it with him!!
He also ‘reads’ people. He is a great intuitive knower of character. I don’t say judge, as he doesn’t judge people to be right or wrong, good or bad. But he knows a wise, intuitive, safe and kind person from a mile off. And gravitates towards them. I think *many* kids have these abilities, not just those in the autistic community. But as caregivers we need to hold the ‘evidence’ with tenderness and the sacredness that it deserves, or it goes underground, or worse still becomes mute.
I LOVED the Telepathy Tapes, recommended by you. And I’ve passed them on to other families with non-verbal children. All of them blown away.
I feel excited that you spent time communicating with the Spellers ❤️❤️
Thank you. The entire post is incredibly inspiring, but I want to highlight this: "Some of those who have passed through extreme trauma and not been broken by it, but have healed from it, carry an exceptional kind of sanity and moral clarity." This is such an important truth. Even a "recovering alcoholic" fits this definition to me, as many who have overcome addiction have learned to listen to their inner guidance and navigate the world with greater wisdom than others.
You've provided another very important suggestion here. You've pointed to a way that we can navigate through this difficult time by being of service to humanity in a deeply meaningful capacity.
We can learn about and support this beautiful group of people being written about here. Or we can learn about and support people in recovering from complex PTSD. Or we can empower incarcerated people with tools of Self-realization. Or we can listen to those who have recovered from extreme abuse at the hands of psychopaths.
As suggested here, people with such experiences often have highly developed extrasensory abilities and a wisdom lacking among people endeavoring to live a "normal" life. Thank you for this beautiful inspiration.
Agreed. Elizabeth Bonker is a speller who earned a high profile by being voted as one of the valedictorians in her graduating university class in 2021. In her valedictorian speech (delivered on a device that read her typed words), she highlighted Fred Rogers and the idea of looking for ways to be of service - “look for the helpers” in any crisis. I think that might have been a Fred Roger’s quote - maybe paraphrased - something like that.
Oh, how lovely to learn. I appreciate you sharing this. And, yes, absolutely I've heard that comment from Mr. Rogers and it is truly one of the most incredibly powerful truths of all time. Thanks for highlighting that.
So powerful! I find so much comfort and hope in believing that what we think we know about “the way things are” or “the way people are” is very much a reflection of what we’re willing to see and what we’re willing to not know. The possibilities are endless when we open ourselves up to see others anew.
Whether you believe it or not, the podcast is amazing. It shows us unimagined possibilities for a marginalized community that may have abilities beyond our comprehension. Thank you for sharing this.
I love this. My aunt worked with a then child who was nonverbal and had been diagnosed as profoundly retarded. She found him one day (as I recall, could be off a little but not much) crouched down where he'd seen a mirror image of a word a copied it with a crayon. She worked with him for years, I interacted with him socially as an adult. He's probably 50 now. He has 2 master's degrees. He's definitely got his ways, but he fits well enough.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with the spellers! I listened to the Telepathy Tapes and believed what I was hearing, although it sometimes seemed far-fetched, even for me (and I totally buy into this kind of thing!). At this point, there is so much evidence that we are more than we’ve been told, and that the materialist worldview crumbles under scrutiny - one has to be willfully ignorant to deny it at this point. I’ll just share a few links here for anyone who would like to dive deeper (or simply have more evidence to share with their skeptical friends):
this will surely be an unpopular comment among your supporters here, but i implore you to look more into this through an objective lens. this presentation by a former FC facilitator could be a good place to start: https://youtu.be/wB3ZbWdBrVo
furthermore, when i asked an autistic friend (whose opinions and judgement i find reliable) about this, they were very forthcoming about their wariness and disillusionment on this issue. they believe that this type of interpretation of autism is almost always a form of coping employed by parents/caregivers with autistic children, and unable/unwilling to accept them for who they really are, are trying to hack their brain into seeing them as a blessing rather than just getting to know and love them.
additionally, the book Unmasking Autism by Devon Price talks about these kinds of ideas in length and explains how sometimes this type of language can be used to entice autistic people into a high control group/setting. I think it’s definitely worth a read.
regardless of how you choose to move forward, I wish you the best.
I'm an occupational therapist who has worked extensively with children and adults on the spectrum since 1985. I remember well the controversy of FC, particularly in the 90's and agree with much of what the person in the video you posted shared. However, in the telepathy tape videos, you can see that many times, the speller is not being facilitated - they are typing on their own with no physical or verbal prompting of any sort. So, the telepathy tapes/speller claims can't all be discounted on the basis of input by the facilitator (which may certainly be unintended/unconscious).
I have many questions with the telepathy tapes: How prevalent is this ability in the nonverbal autistic community? If you do this with 100 such people, how many of them can actually spell with a device and how many demonstrate telepathy? Are they picking out the rare few who demonstrate telepathy and then generalizing it to the whole group of nonverbal autistics (I think so but have no real data)? How long do you have to work on spelling before a nonverbal autistic person can actually do it and are we stopping too soon because we don't give it enough time? I know from my 40 years experience that everyone working with these kids puts a high priority on helping them utilize SOME form of communication - whether it be with a device, picture boards, sign language, etc.
I've heard lots of comments within the speller community that we are just not giving these kids/adults a chance to communicate because we assume incompetence right from the start. This does not match my experiences AT ALL. In reality, it is usually the case that many children just don't have the capacity to utilize AACs (augmentative and alternative communication). Maybe it is the case though, that we stop trying after several years when they are young and in reality, some of them can't do it until they are much older and no one has gone back in on it to see if things have changed. There is a lot to sort through.
It’s not that they lack the language capabilities. It’s that they lack effective training that gets at the heart of the disability which is best labeled as full body apraxia (which not all autistics have and not all apraxic bodies are also autistic). It is a PAINSTAKING process to build real fluency, not to mention knowledge and experience from those coaching the skills.
I agree - but to clarify, I did not say they lack the language capabilities. I said they may not have the capacity to utilize AAC's. I didn't say (because of the already long comment) that that lack of capacity might include apraxia. I have a different take on apraxia (whole body and apraxia of speech) than most of my similarly trained sensory integration therapists or speech therapists. I'm not sure this thread is the place to get into advanced neurology though! I'm not really for making a child continually try to do something that is painstaking - it can turn them off it it permanently. I'd rather address the apraxia and pick back up on the functional skills when they have developed better underlying skills so that it isn't so hard for them.
That’s fair and thanks for the clarification. I agree that continuing with something that is excessively frustrating is not necessarily a great approach. I just know from experience that these guys can do it but they need a methodology that makes all the effort productive. This is the organization I’ve learned from: https://i-asc.org/spelling-out-what-best-practice-is-all-about/
The difference might be in the age. I'm seeing mostly 2-6 year olds. Even though the SLPs start them off on AAC this early, they sometimes can't do it yet. And my focus is different. Also, if someone is motivated and wants to put in the hard work it's a different story than trying to make someone who isn't ready. I think what you are doing is fantastic! These people are lucky to have people like you who can persist even though it is difficult!!
I was very interested in your comments about working with very young children with apraxia. You mentioned that your focus is different with children who may not be ready for AAC. Are you referring to your work as an Occupational Therapist? Or, are you referring to Nutrient Therapies that might nourish the nervous system/brain and help to build underlying abilities/skills? Thank you.
Hi Blue, I appreciate this feedback. I have worked occassionally with autistic students where teachers use these devices and seen them physically disregulated by technology, I had just had a conversation with staff about the microbiome being disrupted and to be careful about keeping the iPad right next to the body, when the fine print on the device says to keep distance of a few inches and kids put the devices right on their body, I believe Dr. Cindy Russell of Physicians for Safe Technology mentions keeping 8 or more inches away . I do not understand why the app has to be wireless and can't just be downloaded on a device, there are some other huge problems and the kids become addicted to going on youtube, and then there are profounds meltdown due to tech addiction.
Very touched by this. Thank you Charles. This is truly paradigm-shiftimg stuff. And as a side note, I'll personally take the spellers any day over the profoundly corrupt anti-Golden-Rule mass-murdering thieves and predators who rule over us. The people who are supposed to be "leaders" yet are the absolute LOWEST LEVEL OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (not that the liberal wing of the ruling class is much better than the freeloading anti-Golden-Rule conservative billionaire thieves and murderers in gov't and their handlers in Wall St). As one example -
If your contempt is only directed at Trump and "Conservatives" you're missing half the picture, which is just as disgusting. Silicon Valley billionaires have a lot in common with "Lliberal" Jewish oligarchs.
Please read my comment again, friend. Seems like you didn't read it in full (nor read the link in it).
And in addition, if you'd look at my profile page, you'll see plenty of criticism of the liberal capitalist (democratic party) half of the ruling class. You're baking up the wrong tree 🙂
PS. And I don't have "contempt" for anyone, not even for the wounded corrupt freeloading greedy me-firat-and-screw-you anti-Golen-Rule Godless capitalist billionaire predators, thieves, liars, murderers, abusers a d controllers. They need to be loved and helped with healing from the massive wound and unconsciousness that drives their life-destroying greed and control psychosis, not contempt. My comment was not written out of contempt.
I hear you and understand. If i may clarify, that specific phrse (and the rest of the comment) was NOT written with contempt in tne mind and heart but with a sense of deep pain, as well as frustration, that out of all the really wonderful and caring and heart-attuned and wise people of the planet, we ended up with the most wounded unconscious psychologically-undeveloped love-divorced wisdom-less emotionally-repressd God-disconnected short-sighted anti-Golden-Rule selfish greedy heart-rejecting freeloading mafia bullies thieves mass-murderers abusers tyrants liars on the planet as precisely the very ones with the most amount of power over humanity, to profoundly negatively affect the lives of billions across the planet for their own narrow anti-Golden-Rule domination power and wealth.
Deep deep pain and frustration that this is where we're at as a society and culture, that we allow such evil of a tiny minority to rule over the vast majority (description of the unconscious wounded oppresive evil of the ruling class can be found in the notes and posts on my profile page).
I personally feel deep compassion for the miserable Love-less God-forgetting tenderness-fearing abuse-filled heart-disconnecred unconscious lives of the bullying corrupt billionaire mafia murderers, predators & criminals in government and the rest of the ruling class that the gov't serves. My comment is written out of deep pain and frustration that this is the reality we live under, when it is clear that the vast majority of humanity innately operate out of the Golden Rule, unlike the abusive criminals in power over us, who are literally at the absolute lowest level of human development. It was not written out of contempt but out of deep pain and frustraion the lowest of the low are ruling over humanity.
And by the way, if there's an interest to understand how it came to be that the absolute worst of humanity came to dominate us, then i highly recommend the profound book 'the people's history of the world' (by chris harman) which shows exactly how - after at least 200 thousand years in which humans lives in egalitarian hunter-gatherer societies - we are brutally violated, conned and moved into an entirely different phase, (which began roughly ten thousand years ago, with tne agricultural revolution), in which the most inwardly-corrupt, love-less and heart-disconnected among us, started violently hoarding for ONLY themselves the reaources humans have been sharing for hundreds of thousands of years, thus the first ruling class and oppresive hierarchy formed. The book then traces exactly how this inwardly-corrupt ruling class maintain their DOMINATION over the 99.9% in each era over the last ten millenia, both by brute violence as well as through increasingly sophisticated ways to DIVIDE-AND-RULE us, all the way up to today. Truly a must-read book, IMHO, if one wishes to understand exactly how we got here as well as how the DOMINATION of the few over the many can be broken (on my profile page i also share a lot on this can be done).
I am overjoyed to read about you diving into this, Charles. Season 2 of the Telepathy Tapes comes out in less than 2 weeks, apparently with data that will open the minds of anyone with the tiniest crack. This is paradigm shifting, indeed.
“What abilities and which ways of being human are accepted, rewarded, and celebrated, and which are ridiculed, suppressed, and pathologized?” Nate Hagens has been talking about how our capitalist/material-focused culture means that psychopaths rise naturally to the top. Yup.
Looking forward to hearing more about this as it unfolds!
I tried listening to the Telepathy Tapes but quickly lost interest. Why? Because it's not important to me whether it's scientifically validated, or acceptable. Having lived my life with the Intuitive faculty out front, and having spiritual phenomena be a normal part of daily living (just as real as mundane happenings, simply noticing when the veil is thinner), I know these things to be completely plausible. I need no podcast to verify. Additionally, the following (especially for those readers familiar with Systemic Constellations, or family constellation work a la Bert Hellinger):
I once took part in a large constellation with human representatives. I was chosen to represent the non-verbal, autistic five or six year old son of the woman who was having the constellation. I can tell you - I was VERY AWARE in that embodied role. I felt EVERYTHING. I knew very clearly who in the Field was toxic and who was safe. I was completely embodied, moving energy through my being in ways that felt clear and good to me, and that might mean hitting the floor repetitively seemingly without end. It was all about energy, and no filter to sensitivity. So it is no stretch to me to embrace "telepathy" or innate genius for some of these individuals on the spectrum. Let's continue the learning, and keep an open mind. If we learn to embody that level of awareness and sensitivity ourselves, we will intuitively make choices (even rational ones) that are healthier for us as individuals and therefore as a collective whole.
"Spell 2 Speak is an iPad app designed and programmed to help anyone who cannot speak or has difficulty speaking verbally communicate through spelling. Spell 2 Speak features a large alphabet keyboard, punctuation, numbers, and “delete” and “clear” buttons for editing."
One major issue...the IPad and apps are often wireless and the iPad is right next to a child's body. There really needs to be an awareness that wireless radiofrequency radiation may effect the gut microbiome, create oxidated stress and further prevent a child's body from developing. With Beth Lambert and Documenting Hope protocols, radiofrequency radiation is one of the issues for autistic children, where minimizing exposures really makes a profound difference. There is the issue of "Total Load impacts of modern living on childhood health, growth, and developmental outcomes." If a family's child has any of these problems, they might want to listen to this interview with Theodora Scarato - Problems with focus and attention, Memory problems, Inability to sleep well, Chronic fatigue, Unexplained heart palpitations, Constant headaches:
Most spellers are best served by building their skills with low tech letter boards. In addition to the things you mentioned, electronic devices are generally too high of a motor demand for getting to robust communication for folks with apraxia (the mind-body disconnect that keeps them from being able to use speech - which is incredibly complex motor - for meaningful communication).
Very interesting, to know most spellers are best served by building their skills with low tech letter boards, do you have any links/research? The school district I work at, I have basically seen high tech letter boards, on radiation emitting iPads for children preK onwards for students to communicate.
Except when transferring files, wi-fi and bluetooth connections can easily be turned off. EMF exposure from phones and tablets does not need to be a concern.
The school's spell app for students needs connectivity to the web, if you turn off all connections, the app...just...does...not...work.
Please know I have asked, and told, the apps don't download to the device (iPad). Neither does Microsoft Office, its all online now. It IS a great concern, again because students go onto youtube and have meltdowns if they can't have access to youtube videos due to tech addiction, or if they become dysregulated.
Understood... I refuse to use subscription/web based apps (my old copy of MS Office still works fine), but that isn't an option for many users. The only practical alternative as you describe your situation is to use desktops with ethernet (cabled) connection to the router(s). That's a challenge with phones and tablets. It also sounds like substitutes for screen entertainment are sorely needed -- probably not easy at this point. How about gardening, or educational videos? They can be downloaded for later playback, offline.
I'm an Animal Communicator, I telepathically "talk" with animals all the time. I do it professionally and it might sound crazy, but I can mentor you (or any living human that is drawn to this) to do this too. You're hardwired for this kind of connection and communication and people like myself just help you unlock your own ability. I'm not surprised at all that non-verbal humans would naturally go back to this form of communication. It's how nature communicates. Take away our spoken language and it's all we'd be left with for knowing and connecting with the world.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing Charles! Keep up the journey, I know along time ago you said you tried talking to the gophers (was it gophers?) whom were digging up your garden. Nothing happened and you figured it might not be real. It gave me a good little giggle. It felt like you weren't fully in the deep end enough and were maybe looking for some kind of proof, rather than fully trusting in yourself and your own dormant ability. Also, if they were really enjoying your garden, asking them to stop without giving them a good reason to stop? We can always ask animals if they'll do something for us, whether they do or not is a whole other matter haha! It always helps to sweeten the deal for them 😉
Hey Rupert, wow! Thanks for this I'd never heard it myself. I had no idea Charles worked with Anna. Totally missed this one and I follow both Charles and Anna's work 😂
I talk with my dog all the time. I have a good friend who's an animal communicator and I used to edit her blog posts so I just started doing what she talked about with my dog. It started out simply - like commenting on the weather and then watching his reaction to see if he was getting it, then listening. It's not like he uses the same kind of syntax as I do, but he tells me things all the time. This morning he really didn't like the mixture of foods I gave him for breakfast. I promised him that tomorrow one of the things he really likes would be back in his bowl and that I really didn't want to throw his food away or put it in the fridge and I would appreciate it if he'd just eat it. It took a while and some bone broth, but he finally agreed. I'm not 100%, but getting better all the time. I don't think I have the natural gift that my friend does, but I think we can all tune to animals if we work at it. Now if I could just stop the squirrels from digging up my garden that would be nice. I have no good incentives for them. They already have all the sunflowers they can eat. 🤷🏻♀️
I love this Camille! Especially with the food. Is your dog a bit of a picky eater? Wild animals like the squirrels can be more tricky to work with. They have less of a reason to do anything with or for a human unless you can really "sell" them on an idea. A local Australian farmer was shooting Kangaroos on his property - mainly where they were getting into eating his crop. They just kept coming back en masse. He learnt communication and made a deal that if they stayed on the back portion of his land (it was mostly just grass but a bit of the crop too) he would stop shooting them. It worked. They found a deal but it was literal life or death. I'm not saying you should harm the squirrels in anyway but just sharing it's really got to be a big thing for them to even care to listen to you. They (wild animals) can be stubborn, but they're definitely not dumb.
Yes… My dog is very picky! 😁 He’s an 11 year old Prima Donna (white standard poodle 🐩) and I swear he rolls his eyes at me sometimes. The squirrels don’t even care if the dog chases them. They just run up the fence and mock him. I did make a deal with the crows. There were these nasty grubs in my garden so I started digging them up and throwing them on the sidewalk in front of my house for the crows. Then I put a 1980’s cut crystal bowl out in the backyard full of water for them. They LOVE the crystal bowl. Now they’re very well behaved.
George, thank you for this comment. I feel I'm kind of on the verge of being able to communicate with animals and I would love to know how to get there. How can I learn more?
Awesome! It's a wonderful journey to embark on and exactly what Charles has been talking about the need for more people to step into their subtle senses. Just type "animal communication class (or couse)" into a web search and look for a teacher you resonate with. It's really important you have a feeling about a possible mentor/teacher and don't just pick the first course that pops up. Hope this helps!
Oh my goodness, talk about worlds colliding. I love your work, Charles, and also work with spellers every day. I had to read the title three times to make sure your name and the word “spellers” were in the same article, haha.
Also, people interested in learning more about spellers as people should check out Danny Whitty’s podcast called “All our brave hearts.” Danny is a fluent speller and puts the podcast out with his sister who is his main communication partner. They have a big following from the speller community but I know it’s their hope to have more people who aren’t already in community with nonspeakers, listen and get to know life from such a perspective, as well.
(Fwiw, he’s not a big fan of the spellers + telepathy conversation, but there is diversity amongst all communities).
Oh I’m very excited to read this, and fully absorb it. For now I’ve just skimmed it.
This is a subject close to my heart, and my son (also my heart) who is very verbal, and also autistic. He has read my mind and quoted things back to me verbatim since age 2. Even books I am reading, or courses I study. He knows the details, even when I’m not discussing any of it with him!!
He also ‘reads’ people. He is a great intuitive knower of character. I don’t say judge, as he doesn’t judge people to be right or wrong, good or bad. But he knows a wise, intuitive, safe and kind person from a mile off. And gravitates towards them. I think *many* kids have these abilities, not just those in the autistic community. But as caregivers we need to hold the ‘evidence’ with tenderness and the sacredness that it deserves, or it goes underground, or worse still becomes mute.
I LOVED the Telepathy Tapes, recommended by you. And I’ve passed them on to other families with non-verbal children. All of them blown away.
I feel excited that you spent time communicating with the Spellers ❤️❤️
Thank you. The entire post is incredibly inspiring, but I want to highlight this: "Some of those who have passed through extreme trauma and not been broken by it, but have healed from it, carry an exceptional kind of sanity and moral clarity." This is such an important truth. Even a "recovering alcoholic" fits this definition to me, as many who have overcome addiction have learned to listen to their inner guidance and navigate the world with greater wisdom than others.
You've provided another very important suggestion here. You've pointed to a way that we can navigate through this difficult time by being of service to humanity in a deeply meaningful capacity.
We can learn about and support this beautiful group of people being written about here. Or we can learn about and support people in recovering from complex PTSD. Or we can empower incarcerated people with tools of Self-realization. Or we can listen to those who have recovered from extreme abuse at the hands of psychopaths.
As suggested here, people with such experiences often have highly developed extrasensory abilities and a wisdom lacking among people endeavoring to live a "normal" life. Thank you for this beautiful inspiration.
Agreed. Elizabeth Bonker is a speller who earned a high profile by being voted as one of the valedictorians in her graduating university class in 2021. In her valedictorian speech (delivered on a device that read her typed words), she highlighted Fred Rogers and the idea of looking for ways to be of service - “look for the helpers” in any crisis. I think that might have been a Fred Roger’s quote - maybe paraphrased - something like that.
Oh, how lovely to learn. I appreciate you sharing this. And, yes, absolutely I've heard that comment from Mr. Rogers and it is truly one of the most incredibly powerful truths of all time. Thanks for highlighting that.
As an autistic recovering alcoholic, I thank you:)
💚
So powerful! I find so much comfort and hope in believing that what we think we know about “the way things are” or “the way people are” is very much a reflection of what we’re willing to see and what we’re willing to not know. The possibilities are endless when we open ourselves up to see others anew.
Anne, well stated!
YES!!!
Whether you believe it or not, the podcast is amazing. It shows us unimagined possibilities for a marginalized community that may have abilities beyond our comprehension. Thank you for sharing this.
I was similarly moved, yet haven’t yet found a path for my participation. I hope you will continue sharing some of yours!
I love this. My aunt worked with a then child who was nonverbal and had been diagnosed as profoundly retarded. She found him one day (as I recall, could be off a little but not much) crouched down where he'd seen a mirror image of a word a copied it with a crayon. She worked with him for years, I interacted with him socially as an adult. He's probably 50 now. He has 2 master's degrees. He's definitely got his ways, but he fits well enough.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with the spellers! I listened to the Telepathy Tapes and believed what I was hearing, although it sometimes seemed far-fetched, even for me (and I totally buy into this kind of thing!). At this point, there is so much evidence that we are more than we’ve been told, and that the materialist worldview crumbles under scrutiny - one has to be willfully ignorant to deny it at this point. I’ll just share a few links here for anyone who would like to dive deeper (or simply have more evidence to share with their skeptical friends):
https://www.amazon.com/End-Upside-Down-Thinking-Consciousness/dp/1960583360/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1416516778/?bestFormat=true&k=entangled%20minds&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-pd-bk-d_k0_1_15_de&crid=1RLY3CNZJSEXL&sprefix=entangled%20minds
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/54450/13-university-sanctioned-paranormal-research-projects
https://noosphere.princeton.edu/youtube.html
Reading The Phenomenon of Man now, and am intrigued by the noogenesis and the noosphere. Great resources, Tara!
Oooh, that looks interesting, too - let me know how you like it!
this will surely be an unpopular comment among your supporters here, but i implore you to look more into this through an objective lens. this presentation by a former FC facilitator could be a good place to start: https://youtu.be/wB3ZbWdBrVo
furthermore, when i asked an autistic friend (whose opinions and judgement i find reliable) about this, they were very forthcoming about their wariness and disillusionment on this issue. they believe that this type of interpretation of autism is almost always a form of coping employed by parents/caregivers with autistic children, and unable/unwilling to accept them for who they really are, are trying to hack their brain into seeing them as a blessing rather than just getting to know and love them.
additionally, the book Unmasking Autism by Devon Price talks about these kinds of ideas in length and explains how sometimes this type of language can be used to entice autistic people into a high control group/setting. I think it’s definitely worth a read.
regardless of how you choose to move forward, I wish you the best.
I'm an occupational therapist who has worked extensively with children and adults on the spectrum since 1985. I remember well the controversy of FC, particularly in the 90's and agree with much of what the person in the video you posted shared. However, in the telepathy tape videos, you can see that many times, the speller is not being facilitated - they are typing on their own with no physical or verbal prompting of any sort. So, the telepathy tapes/speller claims can't all be discounted on the basis of input by the facilitator (which may certainly be unintended/unconscious).
I have many questions with the telepathy tapes: How prevalent is this ability in the nonverbal autistic community? If you do this with 100 such people, how many of them can actually spell with a device and how many demonstrate telepathy? Are they picking out the rare few who demonstrate telepathy and then generalizing it to the whole group of nonverbal autistics (I think so but have no real data)? How long do you have to work on spelling before a nonverbal autistic person can actually do it and are we stopping too soon because we don't give it enough time? I know from my 40 years experience that everyone working with these kids puts a high priority on helping them utilize SOME form of communication - whether it be with a device, picture boards, sign language, etc.
I've heard lots of comments within the speller community that we are just not giving these kids/adults a chance to communicate because we assume incompetence right from the start. This does not match my experiences AT ALL. In reality, it is usually the case that many children just don't have the capacity to utilize AACs (augmentative and alternative communication). Maybe it is the case though, that we stop trying after several years when they are young and in reality, some of them can't do it until they are much older and no one has gone back in on it to see if things have changed. There is a lot to sort through.
It’s not that they lack the language capabilities. It’s that they lack effective training that gets at the heart of the disability which is best labeled as full body apraxia (which not all autistics have and not all apraxic bodies are also autistic). It is a PAINSTAKING process to build real fluency, not to mention knowledge and experience from those coaching the skills.
I agree - but to clarify, I did not say they lack the language capabilities. I said they may not have the capacity to utilize AAC's. I didn't say (because of the already long comment) that that lack of capacity might include apraxia. I have a different take on apraxia (whole body and apraxia of speech) than most of my similarly trained sensory integration therapists or speech therapists. I'm not sure this thread is the place to get into advanced neurology though! I'm not really for making a child continually try to do something that is painstaking - it can turn them off it it permanently. I'd rather address the apraxia and pick back up on the functional skills when they have developed better underlying skills so that it isn't so hard for them.
That’s fair and thanks for the clarification. I agree that continuing with something that is excessively frustrating is not necessarily a great approach. I just know from experience that these guys can do it but they need a methodology that makes all the effort productive. This is the organization I’ve learned from: https://i-asc.org/spelling-out-what-best-practice-is-all-about/
The difference might be in the age. I'm seeing mostly 2-6 year olds. Even though the SLPs start them off on AAC this early, they sometimes can't do it yet. And my focus is different. Also, if someone is motivated and wants to put in the hard work it's a different story than trying to make someone who isn't ready. I think what you are doing is fantastic! These people are lucky to have people like you who can persist even though it is difficult!!
BarbaraC,
I was very interested in your comments about working with very young children with apraxia. You mentioned that your focus is different with children who may not be ready for AAC. Are you referring to your work as an Occupational Therapist? Or, are you referring to Nutrient Therapies that might nourish the nervous system/brain and help to build underlying abilities/skills? Thank you.
Hi Blue, I appreciate this feedback. I have worked occassionally with autistic students where teachers use these devices and seen them physically disregulated by technology, I had just had a conversation with staff about the microbiome being disrupted and to be careful about keeping the iPad right next to the body, when the fine print on the device says to keep distance of a few inches and kids put the devices right on their body, I believe Dr. Cindy Russell of Physicians for Safe Technology mentions keeping 8 or more inches away . I do not understand why the app has to be wireless and can't just be downloaded on a device, there are some other huge problems and the kids become addicted to going on youtube, and then there are profounds meltdown due to tech addiction.
Very touched by this. Thank you Charles. This is truly paradigm-shiftimg stuff. And as a side note, I'll personally take the spellers any day over the profoundly corrupt anti-Golden-Rule mass-murdering thieves and predators who rule over us. The people who are supposed to be "leaders" yet are the absolute LOWEST LEVEL OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (not that the liberal wing of the ruling class is much better than the freeloading anti-Golden-Rule conservative billionaire thieves and murderers in gov't and their handlers in Wall St). As one example -
https://johnspritzler.substack.com/p/grab-your-pitchfork
If your contempt is only directed at Trump and "Conservatives" you're missing half the picture, which is just as disgusting. Silicon Valley billionaires have a lot in common with "Lliberal" Jewish oligarchs.
Please read my comment again, friend. Seems like you didn't read it in full (nor read the link in it).
And in addition, if you'd look at my profile page, you'll see plenty of criticism of the liberal capitalist (democratic party) half of the ruling class. You're baking up the wrong tree 🙂
PS. And I don't have "contempt" for anyone, not even for the wounded corrupt freeloading greedy me-firat-and-screw-you anti-Golen-Rule Godless capitalist billionaire predators, thieves, liars, murderers, abusers a d controllers. They need to be loved and helped with healing from the massive wound and unconsciousness that drives their life-destroying greed and control psychosis, not contempt. My comment was not written out of contempt.
Point taken, but you'll have a tough time convincing anyone that "LOWEST LEVEL OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT" does not express contempt. :-)
I hear you and understand. If i may clarify, that specific phrse (and the rest of the comment) was NOT written with contempt in tne mind and heart but with a sense of deep pain, as well as frustration, that out of all the really wonderful and caring and heart-attuned and wise people of the planet, we ended up with the most wounded unconscious psychologically-undeveloped love-divorced wisdom-less emotionally-repressd God-disconnected short-sighted anti-Golden-Rule selfish greedy heart-rejecting freeloading mafia bullies thieves mass-murderers abusers tyrants liars on the planet as precisely the very ones with the most amount of power over humanity, to profoundly negatively affect the lives of billions across the planet for their own narrow anti-Golden-Rule domination power and wealth.
Deep deep pain and frustration that this is where we're at as a society and culture, that we allow such evil of a tiny minority to rule over the vast majority (description of the unconscious wounded oppresive evil of the ruling class can be found in the notes and posts on my profile page).
I personally feel deep compassion for the miserable Love-less God-forgetting tenderness-fearing abuse-filled heart-disconnecred unconscious lives of the bullying corrupt billionaire mafia murderers, predators & criminals in government and the rest of the ruling class that the gov't serves. My comment is written out of deep pain and frustration that this is the reality we live under, when it is clear that the vast majority of humanity innately operate out of the Golden Rule, unlike the abusive criminals in power over us, who are literally at the absolute lowest level of human development. It was not written out of contempt but out of deep pain and frustraion the lowest of the low are ruling over humanity.
For details of what i mean by the rejection of the ruling predators of tne Golden Rule, see here https://www.pdrboston.org/the-golden-rule
And by the way, if there's an interest to understand how it came to be that the absolute worst of humanity came to dominate us, then i highly recommend the profound book 'the people's history of the world' (by chris harman) which shows exactly how - after at least 200 thousand years in which humans lives in egalitarian hunter-gatherer societies - we are brutally violated, conned and moved into an entirely different phase, (which began roughly ten thousand years ago, with tne agricultural revolution), in which the most inwardly-corrupt, love-less and heart-disconnected among us, started violently hoarding for ONLY themselves the reaources humans have been sharing for hundreds of thousands of years, thus the first ruling class and oppresive hierarchy formed. The book then traces exactly how this inwardly-corrupt ruling class maintain their DOMINATION over the 99.9% in each era over the last ten millenia, both by brute violence as well as through increasingly sophisticated ways to DIVIDE-AND-RULE us, all the way up to today. Truly a must-read book, IMHO, if one wishes to understand exactly how we got here as well as how the DOMINATION of the few over the many can be broken (on my profile page i also share a lot on this can be done).
Thank you for your devotion to seeing truth.
I am overjoyed to read about you diving into this, Charles. Season 2 of the Telepathy Tapes comes out in less than 2 weeks, apparently with data that will open the minds of anyone with the tiniest crack. This is paradigm shifting, indeed.
“What abilities and which ways of being human are accepted, rewarded, and celebrated, and which are ridiculed, suppressed, and pathologized?” Nate Hagens has been talking about how our capitalist/material-focused culture means that psychopaths rise naturally to the top. Yup.
Looking forward to hearing more about this as it unfolds!
I tried listening to the Telepathy Tapes but quickly lost interest. Why? Because it's not important to me whether it's scientifically validated, or acceptable. Having lived my life with the Intuitive faculty out front, and having spiritual phenomena be a normal part of daily living (just as real as mundane happenings, simply noticing when the veil is thinner), I know these things to be completely plausible. I need no podcast to verify. Additionally, the following (especially for those readers familiar with Systemic Constellations, or family constellation work a la Bert Hellinger):
I once took part in a large constellation with human representatives. I was chosen to represent the non-verbal, autistic five or six year old son of the woman who was having the constellation. I can tell you - I was VERY AWARE in that embodied role. I felt EVERYTHING. I knew very clearly who in the Field was toxic and who was safe. I was completely embodied, moving energy through my being in ways that felt clear and good to me, and that might mean hitting the floor repetitively seemingly without end. It was all about energy, and no filter to sensitivity. So it is no stretch to me to embrace "telepathy" or innate genius for some of these individuals on the spectrum. Let's continue the learning, and keep an open mind. If we learn to embody that level of awareness and sensitivity ourselves, we will intuitively make choices (even rational ones) that are healthier for us as individuals and therefore as a collective whole.
"Spell 2 Speak is an iPad app designed and programmed to help anyone who cannot speak or has difficulty speaking verbally communicate through spelling. Spell 2 Speak features a large alphabet keyboard, punctuation, numbers, and “delete” and “clear” buttons for editing."
One major issue...the IPad and apps are often wireless and the iPad is right next to a child's body. There really needs to be an awareness that wireless radiofrequency radiation may effect the gut microbiome, create oxidated stress and further prevent a child's body from developing. With Beth Lambert and Documenting Hope protocols, radiofrequency radiation is one of the issues for autistic children, where minimizing exposures really makes a profound difference. There is the issue of "Total Load impacts of modern living on childhood health, growth, and developmental outcomes." If a family's child has any of these problems, they might want to listen to this interview with Theodora Scarato - Problems with focus and attention, Memory problems, Inability to sleep well, Chronic fatigue, Unexplained heart palpitations, Constant headaches:
thttps://documentinghope.com/webinar/emfs-and-childrens-health/
Most spellers are best served by building their skills with low tech letter boards. In addition to the things you mentioned, electronic devices are generally too high of a motor demand for getting to robust communication for folks with apraxia (the mind-body disconnect that keeps them from being able to use speech - which is incredibly complex motor - for meaningful communication).
Very interesting, to know most spellers are best served by building their skills with low tech letter boards, do you have any links/research? The school district I work at, I have basically seen high tech letter boards, on radiation emitting iPads for children preK onwards for students to communicate.
I-ASC.org
Except when transferring files, wi-fi and bluetooth connections can easily be turned off. EMF exposure from phones and tablets does not need to be a concern.
The school's spell app for students needs connectivity to the web, if you turn off all connections, the app...just...does...not...work.
Please know I have asked, and told, the apps don't download to the device (iPad). Neither does Microsoft Office, its all online now. It IS a great concern, again because students go onto youtube and have meltdowns if they can't have access to youtube videos due to tech addiction, or if they become dysregulated.
Understood... I refuse to use subscription/web based apps (my old copy of MS Office still works fine), but that isn't an option for many users. The only practical alternative as you describe your situation is to use desktops with ethernet (cabled) connection to the router(s). That's a challenge with phones and tablets. It also sounds like substitutes for screen entertainment are sorely needed -- probably not easy at this point. How about gardening, or educational videos? They can be downloaded for later playback, offline.
I love the telepathy tapes! Thanks for spreading the word.
I'm an Animal Communicator, I telepathically "talk" with animals all the time. I do it professionally and it might sound crazy, but I can mentor you (or any living human that is drawn to this) to do this too. You're hardwired for this kind of connection and communication and people like myself just help you unlock your own ability. I'm not surprised at all that non-verbal humans would naturally go back to this form of communication. It's how nature communicates. Take away our spoken language and it's all we'd be left with for knowing and connecting with the world.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing Charles! Keep up the journey, I know along time ago you said you tried talking to the gophers (was it gophers?) whom were digging up your garden. Nothing happened and you figured it might not be real. It gave me a good little giggle. It felt like you weren't fully in the deep end enough and were maybe looking for some kind of proof, rather than fully trusting in yourself and your own dormant ability. Also, if they were really enjoying your garden, asking them to stop without giving them a good reason to stop? We can always ask animals if they'll do something for us, whether they do or not is a whole other matter haha! It always helps to sweeten the deal for them 😉
maybe you already knew about this podcast, but for others who might see this, here’s charles’ conversation with anna breytenbach on this topic:
https://charleseisenstein.org/podcasts/new-ancient-story-podcast/anna-breytenbach-interspecies-communication-e57/
Hey Rupert, wow! Thanks for this I'd never heard it myself. I had no idea Charles worked with Anna. Totally missed this one and I follow both Charles and Anna's work 😂
I talk with my dog all the time. I have a good friend who's an animal communicator and I used to edit her blog posts so I just started doing what she talked about with my dog. It started out simply - like commenting on the weather and then watching his reaction to see if he was getting it, then listening. It's not like he uses the same kind of syntax as I do, but he tells me things all the time. This morning he really didn't like the mixture of foods I gave him for breakfast. I promised him that tomorrow one of the things he really likes would be back in his bowl and that I really didn't want to throw his food away or put it in the fridge and I would appreciate it if he'd just eat it. It took a while and some bone broth, but he finally agreed. I'm not 100%, but getting better all the time. I don't think I have the natural gift that my friend does, but I think we can all tune to animals if we work at it. Now if I could just stop the squirrels from digging up my garden that would be nice. I have no good incentives for them. They already have all the sunflowers they can eat. 🤷🏻♀️
I love this Camille! Especially with the food. Is your dog a bit of a picky eater? Wild animals like the squirrels can be more tricky to work with. They have less of a reason to do anything with or for a human unless you can really "sell" them on an idea. A local Australian farmer was shooting Kangaroos on his property - mainly where they were getting into eating his crop. They just kept coming back en masse. He learnt communication and made a deal that if they stayed on the back portion of his land (it was mostly just grass but a bit of the crop too) he would stop shooting them. It worked. They found a deal but it was literal life or death. I'm not saying you should harm the squirrels in anyway but just sharing it's really got to be a big thing for them to even care to listen to you. They (wild animals) can be stubborn, but they're definitely not dumb.
Yes… My dog is very picky! 😁 He’s an 11 year old Prima Donna (white standard poodle 🐩) and I swear he rolls his eyes at me sometimes. The squirrels don’t even care if the dog chases them. They just run up the fence and mock him. I did make a deal with the crows. There were these nasty grubs in my garden so I started digging them up and throwing them on the sidewalk in front of my house for the crows. Then I put a 1980’s cut crystal bowl out in the backyard full of water for them. They LOVE the crystal bowl. Now they’re very well behaved.
George, thank you for this comment. I feel I'm kind of on the verge of being able to communicate with animals and I would love to know how to get there. How can I learn more?
Awesome! It's a wonderful journey to embark on and exactly what Charles has been talking about the need for more people to step into their subtle senses. Just type "animal communication class (or couse)" into a web search and look for a teacher you resonate with. It's really important you have a feeling about a possible mentor/teacher and don't just pick the first course that pops up. Hope this helps!