The Do’s and Don’ts of Communicating with a Speller – Part 2
Begin communication…
Hi world, my name is Jackson. I am a charismatic and hilarious 16 year old autistic teenager who communicates through spelling. I will be the first to admit this form of communication presents a myriad of challenges for both the speller and the listener, however there are also an abundance of opportunities for an evolved communication to grow.
So, without further ado, here is my list of do’s and don’ts, Jackson style.
DO allow me to be the first person to communicate sometimes. I love when you ask me question but sometimes it is nice for me to lead the communication. I always have a lot on my mind, so it is amazing when I get to share that with you. What that might look like is: you approaching me, saying Hi, and just waiting to see if I have something to say. Nothing says “let’s chat” better than a warm smile and an invitational silent moment. This dovetails nicely to my next point:
DON’T be afraid of awkward silences. News flash – they are only awkward to you. For me, as a speller, silence equals opportunity to get involved in the conversation. Silence means inclusion for us. Without that key ingredient, honestly there’s no point even trying.
DO look at me while I type (spell). There is a logical reason for this. You may not realize this but a great deal of the meaning of speech comes from how you say something. This is quite obvious to us as we are unable to speak and provide context in the same way you do. We do provide plenty of context in different ways. How we do this is subtle so pay attention while we spell to get the full meaning of what we are saying.
DON’T be shocked by my deep and thought provoking insight. We autistics are highly perceptive individuals. While you mostly attend to human activity, we are paying attention to everything. So pull up a chair and catch a glimpse of our magical reality.
DO understand that we are super grateful any time you slow your roll and quiet down for long enough to chat with us. I get that it is not easy or natural for you to chat in this format, so kudos to you!
DO share this post with everyone and let’s start talking about the beautiful dance of communication.
End of transmission.
