Archive for January 2014
Facilitated Communication: Tracy Thresher & John Smyth at 2011 ICI Summer Institute
Supported typers Tracy Thresher, co-star of the documentary Wretches & Jabberers, and John Smyth use supported typing to have a conversation at Syracuse University’s 2011 Institute of Communication and Inclusion Summer Institute: Connection, Communication, and Creativity. A true example of Facilitated Communication in action! This is the first time Tracy and John had an opportunity…
Read MoreTodd Washburne: Joining the Real World as an Adult Typer
I was raised as being retarded because I could not communicate. My frustration level was off the charts throughout my school years. The many times I got in trouble were driving me crazy and I couldn’t even be a tattletale so I was teased a lot. However, I did learn stuff like speed reading and…
Read MoreAutistic Typer’s Poetry Reviewed by Bestselling Author Don Mann
John Smyth is a nonverbal autistic who, until recently, had no ability to communicate with anyone – parents, doctors, educators, siblings. As with many similarly afflicted individuals, John, a highly intelligent young man, was diagnosed as having a 3 year old’s mind and warehoused by his local school system in “life-skills” training until he was…
Read MoreThe Ember, a poem by John Smyth
The Ember by John Smyth When all I could lamely autistically do was open my mouth and make sounds that made no sense and behave in ways that were inconsistent with what a normal person would think or do, my autism looked as if it was what defined me and was all I might ever…
Read More