Progress for Nonspeakers Elizabeth Vosseller Ian Nordling

EPISODE 101
Progress for Nonspeakers:
A 3 Year Follow-up
with Elizabeth Vosseller and Ian Nordling

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Show Notes

One of the least understood, and most marginalized groups of autistic people are those who are non-speaking, or who have minimal or unreliable speech due to neurologically-based motor speech disorders. Nonspeakers’ “voices” are now being heard, and what they have to say is shattering erroneous stereotypes about those for whom speech is not their primary mode of communication. Harmful beliefs about how speech and behavior are accurate reflections of a person’s intelligence and social awareness are being discarded. We initially spoke three years ago with Ian Nordling, a young autistic man who has benefitted from Spelling to Communicate (S2C), and Elizabeth Vosseller, who developed (S2C). In this episode, we get an update on progress for non-speakers.

Featuring

Elizabeth Voseller

ELIZABETH VOSSELLER

Elizabeth Vosseller, the Executive Director of I-ASC and founder of Spelling to Communicate (S2C. Elizabeth has worked with individuals with complex communication and sensory-motor differences since 1995 in hospital, university, and private practice settings. In 2013, she began using Assistive Technology to teach students the purposeful motor skills to Spell to Communicate. After witnessing countless nonspeaking, minimally and unreliably speaking individuals successfully communicating and learning through spelling and typing, Elizabeth founded I-ASC “), a nonprofit organization committed to ensuring ALL nonspeaking individuals have access to communication through training, education, advocacy, and research.

Know more about I-ASC here

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ian-nordling

IAN NORDLING

Ian Nordling has been Spelling to Communicate since 2014. He loves to learn, has a strong work ethic, and is a passionate self-advocate. Ian has taken part in coursework at The University of Virginia and George Washington University. He seizes any opportunity to further his education and continues to feed his hunger for knowledge by taking courses at Growing Kids Therapy Center and online. Ian is a founding member of I&I Guys, a small business and self-advocacy group, where he oversees production and serves as the community liaison. He also worked alongside local law enforcement, first responders, and community officials to provide them with a pamphlet guideline on how to interact with autistics. Ian is passionate about inclusion, acceptance, and access to meaningful communication. He is excited to be a part of I-ASC and the Spellerverse.

…and Continue the Discussion

Do you have a book or podcast club? If so, you may use this discussion guide to facilitate a conversation about this episode.

1) Elizabeth and Ian share the biggest misconceptions/misunderstandings about non-speaking individuals.  What changes have they seen, and specifically, what progress do you feel has been made both within the neurodivergent community, and outside of this community?

2) Ian and other individuals are described as having unreliable speech.  What does this mean and how has our understanding of individuals who have unreliable speech progressed? Do you have a family member, a student, or an acquaintance who has unreliable speech? Has your opinion changed of those patterns given what Ian has to say?

3) Now that Ian can communicate fluently through spelling and other forms of non-speech communication, how does he say his life has changed? Do you know of any other non-speakers, who have had significant changes in quality of life when they have access to a communication system that allows them to express the thoughts, feelings, and knowledge?.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Music

Matt Savage, courtesy of Savage Records

Matt Savage is an autistic jazz musician, composer, and bandleader. Matt has collaborated with jazz greats like Chick Corea, the Ellington All Stars, Chaka Khan, Wynton Marsalis, Bobby Watson, Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, Jason Moran, Arturo O’Farrill, John Pizzarelli, Joshua Redman, Terri Lyne Carrington, Jon Faddis, Jerry Bergonzi. Donny McCaslin, and more. He has recorded more than a dozen records and graciously contributes the music for Uniquely Human.

Production and Sound Design

ELEVATEDSTUDIO

Uniquely Human: The Podcast is produced, engineered, and edited by Elevated Studio in Denver, Colorado. Owned and operated by co-host Dave Finch, Elevated Studio produces digital media assets and content strategies for the electronics, entertainment, and lifestyle industries.