New film ‘Spellers’ shows miracles, letter by letter

6 mins read

FRANKLIN COUNTY – It could be described as the beginning of a modern-day revolution. An army of families, friends, and professionals who support nonspeaking, minimally speaking and unreliably speaking individuals with autism or other neurodiverse diagnoses, all volunteered to host private screenings of the documentary film, Spellers, in their local communities. New England Spellers is hosting an on-demand online screening of the documentary for viewing in the comfort of your own home. This private screening is available here from April 21 through May 21, 2023.

The film provocatively asks the question of those in the audience, “What if we’ve been wrong about every single one of them?” What if we have grossly underestimated each nonspeaking autistic’s cognitive abilities; and worse, what if we continue to miss out on the contributions of these beautiful minds–millions of them? Spellers not only asks this of the viewers, the film provides undeniable proof that the world is now moving towards the answer through the work being done by trailblazing spellers who are able to communicate their thoughts for the first time in their lives.

Spellers is inspired by the book Underestimated, co-written by nonspeaker Jamison “Jamie” Handley, 20, and his father J.B. Handley. Having spent the first 17 years of his life unable to communicate, Jamie then began the process of learning to spell to communicate using a stencil letterboard poking one letter at a time with a pencil. Within months he became fluent. Today, he is an autonomous typer using a keyboard and computer, a published author, film producer and chairman of a nonprofit board. As he explains about himself and his peers, “we think, feel, and learn just like everyone else.” Currently, there may be over 50 million people worldwide who are underestimated and imprisoned in this world of silence, as was Jamie.

Longtime autism supporter Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg and her husband Donnie Wahlberg teamed up with Spellers Freedom Foundation as Executive Producers. “Donnie and I are so incredibly proud to be Executive Producers on such a groundbreaking, awe inspiring, and tear-jerking documentary,” she said.

Producer credit in Spellers includes the leader of this nonspeaker uprising, Dawnmarie Gaivin, RN, BSN, AT-ACP. A charismatic force in the movement, she co-created the Spellers Method™, founded her own clinic in San Diego, and is coaching her own two sons with spelled communication. Her boys, Evan and Trey, appear in the film along with Dawnmarie. “The frustration and humiliation these nonspeakers have felt only pales in comparison to their desperation for the world to know how intelligent they truly are,” she said. ”If only more could unlock their bodies from the prison known as apraxia. Thankfully, for thousands, that day of freedom has come.”

According to Dawnmarie, in spelled communication methods, the first step is reducing the demand on an apraxic person’s motor system and using low tech stencils to spell out words. Apraxia is defined as inability to perform particular purposive actions. This is a common challenge with those affected by autism. Through a carefully constructed hierarchy of increasingly complex motor and cognitive demands, new neural pathways are formed. Through daily practice and the gift of neuroplasticity, these pathways ultimately connect the person’s trapped expressive language to their brain’s motor strip so they can begin spelling out their intended thoughts. This process takes time, but far less time than years of related therapies that never coach the body or the intentional motor system of the nonspeaker. Through a choreography of intentional motor, ocular motor, and spelling on low tech augmentative and alternative communication devices, nonspeakers everywhere are being released from lifetime sentences of silence and isolation.

There are eight nonspeaking “spellers” featured in the documentary—Aydan, Evan, Sid, Maddie, Jamie, Vince, Cade, and Elizabeth—who all found their voice through the miraculous process of using a letterboard to communicate their thoughts and feelings. They have inspired thousands already and may now be the sparks that ignite an international spellers revolution. https://spellersthemovie.com/cast

About Spellers Freedom Foundation
Spellers Freedom Foundation is a 501c3 charitable foundation whose mission is to provide every nonspeaker with access to communication via scholarships, school trainings, community building, and advocacy. The organization was created by a family with a fluent speller who was compelled to get the word out to the world. www.spellersfreedomfoundation.org

The host of this Private On-Demand Event is Rebekah Carmichael-Austin, who is training to become a practitioner in the State of Maine to assist nonspeakers and their families become open communicators through the use of letter boards. She can be reached at NewEnglandSpellers@gmail.com

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