If you are going to be in the Southern California area this Saturday, I will be giving a speech at Walk Now for Autism Speaks http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=442586 around ten in the morning. I will go up with the Miracle Project Fly singers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta_0WKhV-7w and they will sing and I will share my ideas.
I am so honored to be included. It is a huge event. So many autism professionals, families, and people. I want the point of view of non-verbal people heard loudly. From the mountain tops and over the oceans I want people to know that not speaking is not the same as not thinking; that poor fine motor is not the same as not thinking; that impulsive actions are different than not understanding right from wrong; that poor facial affect is not the same as having no feelings; that boring people to death is denying them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
In my silent years I thought about what I would say to an audience like this if I had the chance. I dreamed of Moses in my mind saying, “Let my people go!” You all know I am a thinker on Moses as I have shown in several essays. It was a thought I had in my internal prison imagining I could be freed by someone. I dreamed of talking, of course.
But I am not free because I talk. I don’t talk. I am free because I can express my ideas in pointing to letters, in typing, in my blog and in my speeches.
I am not lonely now.
