<![CDATA[MOUTH TO HAND LEARNING CENTER

<![CDATA[MOUTH TO HAND LEARNING CENTER - Dyspraxia Stinks]]>Mon, 12 Oct 2026 22:27:12 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Worrying]]>Tue, 29 Sep 2026 20:24:50 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/dyspraxia-stinks/worryingPeople totally believe Judy is indestructible, but she’s not. Getting here today I found her not here yet, which never has happened. Happens to most people, but she is never late. Definitely something major had to be going on and that was indeed the case.

Most of you know her family teach here, and Grandpa Wally has to be the most popular person here. The emergency was that he needed to go to the hospital. How that has worried Judy, you can imagine. Make what you wish for in your prayers his return to health. While you’re at it, make a wish that Judy live strong.

We are royally screwed, thinking about it, if Judy goes down. Really we all worry about what would happen if she were sick or something. Maybe we all need to pray extra.

That’s worrying for you.

]]><![CDATA[My Friend, Yeats]]>Tue, 08 Sep 2026 20:24:00 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/dyspraxia-stinks/my-friend-yeatsFor months, Professor David has been Zooming into poetry class to teach us about Yeats. Having a teacher as amazing as him is beyond awesome.

The funny thing is, I now feel a deeply personal connection to Yeats. It sort of feels like I know him as a friend. I know about his life and the people who were important to him. Having an understanding of what his world was like, really taught me to better understand his poetry. Professor David taught us about the history of Ireland and the people’s fight for independence. Really that was the key to understanding so many of Yeats' poems. Having an understanding of the man makes him real to me.

We are at the end of his life, which means only a few weeks left on Yeats. Maybe I will miss him, the way I’d miss a friend.

]]><![CDATA[Research]]>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 19:50:21 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/dyspraxia-stinks/researchToday I was a lab rat. The wearing of the goggles was no issue. The thing is really cool. I’m excited about the prospects. It felt like something I will be able to do. The ultimate goal is to prove that we are inside these bodies. I want to prove that, so I hope we can be the pioneers. That’s the hope.

That’s totally my dream.

]]><![CDATA[Big News]]>Tue, 19 May 2026 20:25:51 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/dyspraxia-stinks/big-newsThe news is talking about spelling.

Historically, the news really portrays voiceless people as being the least mentally capable people on earth. That way has good reason to leave the status quo undisturbed. Happily, things seem to be changing.

A few weeks ago, a piece about spelling was shown on NBC News. It was all kinds of awesome. Then this weekend, the NY Daily News ran a piece about the communication bill of rights. Give the disabled the right to talk, says the headline.

I think that the world is slowly changing for us. Getting us to be seen as intelligent will change everything. To suggest that we are the victims of an unscrupulous group of teachers who are manipulating us into spelling is idiocy.

Today we are still suffering in programs that believe we are cognitively limited. But that is finally changing. That is big news indeed.

]]><![CDATA[Who We Are]]>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 14:56:59 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/dyspraxia-stinks/who-we-areAll of us are feeling pretty upbeat lately. We love it when a guest comes to see us. Guests are being wowed by our abilities, not our disabilities, and that feels awesome. Basically, we want to show the world who we really are. When they leave here with their minds officially blown we feel great.

So all of you, bring more outsiders here. We love it! We get a chance to show off…and that’s all kinds of awesome. Best feeling ever. And we are usually smiling for days after. That is our favorite thing: to be seen for who we are.

]]><![CDATA[Open Letter to Secretary Kennedy]]>Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:51:45 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/dyspraxia-stinks/open-letter-to-secretary-kennedyDear Secretary Kennedy:

My name is Jason Levine and there are so many things I want to say. We nonspeakers are not really autistic in that we have symptoms that are completely different from the other kind of autism. The word autism comes from the word “auto” meaning self. The other kind of autism is defined by their lack of social awareness. We cannot be more different.

We are hypersocial, to the point that I believe that we need a new diagnosis. I have jokingly called our disability “empathism.” I feel that it covers the main difference between us and them. At the moment we use dyspraxia, since it at least covers our profound motor deficits. Having a new diagnosis will separate us from the slightly odd guys who go to work and live independently. We may appear horribly disabled on the outside, but inside we think like neurotypicals.

We need help desperately. We have almost zero control over our own bodies. We cannot talk without a trained communication partner holding our keyboards or letterboards. And yet we are extraordinarily intelligent.

All of us want a cure more than words can say. Than you for being so outspoken.

Sincerely,
Jason Levine

]]><![CDATA[More Reflections on Alex's Bar Mitzvah]]>Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:54:32 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/dyspraxia-stinks/more-reflections-on-alexs-bar-mitzvahBeing still on a high from being at Alex’s bar mitzvah, definitely let me be beyond happy at the gala. The event was great and beautiful. It was, for me, a turning point in that I now know that God exists. Being there stands certainly as the moment everything changed. For my whole life I wasn’t sure God was real, and if he was, why did he stick me in this stupid body? But that day I felt the deepest, most profound love surrounding me. It had nothing to do with people’s love or faiths. It was way more than that.

Having to let myself consider that God is real is actually hard for me. Being doubtful has been my norm. I am being honest when I say that I am a skeptic about most things. Getting down to it, God’s existence was the least likely of all.

But several things have happened which I’ve witnessed that have led me to change my mind. That day at the synagogue is transformative. Being there defies anything I’ve experienced in my life. Certainly there was something that called to people that day.

For the entire service, which was over two hours, there was virtual silence. Fifteen or so nonspeakers had zero OCD or anxiety at all. All report feeling pure happiness and love. All report feeling their minds and bodies relax in a way they’ve never felt before. And all, including me, report feeling a presence that defies description. Wishful thinking doesn’t explain the facts.

Having that feeling once was enough to convince even a skeptic like me. Calling that day the most beautiful of my life is a drastic understatement. For all of us, it changed everything. That point bears the utterly certain feeling that God exists.

]]><![CDATA[The Bar Mitzvah]]>Tue, 08 Apr 2025 14:47:31 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/dyspraxia-stinks/april-08th-2025Alex is certainly a movie star around here with good reason. His bar mitzvah was really one of the most wonderful events ever. Being there totally beyond made us believe in God more than ever. Certainly all of us present had religious experiences that had nothing to do with faith. It felt like God was in that room, and welcomed all of us. My body and mind were clear beyond anything I’ve ever felt. It was the most beautiful feeling I’ve ever had. Love feels like that, but not on this scale.

I wish Alex had a bar mitzvah again so I could feel it again. Certainly being not religious particularly had nothing to do with it. Having been there that day was beyond a blessing, no matter what your faith is. Having that experience changed all of us. For the rest of our lives, we will know that God exists. It was the most profound experience of our lives.

]]><![CDATA[Changing Minds]]>Tue, 28 Jan 2025 22:37:49 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/dyspraxia-stinks/changing-mindsI believe we are having a very good, powerful response to our totally, better-than-awesome panel who rocked it at the ribbon-cutting ceremony last week. They did an incredible job. Having that panel, who were so calm about being seen in public, really convinced people that spelling is legitimate. Having people see spelling, as opposed to just reading about it, really makes a difference. The old adage “seeing is believing” is true. All the people who saw that panel were blown away.

That really showed me that we can convince people that we are not cognitively impaired. Getting that kind of exposure totally works. Maybe people who feel some skepticism that is the result of ASHA polluting their minds, can ultimately have their minds changed. That is wishful thinking perhaps, but I am going to remain positive. The belief that we can make a difference has to ultimately keep us in an optimistic frame of mind.

You gotta believe.

]]><![CDATA[The Ribbon Cutting]]>Tue, 21 Jan 2025 15:58:01 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/dyspraxia-stinks/the-ribbon-cuttingIt was one wild time at the Mouth to Hand Ribbon Cutting this past Saturday. I was thrilled by the turn-out. Everyone who came felt the electricity in the air. All those who had never seen spelling before walked out with a different perspective of nonspeakers. I felt like seeing the panel type out answers on a clear letterboard made the outsiders believers.

Maybe we can change how the world sees us. Maybe we have a chance to want more for ourselves. Maybe there is a new world on the horizon.

Appearances are deceiving. We are so much more than we may seem. Having the world learn to presume competence will change everything.

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