<![CDATA[MOUTH TO HAND LEARNING CENTER - Amazingly Interesting]]>

<![CDATA[MOUTH TO HAND LEARNING CENTER - Amazingly Interesting]]>Fri, 08 May 2026 02:28:58 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Dreams Coming True]]>Mon, 04 May 2026 19:24:25 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/amazingly-interesting/dreams-coming-trueOn Friday, I finally had my birthday present. I went to Carnegie Hall to see Yuja Wang play. In case you’re a Philistine, and don’t know who she is: Yuja is the hottest pianist ever and my girlfriend. She may be unaware of the latter fact, but she sure as shit isn’t unaware of the former. She was dressed in the slinkiest clothes ever, and actually changed at intermission. It was a feast for the ears and eyes.

She is smokin’.

She played Prokofiev’s Concerto #2, and Chopin. It actually was breathtaking to watch her play. So all in all, that was the greatest birthday present ever.

Now that I’ve done that, I’m moving on to my next goal: I’m going to the Met with Alex. I am thinking anything by Puccini.

]]><![CDATA[Podcast: Amplifying Nonspeaking Voices]]>Mon, 04 May 2026 15:32:45 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/amazingly-interesting/podcast-amplifying-nonspeaking-voicesMy name is Anthony Piccolino, and I am 22 years old. I began spelling when I was about 18 and still in school. I am going to tell you a story that illustrates one of the reasons why spelling is so critically important.

I was abused by neurotypical students, who were taking photos of me and other disabled students peeing in the bathroom. They were posting the photos online. I couldn’t tell anyone, of course…and they were only doing it to those of us who couldn’t talk. It was unbelievably traumatizing to me and to my family.

Now I can talk. Now I can tell people if something is wrong.

And more than that: spelling has opened up my world in ways I couldn’t even have imagined. I am learning and having fun. I have friends. I’ve gotten to do things I love because I am able to tell my Mom what I’m interested in. Because I am interested in ancient Greece, we went there, and I got to see the Parthanon. Because I am in love with the super hot pianist, Yuja Wang, my Mom is taking me to see her.

So what do I say to those who would deny me this method of communication? My life was hell before I could talk. I was reduced to having photos of my private parts put up on Facebook. Now I wake up every day smiling, excited to see what the day will bring. My life won’t be wasted with me whiling away the years in daycare, waiting to die.

All of us want to contribute to this world; all of us want our lives to have some meaning. Now we can.

]]><![CDATA[Gala Excitement is Building]]>Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:44:01 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/amazingly-interesting/gala-excitement-is-buildingThe M2H gala is still 2 ½ months away, and I am already excited. It is the best night of the year. For those of you who have never been, you are in for a treat.

The most wonderful part is Judy’s presentation of us. It always makes me emotional in so many ways: I feel the most wonderful combination of pride and happiness. The pride is twofold: I feel proud to be an M2Her, and proud of everything I have accomplished over the course of the year. To be celebrated for who we really are, not for who we never were, is glorious.

]]><![CDATA[The Times, They Are a’Changin’]]>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 21:03:50 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/amazingly-interesting/the-times-they-are-achanginI have been thinking about how the world is changing. I have been spelling for only about three years, but in that time, I have seen improvements. When I started at M2H, there were probably about thirty of us. Now there are a hundred. That means that not only are people hearing about this, they believe it is real. What is remarkable about that is that this is in spite of ASHA’s continued protests.

That is heartening.

I sat there watching my best friend, Alex, on stage at the sold-out CHD Conference, and thought, “Wow! That is another thousand people who now believe in spelling.” (Judy just told me that another thousand people watched online.)

It won’t be long before the Communication Bill of Rights is passed in New York, I hope. That would mean that we could demand to use our letterboards and keyboards in schools and other government-run institutions. The thing is, that would mean that the children in schools might not need to suffer the way we older guys did.

So yeah, the world is slowly changing. I wonder what the next three years will bring?

]]><![CDATA[The Downside of Empathy]]>Tue, 28 Oct 2025 20:21:59 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/amazingly-interesting/the-downside-of-empathy
It is fact that we feel everything at a higher level than speakers. We have more sensitive hearing, more sensory differences, and more heightened empathy. So when one of us is ok, we are all not ok.

Recently one of my good friends had to take a break from Mouth to Hand. He was having issues similar to mine. When Alex and I were unable to come here, everyone suffered. That is also the case with my friend: until he is ok, I can’t feel really happy. The thing is, I know in my heart that he’ll be ok eventually, and he’ll be back. So I try to comfort myself with that knowledge.

What really makes us upset is when people we love leave. We utterly love our friends.

]]><![CDATA[The Conference Next Month]]>Fri, 03 Oct 2025 21:04:37 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/amazingly-interesting/the-conference-next-monthThe really most amazing thing is happening next month. My best friend, Alex, is going to be on a panel of nonspeakers at the Children’s Health Defense conference in Austin, Texas. Attending this conference are important people, like Senator Rand Paul. We here at M2H are beyond thrilled. One of our own is being totally showcased! And to have all those important people see nonspeakers typing LIVE is the greatest thing ever.

We need help in so many ways. We suffer on the education front. We suffer on the medical front. We suffer on the spiritual front. Many of us feel that we have been ignored by the world that seems to care more about not hurting the feelings of the speakers with an autism diagnosis than helping us. We have voices now too…and to see us represented at this conference is beyond words wonderful.

The time has come to make changes to the established paradigm. We are not cognitively impaired. We are not socially impaired. We have bodies that have minds of their own. We can do so much with the right supports. And we are fed up with the way things are.

]]><![CDATA[An Update: 9/23/25]]>Tue, 23 Sep 2025 21:26:49 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/amazingly-interesting/an-update-92325Today, an update: I am taking the same medicine that Alex is on, and for the first time, I can tell it’s working. The OCD is still raging, but the anger is slowly improving. Unfortunately, because of these liver tests, which have been elevated, I can’t go up faster. But even so, I can tell that I am getting less and less angry.

The relief is profound. The scariest thing on earth is to know that at any moment you might snap and hurt someone. It’s really terrifying. And like I’ve said before, the guilt is overwhelming.

I am so grateful that my Mom listened to me. She took me to the best psychiatrist and got me help. I am getting better and Alex is better, and that means that soon we can move into our bro house. It will be party central.

]]><![CDATA[Let’s Talk Medicine]]>Tue, 09 Sep 2025 21:42:11 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/amazingly-interesting/lets-talk-medicineMedicines can be so frustrating. We go through so many and it always takes so long to see if the darn thing even works. Meanwhile we are suffering. We are causing suffering for the people that love us. I feel bad for those who are suffering and can’t tell anyone. I hope those people have parents that will get them the help they need. There is no shame in asking for help. Please don't give up on us. We sometimes need that extra help to even get us to baseline.

]]><![CDATA[Advice To Parents]]>Mon, 18 Aug 2025 16:58:39 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/amazingly-interesting/advice-to-parentsHere is the update on my medicine journey.
I am taking fifty milligrams of clozapine twice a day. It is totally helping but the dose is still very low. For the first time in forever, I am feeling hopeful. I can feel the OCD starting to fade a tiny bit, and the anger too. Feeling angry feels awful to me. That is even worse than the OCD because it makes me aggressive. When I punch people, even though I can’t help it, I feel sick inside after the anger goes away. The guilt and shame are so awful there are no words.
I am so relieved that my parents took me to see Dr. Minhas. He is way the best psychiatrist ever.
So advice to parents: to take your child to the psychiatrist is not shameful. It is an act of mercy. We do not want to feel OCD and angry and aggressive. We are suffering, and when we do something aggressive or destructive, we suffer even more because we are ashamed and guilty…even though we can’t help it.
So please take advice from a nonspeaker who is on this journey. Soon my whole life will be better and happier because I won’t be suffering anymore.
]]><![CDATA[My New Life is Starting]]>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 15:36:54 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/amazingly-interesting/my-new-life-is-startingThis post is actually great news. I have recently begun to see a new psychiatrist who has been a god-send to many of us here at M2H. He tried to up my last medicine, but when that didn’t work he changed my medicine to something that has helped many of us here.

Just as Judy predicted, about 2 weeks in I started to improve. It’s very early days, and I am on a low dose, but already I am less OCD and anxious. I was able to go to my classes here last week without blowing up. For the first time in forever I was able to play games with the other guys. And I was able to get out of the house without beating up my Mom. I was able to go out with my Dad even.

So summing up: this doctor and this medicine are changing my life for the better. No one else actually helped me, ever. I am so happy and relieved, because my life was awful. And the aggression toward my family was killing me inside.

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