<![CDATA[MOUTH TO HAND LEARNING CENTER

<![CDATA[MOUTH TO HAND LEARNING CENTER - Musings]]>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 23:26:18 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[Overcoming Fears]]>Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:35:19 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/musings/overcoming-fearsHappy to say I have certainly improved in terms of my anxiety. I am not sure why. I want to push myself to do things I couldn’t in the past. For example, I am going to do a panel. I am nervous of public speaking, but I want to try. Also, I believe I can finally go to Yankee Stadium with Alex, which is one of my dreams.

Being anxious is an awful feeling. Hallmark Moment: Alex has had a huge effect on me. He really calms everyone down here. He’s like an almost-opiate at Mouth to Hand. His way of making everyone feel happy is almost magical.

I am going to conquer many fears this year. Watch this space for more updates.

]]><![CDATA[Powerless]]>Mon, 27 Oct 2025 19:23:27 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/musings/powerlessIt has to be brutal to those of us who have been pulled away from Mouth to Hand. We are certainly kind of like a big family here. To pull a nonspeaker out is to rip them away from a place they love and are loved.

Having this disability is a nightmare on so many levels, but one of the worst parts is that we are powerless. We are at the mercy of others in every way. We cannot choose to go where we want, be what we want, or even eat or wear what we want. And that helplessness is soul destroying.

Recently Judy created a mission statement for M2H. Its mission is to do its best to give us tools to make choices. I am so thrilled that she recognized that that is critical. That understanding of the hell we live in and trying to make it better is why Judy is our champion. There is nothing we want more than to be given the dignity of choice.

]]><![CDATA[Winning]]>Mon, 16 Jun 2025 19:26:30 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/musings/winningToday is my first creative writing class. It’s just me and Pete so far. Having a friend with me is all kinds of awesome.

In other news, I am beside myself about the Communication Bill of Rights passing in the NY State Assembly. It is a huge step forward. The Senate is out of session until late in the year. I can’t imagine that it won’t pass because it was unanimous in the Assembly. More and more people who are decision makers are seeing and believing.

One day soon, typing for communication will become standard for all nonspeakers. And I am becoming convinced that that day isn’t far off. I believe now that we will win the battle against the naysayers.

]]><![CDATA[The Time is Approaching]]>Mon, 09 Jun 2025 20:57:34 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/musings/the-time-is-approachingI believe that it is happening soon: the tsunami is close to shore. Having part of the spelling world now I can say that I surely believe that the revolution has begun. More and more nonspeakers are coming to places like Mouth to Hand. More and more people who were once skeptics believe in spelling now. There is a change in the winds.

Can you feel it?

All my life I believed I would die with no one ever knowing I was in here. Then Judy came into our lives. I totally was found, because I had been so lost inside here. And now I see more students here all of the time. So many who were lost too are now found and thriving.

People who continue to deny the reality of spelling are so wrong. We are reaching soon, I believe, a critical mass. Soon the deniers will be crushed. Judy always says that the truth can only be hidden for so long. I feel like that point is near, when the truth will explode out and win.

All of us, with all our hearts, are waiting for that moment. I love to imagine that world, where nonspeakers are seen for who we are.

]]><![CDATA[New Technology]]>Tue, 20 May 2025 14:14:14 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/musings/new-technologyLast week Judy met on Zoom with a group of people who are invested in helping us with better communication options. The device they discussed is beyond cool. It is kind of a pair of goggles that can read your brain waves. With it, you can think out a sentence using just your mind. The hope is that we can use it to talk, obviously, but there’s more. Firstly, if you take the CP out of the equation, we could prove that we are intelligent and have language. Secondly, can we message pass if we don’t need to use our motor systems? I am sure I can, but I am not sure I’ll be able to tolerate the goggles. As of today, May 19th, Judy is waiting to hear if the company will send someone here to let us informally try them. If we can, then a formal study will happen. I am incredibly excited to see if I can think to talk by myself.

]]><![CDATA[The NY State Bill]]>Mon, 12 May 2025 19:53:05 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/musings/may-12th-2025All of us here at M2H are beginning to believe that times, they are a’changing. We will really believe that things are finally moving in the right direction when the the New York State legislature passes the “communication bill of rights” without discriminating against us.

If you haven’t been following the story, here’s a summary: a bill that was meant to protect the disabled person’s choice of communication method or device got doctored at the last minute as it was coming out of the disability committee. Language was added which flagrantly discriminated against us:

“Each person with a disability has the right to communicate in their preferred manner and no state agency, school, community residence or service provider shall restrict or deny access to a validated communication method. For the purposes of this section, “validated” shall mean that the communication method used is recognized as an appropriate technique that is accepted by authoritative professional organizations such as the American Speech-Hearing Association (ASHA), an empirical support demonstrating that the method results in independent (not facilitator influenced or cued) communication on the part of the person communicating. The methods described in this section shall specifically exclude scientifically unproven or discredited techniques such as facilitated communication, and all its forms, whereby external person may influence the content of communication by physical, auditory, or visual means including, but not limited to, holding the person’s arm while they type or holding a letterboard while the person points to letters…”

The shit hit the fan in the spelling community. Having ASHA determine validity is insane. The organization is completely biased. So the spelling community went nuts - even those who don’t live in this state. My Dad, who runs the Autism Action Network, and Justin’s dad, Tom Abinanti, who was an assemblyman here for many years, immediately started contacting friends in the state government.

How it will all turn out is to be determined still. I am hopeful that at least the offending language won’t pass. Stay tuned for updates.

]]><![CDATA[That Day]]>Mon, 14 Apr 2025 16:42:19 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/musings/that-day1027986I am so emotional these days. I am not sure what it is, but I think it may be residual emotion from Alex’s bar mitzvah. Being there that day seemed like it must have been for the people in the bible. The story about Moses seeing God on Mount Sinai is what comes to mind. The feeling we all had sitting there, felt to us like being in God’s presence. It was the most beautiful and emotional thing ever. Being there changed all of us, but me - I can’t stop thinking about it.

For the duration of the service I had zero anxiety, which is crazy because it was a new place. (I always have horrendous anxiety when I go to new places.) All of us didn’t need to stim the whole time. The silence was staggering. And the peace we all felt…there is no way to describe it. I am not Jewish but I wish I could go back to that synagogue.

To put it mildly, it was the happiest day of my life. So I can’t stop thinking about it. What was it that we all felt? Was it the synagogue or was it Alex’s presence? I guess I’ll never know. All my life though I will remember that day.

]]><![CDATA[That Day]]>Mon, 14 Apr 2025 16:17:03 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/musings/that-dayI am so emotional these days. I am not sure what it is, but I think it may be residual emotion from Alex’s bar mitzvah. Being there that day seemed like it must have been for the people in the bible. The story about Moses seeing God on Mount Sinai is what comes to mind. The feeling we all had sitting there, felt to us like being in God’s presence. It was the most beautiful and emotional thing ever. Being there changed all of us, but me - I can’t stop thinking about it.

For the duration of the service I had zero anxiety, which is crazy because it was a new place. (I always have horrendous anxiety when I go to new places.) All of us didn’t need to stim the whole time. The silence was staggering. And the peace we all felt…there is no way to describe it. I am not Jewish but I wish I could go back to that synagogue.

To put it mildly, it was the happiest day of my life. So I can’t stop thinking about it. What was it that we all felt? Was it the synagogue or was it Alex’s presence? I guess I’ll never know. All my life though I will remember that day.

]]><![CDATA[My Party]]>Mon, 31 Mar 2025 17:24:02 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/musings/my-partyAll my life, before spelling, I always dreamed of being invited to friends’ parties. In my mind I’d picture the invitations arriving in the mail, me opening them, and the day I’d go. I’d also have my own birthday parties. Happily, these dreams have come true. Alex’s bar mitzvah was one of the best days of my life, and this past weekend, I went to Kyle’s awesome thirtieth birthday party. Considering that I was never invited anywhere, there is no way to express how much this means to me.

I am kind of emotional writing about it, honestly. It has made me into a new person, getting invited. Now I am Luke who does get asked to go, and that makes me feel normal: normal people get asked to go to parties. Normal people that are asked to go to parties, in turn, invite their friends. So I have asked my parents to let me have a party of my own.

I want the experience of handing out the invitations, and planning all the food and stuff. I want to ask all my friends, and be there to welcome them. I believe that will be one of the best days of my life. I am going to have it on the beach. And I kind of want it to be a teacher’s appreciation party.

I already can’t wait.

]]><![CDATA[In a Mood]]>Mon, 03 Mar 2025 17:26:18 GMThttps://www.mouthtohandlearning.com/musings/in-a-moodCalling the rest of the world stupid is totally too harsh, but I’m in a mood, so I will. All our lives we are faced with being called cognitively impaired. I am so over it. And we as a group probably have IQs markedly higher than normal. But the nature of our disability is that we look weird to outsiders. And our inability to talk means that we are unable to set the record straight. So now we show the world that we are highly intelligent and can talk by spelling and the world’s response is that it’s basically nonsense.

It is infuriating.

It allows them, for intents and purposes, to continue to psychologically abuse us. Can we really fight this? Can we fight the petty bureaucrats in government, who are probably on the take, getting bribed by organizations like ASHA. I wish I believed we could. Having to be completely honest, I have to say no.

As I said, I’m in a mood today.

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