We flew Madison Martin, full-time Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) practitioner in from Calgary to Kamloops from September 10–12, 2023. We’d had a 30 minute zoom consult earlier and had an instant connection. Connection is important to me as this new world of Spelling 2 Communicate is very expensive. Whenever I’d do an online session with a variety of practitioners from across the U.S., it was, in essence, an interview. I would rely on my strong feelings of good or bad after each meeting. With Madison, a Canadian (woot woot!), it was SO positive. She is confident, kind, and enthusiastic. And she is just one province away in Alberta. I desperately wanted someone to do the letterboards with Luke in person as he and I had been working with the program for 2+ years already. We invited her into our home at 4pm on Sept. 10 and it didn’t take long for Luke to connect with her, too. Soon he was fully “open” (a term used to describe the ability of the non-speaking autistic to speak his thoughts fluently via the letterboard) with her—full sentences in response to her lesson questions. Jaws literally dropped as we watched our son express his personal thoughts in the comfort and safety of his own home (and in his favourite, comfy chair!). We spent another 6 hours “talking” with Luke for the first time in 19 years. Among the highlights was discovering that Luke wanted to be an author, and has a novel in his head complete with a main character, a non-speaking detective named Charlie. Luke also admitted to being a “HIPPIE”, “LIGHT HEARTED” and “MAX CHILL”. I asked what he wanted for Christmas… a “TIE DYE DUVET”—first time I knew what gift he wanted after 19 years of guessing. Mind blowing! Luke also “spoke” to Joel for the first time… “HEY JOEL, HOW’S IT GOING?” “I WISH I COULD BE BETTER AS A BROTHER.” “I COULDN’T HAVE A BETTER BROTHER.” Tears on all faces. At one point during those life altering days, Luke spelled… “THANKS FOR SUPPORTING ME ALL THESE YEARS.” Me: “I couldn’t get you out!” “I COULDN’T GET OUT, BUT HERE I AM.” And now, my beautiful Luke, here we go…
And for me, I remember waking up super early, at 5am, on the morning of Sept. 12. I lay there, awestruck, yet emotional. I started to cry. And cry. Something finally worked. All those years of trying… all those therapies… all that money… all those appointments… all those spring breaks and summers doing therapy……… something finally worked. I was able to release my trapped son. I felt grateful, overwhelmed, angry, and in awe all at once. I couldn’t sleep, so I went to my computer and spilled out my thoughts... (a separate blog entry entitled The Awakening).