Catching up with Logan

05/24/2026

This morning during adult Sunday school, a young couple presented about their program doing ministry to college students across the globe. Below is what Logan typed while they were presenting. After the presentation, Brock showed the presenters what Logan had typed and Logan walked up to share his beloved Lightning McQueen and Sarge that go everywhere with him in his pockets. Might not seem like a big deal - but Logan initiating joint attention to share in a social moment is a pretty big deal. On top of what he typed. Logan obviously respected these people and the ministry they shared. One thing we’ve learned about Logan through spelling - he’s incredibly spiritual with a whole lot of faith. And I find it interesting that many spellers like Logan share similarities in their deep faith. Logan is who has brought our attendance at church to more consistency - because he wants to be there.

Simultaneously - as voices of spellers and their allies become louder, their naysayers are also coming out of the woodwork. It makes me wonder - how could one question the authenticity of what we’ve experienced? Only those who’ve never been touched by it. And how can someone be so committed to trampling on something that is verifiably changing lives when they’ve never actually seen it in any direction? It’s just baffling to me. The only explanation I have is the devil’s work.

Before spelling, Logan had absolutely zero services. And before he had zero, he had almost none that made a difference. And I will never forgive being dismissed from speech therapy at ripe age of 9 for “failure to progress” - but those same types of therapists that took a resource away and told us he wouldn’t speak will then criticize us for seeking a method that does work. He was given up on at 9. At the same time he “aged out” of other therapies. When I asked what now, a shrug of the shoulder was pretty much all I got. I was essentially told to give up on him at age 9. And now those same types don’t believe in what we’re doing now. Even with the leaps and bounds of progress made in the past year. Just baffling.

05/19/2026

HAVING CHOIR THIS YEAR HAS REALLY MADE LIKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN HOW MUCH PEOPLE RESPECT ME. I AM SO HAPPY ABOUT IT. I REALLY CAN’T BELIEVE I SANG IN FOUR CONCERTS. I AM SO THANKFUL THAT MS. WOODS BELIEVED IN ME.

Side note from mom for the naysayers: I can promise that I didn’t influence the addition of the “like” in the first sentence 🤣. Logan often types and adds teenage slang and it makes me smile. But our experience in choir makes me smile more 🥺.

05/15/2026

Never enough. It’ll never be enough. What a message for our last choir concert of the year. Fame, success - it’s all never enough without human connection.

We can’t be thankful enough for the human connection created this year. This may very well be Logan’s last choir concert - time will tell - but it’s most certainly unlocked his love of music and proved he can do it. Music will always be a part of his life because of what we’ve learned this year. And for that - we’ll always be grateful.

05/14/2026

This is our Thursday morning zoom set up with our spelling practitioner. Logan can tell me anything but still working on that rapport with dad. And dad is still working on his own confidence and regulation to make it happen.

Many of the naysayers seem to believe we just stick a board in front of them and they start spelling whatever we want them to (with our influence of course 🙄). But that’s not how it goes. Most spellers and their regulation partners work hours upon hours together to stay regulated and learn the required intentional motor.

Spelling requires a lot of dedication and work for not only the speller, but the people working with the speller. The dedication is well worth the payoff 💪

05/09/2026

All of this ❤️

They told us they couldn't speak. They never said they didn't have anything to say.Welcome back to Autism Beyond Expectations. In this special 50-minute pres...

05/07/2026

This is another very good rebuttal to the attacks on spelling in the last week.

Families of nonspeaking autistic people are pushing back at The New York Times after the newspaper last week published an op-ed claiming that spelling — a method through which nonspeakers communicate using a letter board — is “debunked” and unsupported by scientific evidence.

05/07/2026

It’s been a long week for the Spelling community. There’s been a lot of criticism and attacks on the validity of our method to communicate. This is a fantastic segment by NBC that clearly shows Abby spelling with intention and without influence. Bravo!

Families of people with motor disabilities that make it difficult to speak out loud are fighting to protect a form of communication using letterboards and keyboard. But opponents say some of the methods aren't backed by science, and could lead to harm. NBC News' Vicky Nguyen reports.

04/25/2026

I FIND PIANO TO BE LIKE TRYING TO FIND THE MOTHER LAND OF READING INTO MY BRAIN.

That’s what Logan typed last night before heading to a make-up piano lesson that was out of schedule. But - it turned into one of our most productive lessons ever.

We had an IEP for Logan this past week and our most amazing Occupational Therapist mentioned she had found a typing program for Logan using all ten fingers that he really loved. The screen for the program shows the hand positioning for each letter and gives him a motor model. She was motivated to work on that from his piano videos! And he’s loving it and has typed up to 30 words per minute which is a big deal for his motor!

So we had that discussion with his piano instructor who then decided to download Simply Piano to similarly give Logan that motor model. And lightbulb! 💡

He was productive for his entire lesson last night with minimal distraction and really had success with using all five fingers and he loved the challenges included in the app with the extra motivation to succeed with perfect key strokes! But the success that can happen when everyone collaborates - the possibilities are endless!

04/20/2026

TLDR: email the people in the graphics today and tell them you support people like Logan! And tell us in the comments when you’ve done it!

Friends in Missouri who are advocates for people like Logan - we need your help TODAY! Or maybe you don’t live in Missouri but live in a state where parental consent is required for IEP changes and can tell your story of how that is beneficial. Our friends at Missouri Disability Empowerment Foundation have worked very hard to get Parental Consent required in Missouri and some people in government are causing it to stall. They think not enough people care. And the lobby for Special Education Administrators has told them this is bad.

I’ve told the story many times - when Logan went to kindergarten there were people at the table telling me the things he couldn’t do. Such as go to specials and sing. But I was powerless. My only recourse at that time was to file Due Process. And I was an overwhelmed first time parent of a child with disability who had no idea. Now at almost 17 when our public school career is nearing an end he’s begging for more difficult school work. Telling us how awful earlier ages were because no one believed in him. I always believed but my only recourse was a legal filing that would cost me tens of thousands of dollars with little hope for change. Parental Consent gives parents an equal seat at the IEP table.

Leave a comment below after you’ve called or emailed!