Spelling utilizing a letterboard or keyboard is a form of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). Practitioners who are trained to teach this method will coach students with apraxia to learn the intentional motor skills needed to accurately select letters. Once accuracy and a sustainable rhythm are achieved, the student learns to spell out words, answers to questions, followed by more open answers and thoughts.

Through the careful use of a prompts and prompt fading techniques, students progress through increasingly more difficult motor skills, working towards the goal of typing independently on a keyboard and accessing voice output technology. In the Spellers Method, we pay particular attention to and make adaptations for an individual’s unique motor profile including their ocular motor strengths/challenges and their intentional gross motor skills.

The target beneficiaries of the Spellers Method are those with autism, apraxia, Down Syndrome, and other disabilities or sensory and motor difficulties.

The Spellers Method incorporates research and expertise from the fields of assistive technology, developmental optometry, and occupational therapy to guide each student’s unique path to fluency, from their very first spelling session through their self-determined ultimate goal. For some that means open communication on a stencil, for others it means pursuit of autonomous typing skills i.e., the goal of spelling without a trained communication partner holding their keyboard.

In the case of Spellers Method your child will benefit if (s)he is a:

• Nonspeaker

• Minimal Speaker

• Unreliable Speaker (someone who scripts, is echolalic, can speak but cannot answer questions reliably or cannot have a conversation)

Essentially, if speech is not an effective method of communication for your child then using some form of spelling or typing, guided by a trained practitioner, will likely help.

Generally speaking, a student as young as 4 or 5 years old is often ready to begin this process. Contact me to discuss your child’s unique profile to help decide if it’s the right time! Also, it is never too LATE to start spelling.

Apraxia/Dyspraxia is a motor planning disorder often associated with autism. It is so prevalent, in fact, a 2015 study shows nearly 2/3rds of persons with autism also have apraxia. This disorder is characterized by difficulty initiating and completing motor tasks especially on demand. Speech is one such motoric function, explaining why autistics are often nonspeaking (40%) or unable to produce reliable speech. Spelling on a letterboard helps students with apraxia learn the purposeful motor skills needed to spell reliably and, through practice and coaching, coordinate their brains with their bodies so they can communicate their deepest thoughts and ideas.