You can hear the people around you. You can understand what they are saying. You may have thoughts, feelings, questions, and things you desperately want to communicate—but you have no reliable way to express them.
You can’t respond when someone speaks to you. You can’t tell your family how you’re feeling. You can’t tell them what you need or what you want them to know.
For 27 years, this was Josh Hood’s reality.
Josh was born autistic and was nonspeaking from birth. His parents struggled to find ways to communicate with him. At school, he was often sidelined and underestimated. For years, one of his primary ways of communicating was by pointing to letters on a laminated sheet of paper.
Then came the iPad.
With the help of specialized communication apps, Josh’s world began to open up. Technology gave him a new way to communicate—and, for the first time, a way to express his thoughts and feelings through words.
Josh’s story was featured on 60 Minutes in 2012. While the technology and some of the apps highlighted in the story may seem dated today, the story itself remains remarkably powerful.
It offers a rare glimpse into the experiences of someone who spent much of his life unable to communicate in the way the people around him expected. It also shows how easily communication barriers can become social barriers—isolating people from their families, schools, and communities.
Most importantly, Josh’s story demonstrates what can happen when we stop assuming that someone has nothing to say simply because they don’t have a conventional way to say it.
Technology didn’t give Josh thoughts, feelings, or a personality. Those were there all along.
It gave him a way to let the rest of the world hear them.
And for Josh, that changed everything.
Do you know someone struggling with a communication issue like Autism. Speak Easy Rehabilitation can help. Please give us a call at 919.346.3350 or visit speakeasyrehab.com to schedule a consultation today.
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