For 26 years we believed our autistic son, Zach, was cognitively impaired.  Almost everything about his interactions supported this belief.  His words were echolalic at best, he repeated the same phrases over and over, things like commercials that were around in the 1980's or phrases from childrens videos. He had aged out of special education, and our only real option for him was day programming. I had truly given up hope for anything more for Zach.
     On September 1, 2022, at the encouragement of friends whose son was learning spelling as a means of communication, Zach began learning Spelling to Communicate (S2C).  
     His life, our lives, and if I have anything to say about it, the lives of anyone who comes into contact with us, will never be the same.  
      It isn't enough to say, " Oh, that's nice, your kid can think and reason and share just like everybody else."  It is so much more than that.  It is like the part of our son that makes him who is he IS, is suddenly accessible to us after years of being completely hidden from us.  I know a lot of neurotypical parents won't understand the intensity of what I am saying.  But if you are an autism parent, and you know the feeling of being completely overwhelmed by the confounding and frustrating day to day struggle of trying to make sense of what your child is thinking, THERE IS HOPE!  
     I cannot even describe in words what a huge blessing S2C has been to Zach and to us.  Thank you for watching.
      

Maria Mutnansky

SPELLERS

Pat Notaro

Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg

Donnie Wahlberg

Dawnmarie Gaivin

Dana Johnson

Gail Tanner

Aydan Boden

Jamie Handley

Cade Larson

Vince Rinicella

Madison Hollman

Evan Tastor

Elizabeth Bonker

Sid Sarathy

Inspired by the book Underestimated, the new full-length documentary SPELLERS challenges conventional wisdom regarding a group relegated to society’s margins: nonspeakers with autism, who most “experts” believe are cognitively disabled. As the film opening asks, “What if we’ve been wrong…about every single one of them?” SPELLERS answers that question, in convincing fashion, through the stories of eight nonspeakers—Aydan, Evan, Sid, Maddie, Jamie, Vince, Cade, and Elizabeth—who all found their voice through the miraculous process of using a letterboard to communicate their thoughts and feelings. As Jamie explains, “we think, feel, and learn just like everyone else.”

Documentary