Frequently Asked Questions

A PICC (Partner in Communication and Connection) is a trained support person who helps create the conditions for successful spelling. They provide motor coaching, co-regulation, and the right prompts to help a speller’s body cooperate with their intentions. Think of a PICC as a coach, someone who presumes competence, stays regulated themselves, and helps the speller access their most intentional movements.

Research is now confirming what families and practitioners have known for years: nonspeakers often have rich inner lives and strong language comprehension that their bodies don’t allow them to show through traditional means. Studies on apraxia, motor planning, and alternative communication continue to validate that speaking ability does not reflect thinking ability.

The field is growing, and we are learning more every day about how to best support access to communication.

• Spellers are the authors of their own words. Eye-tracking research has documented that nonspeakers’ gaze leads their pointing, patterns that cannot be explained by cueing. Jaswal, Wayne & Golino (2020). Scientific Reports. Read the study
• Nonspeakers have far more literacy than the field assumed. At least five times more nonspeakers show foundational literacy skills than professional estimates predicted. Jaswal, Lampi & Stockwell (2024). Autism. Read the study

Our own research is expanding the field. This work introduces “mind-discovery trials” protocols that presume competence and treat nonspeakers as co-researchers, and explores the further reaches of nonspeaker perception that families and practitioners have long observed. Mossbridge, Welch & Tarrant (2025). Mindfield Bulletin. Read the article

Spelling-based communication has grown primarily through families, nonspeakers, and dedicated practitioners sharing what works. It hasn’t come from top-down institutional mandates or mainstream academic channels. Instead, it’s been built by people who refused to accept that their loved ones had nothing to say. This grassroots nature means the movement is driven by real experience, authentic need, and the voices of nonspeakers themselves.

Spelling can be life-changing. It opens doors to education, relationships, self-advocacy, and being truly seen and heard. Nonspeakers who learn to spell often describe finally being able to share their thoughts, feelings, dreams, and opinions. It can shift how families relate to each other, how educators approach learning, and how the speller sees themselves in the world. Communication is connection, and spelling makes that connection possible.

Many nonspeakers have spent years being underestimated, excluded from decisions about their own lives, and denied access to meaningful education with the right communication supports of their choice. Advocacy helps ensure that spellers have the tools, respect, and opportunities they deserve. It’s about fighting for presumed competence, appropriate accommodations, and a world that makes space for all forms of communication.

Even within neurodivergent communities, nonspeakers often face additional barriers. They may be left out of conversations about autism because people assume they can’t contribute or do not presume competence. Their communication methods might be questioned or dismissed. The focus on speaking autistics in advocacy spaces can unintentionally exclude those who communicate differently. Nonspeakers deserve to be centered in conversations about their own experiences and needs.

Spelling works because it meets people where they are and provides the motor support they need to express what’s already inside them. It acknowledges that the body and brain sometimes have different agendas, and it gives the brain a pathway to communicate accounting for motor challenges. With the right coaching, regulation support, and presumption of competence, spellers can access intentional movement and share their voices.

Spelling-based communication can work for nonspeaking, minimally speaking, and unreliably speaking individuals across ages and backgrounds. It’s particularly helpful for people with apraxia or motor planning challenges.

Presumed incompetence happens when people assume someone can’t understand or think just because they can’t speak or communicate in expected ways. Studies show that low expectations lead to low outcomes. This assumption is harmful and limiting. When we presume competence instead, we approach every person as aware and capable, which changes everything… like how we teach, how we talk, what opportunities we offer, and how we relate. Presuming competence opens doors; presuming incompetence closes them.

Apraxia is a motor planning disorder that affects a person’s ability to coordinate the movements needed for speech or other intentional actions. It’s not about understanding or intelligence, it’s about the disconnect between what the brain wants to do and what the body actually does. Many nonspeakers have apraxia, which is why they need motor coaching and support to access communication, even though their language and thinking are intact. We will go into this in depth!

One of the biggest misconceptions about nonspeakers is that they have intellectual disabilities when, in reality, many have motor disabilities that affect their ability to demonstrate what they know. All tests of intelligence require a demonstration through motor. Because traditional assessments rely on speech, stray pointing, or other motor tasks, nonspeakers often can’t show their true abilities. Their bodies won’t cooperate, so they’re underestimated.

Motor planning challenges don’t disappear just because someone learns to spell. Most spellers continue to need a communication partner or PICC to provide the right prompts, regulation support, and physical setup/environment that helps their bodies cooperate with their intentions. The partner isn’t putting words in the speller’s mouth, they’re creating conditions that allow the speller’s own words to come through. It’s similar to how someone with physical disabilities might always need mobility supports.

When our nervous systems are dysregulated whether from anxiety, sensory overload, or other stressors, our bodies become even less cooperative. For spellers who already face motor challenges, regulation is essential. A regulated nervous system makes intentional movement more accessible. That’s why PICCs focus on co-regulation, creating calm and connected environments where spelling can happen. Regulation can fluctuate day to day, even moment to moment for some people and can look very different for everyone.

Absolutely. All communication methods are important. Spelling gives nonspeakers a way to express themselves in ways they could otherwise not access, then it is not up to anyone else to cut off their access to that. Whether someone communicates through speech, spelling, sign language, or any other method, what matters is that they’re heard and respected. All communication is valid and meaningful.

Independence means doing something entirely on your own without any help. Autonomy means having agency, making your own choices, and directing your own life, even if you need support to execute those choices. A speller who needs a communication partner can still have complete autonomy over what they say, what decisions they make, and how they live their life. We all rely on others in different ways; that doesn’t diminish our autonomy. It is important to investigate our cultural bias towards independence and hyper individualism when many folks with disabilities require us to deeper embrace how healthy support systems and relationships are critical in our world.

Spelling typically starts with simple words and shorter messages, then expands as the speller gains motor precision and fluency. Early on, sessions might be shorter and require more prompting. Over time, many spellers develop more stamina, speed, and complexity in their communication. The journey looks different for everyone, but with consistent practice and the right support, most spellers continue to grow and refine their skills.

Nonspeaking individuals don’t use spoken words to communicate. Minimally speaking individuals might have some words or phrases they can access but can’t rely on speech for full communication. Unreliably speaking individuals can speak sometimes, but their speech comes and goes, or doesn’t match what they mean to say. All three groups may benefit from spelling-based communication as a reliable way to express themselves.

Supporting nonspeakers means presuming their competence, providing access to robust communication tools, advocating for inclusion in education and community, and listening to what they have to say. It means seeing the whole person, not just their struggles. It means creating spaces where all forms of communication are valued, where sensory needs are respected, and where nonspeakers are included in decisions about their own lives.