How letterboard spelling works
Sam spells his thoughts on a letterboard, one letter at a time, with a communication partner's support. It requires patience, practice, and trust.
The partner holds the board steady and reads the letters back. Sam chooses each letter. His spelled words appear throughout the book exactly as he shared them.
We found this late. At a 2018 symposium, I watched a nonspeaking teenager spell an eloquent sentence, and I realized I had been having a one-sided conversation with my own son for two decades.
Sam's first original spelled thought was this:
RELAXING IN AN EASY CHAIR
A simple sentence, and it changed what we thought we knew about who he was. He had humor, opinions, and a full inner life. We had never had a way to hear it.
Sam also types on an iPad. The letterboard is where his spelled words in the book come from, and spelling sessions are where his thinking shows up most fully.
Questions
Does the partner put words in?
No. The partner supports the board and reads letters back. Sam chooses each letter, and his words run exactly as he spelled them.
How is spelling different from typing?
The idea is the same: Sam picks the letters. The letterboard is a physical board used with a partner. The iPad is a keyboard he types on directly.