Geo is a nonspeaking autistic with trisomy 21, whole body apraxia, and an incredible mind. His passions include advocating for understanding between typically speaking people and nonspeakers, ensuring that his peers and future nonspeakers have access to communication, education, and participation, and educating the general public on whole body apraxia.

He uses a low tech AAC and points to communicate by typing one letter at a time. (Please reach out if you would like to know more).

Here is what he has to say:

A List of How Nonspeakers Need Help in Church

by Geo Nelson

1. Give nonspeakers time to respond. Be diligent in slowing down.

How it seems to us is that speakers answer for us a lot. Let us communicate back using our hearts instead of our mouths. We understand everything and are hearing everything at the same time so it takes time to filter out what you say from the rest of the background noise.

2. Let regulation be the goal, not compliance.

Our systems as nonspeakers are sensitive to everything. Most nonspeakers have whole body apraxia which is a motor impairment that impacts everything that we do and often because of Apraxia we are not able to speak or move the way we want to. This is incredibly difficult. Every movement we make challenges in the region of the brain that nonspeakers already struggle with because of Apraxia.

3. Let our nervous systems rest in Church.

It’s in church that we are equal, however, our impairment is not what gets in the way. It is perceptions, lots of perceptions that get in the way of having an equally fulfilling and rewarding sacramental life in the Orthodox Church. Christ enters into all of us in the same way through Holy Communion, renovating our hearts in the same way. The Nous is incredibly nondiscriminatory to we who are in broken bodies. Nonspeakers are lessons in seeing not the outside of man but the inner nous so that God may be glorified in His wisdom, love and inscrutibly irrefutable commitment to the least.

4. Love so much more than you think you are able to.

It’s only through sacrifice, hinting always in sacramental respect at the same nature that sacrificing Himself has opened the doors to eternal bliss. Love has saved our souls.

His love makes hard things easy

His love makes old things new

His love lines the hearts of the lost

Bearing our mistakes in His love, safety, help, grace, beauty, in His goodness, His infinite unending giving of love in sacrifice means my God lives to sacrifice on behalf of His bride the Church.

Open spelling has allowed me to communicate. Hardly anyone has what I have and I speak empathetically, haltingly, hopefully, and sacrificially on behalf of Love and for my Nonspeaking sisters and brothers in the faith and all those who see God in one another.

I’m sorry, having Apraxia should not mean I am excluded from any part of sacramental life in the Church. Deriding nonspeakers as not intelligent leads to loss of essential parts of the Body of Christ, the Bride, God’s normative invitation to all mankind.

In Nonspeakers, Love walks among you, often unnoticed, intelligently aware, noticing everything, acknowledging nothing — having inside so much to give and share that most of us turn to communication with God as a means to organize our suffering and live as real humans in this temporary lifetime on earth, always looking forward to our inheritance and new bodies.

Having heard these words, give kindness and, in mind, in heart, and in soul, be one in Christ, Lord of all and Savior of the World.

Going to God’s Divine Liturgy in a Parish that lets me participate in mystery through inclusion as a whole person, capable of confession and able to give and serve in meaningful ways — my experience should be normative, not unique.

Thank you St. Katherine, patron of my home parish.

Amazon makes it so easy to buy things. If I’m buying from a site that needs me to put in my card info…no thanks. Too hard.

Most of the time, I’m able to slow down, think if it’s something I really need or want, and actually decide if I want it to show up on my doorstep in like five minutes.

That wasn’t and isn’t always true though. When I’m stressed. When my husband’s gone on deployment, even when I’m really excited about something…I click before I think it through. (This wouldn’t be terrible, except I’m someone who lacks the executive functioning to return things).

Yesterday, the day before Thanksgiving, my daughter brought up a really good point and it triggered a thought that caused me to sit down and write this.

She spelled:

I’VE HAD HIGH IMPULSIVITY BECAUSE REGULATION IS HARD WHEN I’M EXCITED. THANKSGIVING IS MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY.

Most of the time, I think of impulsivity as triggered by something negative but that isn’t always true. It can be triggered by any sensory or emotional stimuli.

We all have different parts of our brain in charge of certain movements we make with our body. Two of the quickest places are Reflexive and Impulsive.

You know reflexive - reflex - think touching a hot stove, and pulling your hand back. We don’t leave our hand long enough to think, “that’s hot I should move my hand.” Reflexive movements are triggered by sensory stimuli. These quick movements happen WITHOUT THOUGHT and are our brains sweet way of trying to protect us.

Thanks brain.

Impulsive movements also happen without thought but are not just triggered by sensory - they can also be triggered by emotional stimuli! Like loving Thanksgiving so much.

Because my kids have apraxia aka a “brain body disconnect,” they sometimes get stuck in these impulsive spaces. They struggle with planned movement (which my son and I wrote about here). Planned or purposeful movement starts with a thought or idea, is carried out, reflected on, and can be repeated. It’s me checking my budget, comparing different products, and deciding that I want to buy x, y, or z.

Anytime we can help ourselves or others move from the protective parts of our brain to the thinking parts, we support regulation and autonomy.

So, how can we help?

1. Talk to your loved ones, including nonspeakers, about what the day will look like. This isn’t a rigid plan but a “it will probably go something like this” type thing.

2. If you can, create a “sensory room” or if at another home, a “sensory plan.” This can be as simple as a room that is off limits for playing, has the curtains closed, music on, heavy blankets - whatever is cozy and regulating! Let everyone know that if they start to feel dysregulated, they can go to that room and/or that you’ll help them get there. Bring a travel sensory tool kit if you’re heading to another house.

3. Let everyone in the family know that you know that the holidays can bring up emotions and that you know that impulsivity isn’t a choice! Just knowing that your loved ones don’t view you as “bad,” “naughty,” or “troublesome” is very regulating.

4. Help others understand. You don’t have to sit down and explicitly explain concepts - just your own posture, demeanor, preparation, and the language you use will rub off on people.

I asked my son who also does not use speech to communicate if he had any advice on how we can support them and he spelled:

EVERYONE OUGHT TO HAVE EXTRA LOVE AND EMPATHY FOR EVERYONE ELSE

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours.

~ Gigi

Find out more about Reins here

REINS

MAKING SENSE OF MY SENSES

By Geo Nelson

REINS HAS IMPRINTED MY MOTOR AND HAD AN EFFECT ON MY NERVOUS SYSTEM

ALL THE HORSES ARE ASSURING ME THAT CHANGE IS POSSIBLE

TO STEER MY OWN HORSE IS TO STEER MY OWN FUTURE

CHALLENGING MY MOTOR PLANNING SKILLS ANSWERS THE QUESTION CAN I INCREASE IN AUTONOMY INCREMENTALLY

HAVING THE COMPANIONSHIP IN HORSES SUSTAINS MY MOTOR AND LETS ME PRACTICE

HELPING ME MAKE MY LIFE MY OWN

The Nelson Family - Merry Christmas everyone!

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Geo has been riding at Reins since 2019. He is an autistic unreliable speaker with down syndrome - with an intact mind and an apraxic uncooperative body. He does not have access to speech as a robust and meaningful means of communication. He shares his thoughts by spelling on a letterboard. Geo works with Certified S2C practitioners using best practice in order to ensure that his spelled thoughts are truly his own. No person is touching him as he spells and he is the author of his ideas, thoughts, spelled words, and future. To read more by Geo, please read his blog! iosemt.substack.com

All words in Caps are authored by Geo himself.