Your licensed practitioner, Kate, will coach students to learn the intentional motor skills needed to accurately select letters on a letterboard.

At the same time, Kate will work with a parent or caregiver to teach them how to become a Communication Partner (CP) for your speller.

We’ll work on building accuracy and stamina on the boards, and your student will spell out words, answers to lesson questions, and eventually more open answers and thoughts.

A big part of Spellers Method is presuming competence, which means that we presume that your nonspeaker already knows how to spell even though he or she can’t show it yet.

Your student will progress through increasingly more difficult motor skills, working towards the goal of typing independently on a keyboard and accessing voice output technology.

Anyone for whom speech is not a robust form of communication, including individuals with autism, apraxia, Down Syndrome, and other disabilities or sensory and motor difficulties.

The short answer is, no, your child does not need to prove that he or she can spell to begin!

Spellers Method is rooted in presuming competence. When you think about it, currently, all tests used to mark cognitive ability are based on motor tasks, causing it to be difficult for nonspeakers with apraxia to show the full extent of their intellect.

Your child has been listening and learning his or her entire life, even if it doesn’t look like it!

In fact, every nonspeaker who has become fluent has shared (when asked) that they could read and spell at a very young age, even though they couldn’t demonstrate it by pointing to the correct letters!

Even if you do not believe your child knows how to spell already, we can absolutely still begin!

Yes! Spelling helps minimal speakers or unreliable speakers, who are unable to carry on a conversation and/or whose words don’t often reflect what they really mean to say.

Timeframes are very individualized and depend on several factors. We recommend weekly practice sessions with your licensed provider, Kate.

How much time a speller and CP practice together has the biggest impact on how short or long the acquisition phase is for that student.

Other factors include additional motor or health challenges besides apraxia which affect motor planning, visual-motor skills and overall coordination.

Regardless of the individual motor differences any student brings to the table, the brain is malleable and a nonspeaker can learn to do this with practice in time!

In general, students as young as four or five are often ready to begin this process. Also, it is never too LATE to start spelling!

Services are not covered by insurance. However, Kate is an approved Step Up for Students provider and your homeschool funds may be applied toward sessions.

In addition, New Pathways has partnered with an amazing nonprofit, WillPowered Autism, which provides scholarships specifically for spelled communication. Click here to learn more.