I am realizing how much there is to learn about. Every non-speaker I meet is different from me and each other. I have had an isolated life due to my health. I realize now that that has made me a bit egocentric. I seem to look at my differences as differences and other’s differences as being rude or as impairments. I realize now that that is rude thinking and that lack of tolerance for some situations and people is due to my lack of experience and not their fault.

Non-speakers are all so different and I want to surround myself with as many as I can to be the best advocate possible. I have been in a movement group, support group, and I am trying to spend more one on one time with friends. This is teaching me to accept myself and others so much more. We are all different in so many ways, but we all have being non-speaking in common which I think is awesome.

There is an unspoken respect and understanding for each other and I finally feel like I have found a place where I belong. I have tried to find belonging through my relationships with therapists, by going into general education classes, by being a penpal, and trying church. None of those did it even though they were fun. It took finding a group of spellers, in-person and online to feel a part of. I feel at peace for once and I don’t feel like something is missing.