Videos of Advanced Learners

Video Clip Examples of Individuals Who Learned to Communicate Through FC, RPM, and/or Similar Teaching Methodologies:

A screenshot from the video "No Puppet Strings"

Grant Blasko, "No Puppet Strings"

In this 11 minute video, 16-year-old Grant Blasko communicates a self-initiated topic by typing on an iPad using the Proloquo4text application with word prediction enabled.
A screenshot of Damon Kirsebom from the video "When People See Me Typing"

Damon Kirsebom, "When People See Me Typing"

In this video, a 17-year-old British Columbia resident Damon Kirsebom types the following: "When people see me typing, they always realize I am really authentically expressing my own thoughts. No tricks here, people."
A screenshot from the video "Creating Welcoming Communities"

Creating Welcoming Communities

On February 2-3, 2018, a group of 7 nonspeaking autistics from Growing Kids Therapy Center (a.k.a. "The Tribe") and 18 University of Virginia undergraduates gathered in Charlottesville to discuss, among other things, what role empathy and compassion should play in creating welcoming communities.
Niko Boskovic won a prestigious trip but was told he couldn't go

Niko Boskovic, "Autistic Portland Boy Who Won a Prestigious Trip Told He Can't Go"

This video clip from April 2017 was filmed by The Oregonian newspaper and tells the story of Niko Boskovic being denied the award of a trip to New York City he won in an essay contest. (He was later allowed to attend.) In the video, Niko communicates by pointing to letters on a letterboard.
A screenshot from the video "The Big Impact of Small Moments"

The Big Impact of Small Moments

On March 25, 2017, a group of 9 nonspeaking autistics from Northern Virginia (a.k.a. "The Tribe") and 20 University of Virginia undergraduates gathered in Charlottesville to discuss, among other things, motor differences in autism with Dr. Jana Iverson of the University of Pittsburgh.
A screenshot from the video "Autism and Advocacy"

Autism and Advocacy

On February 11, 2017, a group of 9 nonspeaking autistics from Northern Virginia (a.k.a. "The Tribe") and 19 University of Virginia undergraduates gathered in Falls Church to discuss and plan autism advocacy efforts.
Niko Boskovic communicates with a letter board

Niko Boskovic, "An autistic boy gets his voice back, one letter at a time"

This video clip from April 2016 was filmed by The Oregonian newspaper and describes how Niko learned to communicate by pointing to letters on a letterboard.
An image about "Classical Autism and the Instruction of Literature"

Tito Mukhopadhyay, "Classical Autism and the Instruction of Literature"

This video shows a presentation given at Duke University in 2015 by Tito Mukhopadhyay and Grinnell College English professor Ralph Savarese. They recount their conversations about literature, which took place by Skype over seven years, and answer questions from the audience about disability, inclusion, literature, and Tito’s writing. Tito joins the conversation at minute 40:49 of the video, where he can be seen sitting on the stage and typing independently. Tito learned to type using Rapid Prompting Method, which was developed by his mother, Soma Mukhopadhyay. The presentation took place on April 27, 2015, and the video was uploaded to YouTube on August 3, 2017.
A screenshot from the video "Hear Me Now"
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Chammi Rajapatirana, "Hear Me Now"

“Just try keeping your mouth shut for a day,” Chammi typed. “Try keeping your mouth shut while they talk about you, telling your mother to put you away in an institution. You want to scream, No, no, no, but you are mute. Fortunately, a determined mom searched the world over until she found a way that my voice could be as loud as yours.”
A screenshot from the video "I Escaped My Prison"

Ido Kedar, "I Escaped My Prison"

This video clip taken by a local NBC affiliate in Los Angeles in April 2013 describes how then-16-year-old Ido Kedar learned how to type on an iPad through the Rapid Prompting Method. Ido is the author of Ido in Autismland (2012) and the forthcoming In Two Worlds (2018).

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