I started writing the Micah Lens blog over five years ago with the goal of sharing about our lives as we navigated the world of Autism with Micah. My hope was that by sharing, I could help others better understand and respond to Micah as his behaviors were both puzzling and challenging at times. The longer term goal was to build a stronger community of support for Micah and his peers.
In April of 2024 Micah began his Spelling to Communicate Journey (S2C) . S2C opened a whole new life for Micah and our family. At his first session I was amazed to find that Micah not only could spell far better than me, but he had knowledge of topics I had no clue about . Through S2C we realized how smart and articulate Micah really was and I began to have a glimmer of hope that my nonspeaking son (or better defined as unreliable speaking as he has some speech, but it is not always what he means to say) would someday be able to share his experiences with you directly. That day is here! This blog will be the first of which I hope are many where Micah speaks directly to you. Let me set the stage.
Last month Micah, his long term personal care provider, Melody (who is now a Certified S2C Practitioner) and I traveled to Reston, Virginia to attend Motormorphosis. If you have never heard of Motormorphosis, you are not alone as I had never heard of it until we became immersed in the S2C community. Basically it is a gathering of hundreds of Spellers, like Micah, who attended a three day conference with their S2C practitioners and/or family members. As we sat in the large conference room with hundreds of others, I realized that I was sitting with the largest group of people who completely understood our sometimes wild life with Autism that I had ever been with. Regardless of behaviors exhibited, there were no looks of shock, just understanding. It was an amazing, albeit sometimes intense experience for us.
After we returned home, Melody asked Micah if he would be willing to share some of his thoughts about the experience in my blog. As spelling is still a laborious process for Micah, I anticipated he might write a couple sentences, but much to my surprise he decided to share a summary of each day. So for the first time, here is Micah’s lens on his time at Motormorphosis!
“I went to Motormorphosis with Mom and Melody. It was in Virginia. It took us eleven hours to drive. When we got there it was late. The next day I got to swim all day. Then we went to dinner. After dinner I went to the silent dance where I saw Craig. We had a nice visit. The next day was an all day conference. There were a lot of good information and speakers. It was very hard to sit through but Melody walked with me to help me keep regulated. There was a chance to socialize but we didn’t stay. Mom needed a break so she took me to the pool. Then we went to dinner and an outdoor concert. It was fun. Melody and I danced. The next day we drove home. I was happy to get home.”
Notes to reader: The dance was silent for those of us who were not wearing headphones, as the music was piped through headphones for those spellers who wanted to listen to it. The headphones made the concert user friendly for those who have sensory issues with loud music. Micah wore his headphones for part of the dance as did Craig. It was a bit of a surreal experience for those of us with no headphones! Micah summarized it well as “a silent dance”. The next day, I did ask Micah if he wanted to socialize or go to the pool…maybe he read my mind that I was burned out on people and needed a break to recharge! Next time I will ask him to spell out his desire to stay or leave to make sure I am not acting on my own needs.
One of the most impactful parts of the conference for me was when a panel of unreliable speakers were asked questions that they first answered verbally then answered via S2C. The difference in their responses was powerful. They all shared that their true responses come from spelling, as they struggle to verbally say what they really mean to say. The fact that their bodies betray them in so many ways was clearly imparted. The reality that they are finally getting to speak their truth via spelling was so encouraging. How I hope and pray that more families will find that S2C is the key to freedom from their silent prisons for their nonspeaking or unreliably speaking family members. Micah waited thirty years to be heard; so many others wait to be given this method to communicate.
We are deeply thankful for and indebted to those brave trail blazers who are moving the Spelling to Communicate movement forward with events like Motormorphosis. Their efforts have given my son and so many others a chance to live their best lives.
Jan Lessard Peightell and Micah James Lessard August 12, 2025
photos:(top) Micah, Craig, Craig’s mother Lori and me at the “Silent dance”.
(below) Melody and Micah at outdoor concert.
