I haven’t been on here for a long time. Over the last few weeks, I have worked with my therapist and psychiatrist on an article about the importance of letting spellers access mental health resources. It has just been published in the Summer 2026 issue of Autism Spectrum News: https://autismspectrumnews.org/mental-health-care-for-people-who-use-aac-rationale-and-practice/
I know that many people still doubt our communication. Ironically, this is a big reason many of us are depressed and anxious. Did I mention irony?
We deserve the right to healthcare, including mental health. I am one of the lucky ones: my family believes in therapy, we have good insurance and we found excellent support (thank you Dr. Wendy Ross!) I hope that by sharing my mental health journey, more spellers will consider therapy and more therapists will be willing to work with spellers.
We are worth it. Maybe we need to believe that ourselves so that we can convince others. If we try to face the inner judgments, we can move past the fears that are holding us back. I want to end by thanking myself for trying.
Musings of a Beginner's Mind 
Thank you so much Alex for writing this. This is such an important topic!
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A beautiful article that highlights bidirectional learning benefiting all. Thank you, Alex, for spelling up!
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So glad you’re back, Alex, and loved the article. Your insights are important. Thank you for sharing.
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Very well done Alex, and on a topic that needs the attention that you just gave it. I am very PROUD of you as always! Uncle Jeff
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Great article! I found this phrase to be particularly insightful:
“one benefit of spelling is that I must be thoughtful ahead of speaking so as to not say hurtful or angry things — it appears to me that it takes speakers a lot of effort to stop oneself”
That (unfortunately) describes some people all too well.
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