Communication is something most of you probably take for granted. So this month I have a challenge for you: can you choose an hour of family time to communicate in any way except spoken speech? If you want to make it a bit trickier, can you do this without using pen and paper?

For me, and hundreds like me, this is my reality.  This is AAC – Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

If you try my challenge in public, I can guarantee that people will view you differently.  If you are a child most people will assume you only have the understanding of a toddler, if you are an adult I expect most people avoid talking to you at all.

This month I am continuing to try to break down the assumptions that yoke non-verbal children.  Yesterday, I spoke to 300 trainee teachers at the University of the West of England, co-presenting with Sarah for Teach Us Too.  My prayer is that my book and Teach Us Too will make a difference so that all children are taught to read and write regardless of their label.

As you will have discovered if you did my challenge, literacy is the key to being able to say exactly what you want.  For non-verbal children literacy is the key to unlocking our voice.

In the comments below let me know how you got on with my challenge.