Welcome
Spell 4 Yourself...then you decide!
BOOK AN ASSESSMENT, SPELLING, OR MOTOR SESSION
About ME
Katie McCandless, B.S.H.S., Registered S2C Practitioner
I earned my B.S.H.S. at Cleveland State University with a minor in Psychology. While on the Occupational Therapy track, trying to figure out how I can help individuals communicate best, I stumbled upon Spelling to Communicate and haven't looked back! It ignited a passion in me to work with nonspeakers and advocate for them by helping them break through speech barriers. Everyone deserves a voice!
my Values
In studying human and health sciences, I have learned that there’s more to the human body than what's on the outside. I am striving to create a client-centered practice that empowers nonspeakers to break their voice free! Here, I presume competence, regardless of the motor profile or individual differences. I have my torch held high to light the way for the S2C paradigm shift; releasing the brilliance of voices that would otherwise go unheard. I won't stop until the world hears the voices of the underestimated and speech impaired individuals.
MY GOALS
To reach nonspeaking, unreliably speaking, and minimally speaking individuals with sensory/motor differences.
To support the connection between the brain and the body through spelling, motor coaching, task breakdown, and exercise.
To teach each client the purposeful motor skills to spell on a letter board as a reliable form of communication.
To teach each client the purposeful motor skills to spell on a letter board as a reliable form of communication.
To support the connection between the brain and the body through spelling, motor coaching, task breakdown, and exercise.
To teach each client the purposeful motor skills to spell on a letter board as a reliable form of communication.
To support the connection between the brain and the body through spelling, motor coaching, task breakdown, and exercise.
To support the connection between the brain and the body through spelling, motor coaching, task breakdown, and exercise.
To support the connection between the brain and the body through spelling, motor coaching, task breakdown, and exercise.
To use a hierarchy of letter boards in order to reach open communication.
To use a hierarchy of letter boards in order to reach open communication.
To support the connection between the brain and the body through spelling, motor coaching, task breakdown, and exercise.
To create new, purposeful neural pathways.
To use a hierarchy of letter boards in order to reach open communication.
To empower spellers and help them create autonomous lives.
To empower spellers and help them create autonomous lives.
To use a hierarchy of letter boards in order to reach open communication.
To empower spellers and help them create autonomous lives.
To work with each client to help them to reach their individual goals.
To work with each client to help them to reach their individual goals.
To work with each client to help them to reach their individual goals.
SERVICES
Spelling Session (50 min.)
Spelling & Motor Session (1.5 hr.)
Spelling Session (50 min.)
Spelling sessions are formatted around a cognitive lesson that is used to teach and strengthen an individual's motor skills to spell on a letter board.
(The last 10 minutes of the hour is saved for discussion, between speller, practitioner, and/or guardian.)
Motor Session (50 min.)
Spelling & Motor Session (1.5 hr.)
Spelling Session (50 min.)
Motor sessions incorporate purposeful motor skills through motor coaching and exercise. (The last 10 minutes of the hour is saved for discussion, between speller, practitioner, and/or guardian.)
Spelling & Motor Session (1.5 hr.)
Spelling & Motor Session (1.5 hr.)
Spelling & Motor Session (1.5 hr.)
Combined spelling and motor sessions will contain both spelling and motor based upon the client's customized workout plan.
Frequently asked questions
Spelling to Communicate teaches individuals with sensory/motor differences the purposeful motor skills to point to letters on a letter board to spell as an alternative means of communication (AAC). The ultimate goal of S2C is to achieve synchrony between the brain and body. Every practitioner is a skilled and rigorously trained Communication Regulation Partner (CRP) who teach the purposeful motor skills to communicate using a hierarchy of gestural and verbal prompts. As these motor skills strengthen and progress with practice, communication moves from concrete to abstract.
An individual who is unreliably speaking may have the ability to speak, but is not always able to access their speech intentionally or communicatively. For instance, they may repeat words someone else has spoken, use scripted phrases, or say quotes from tv shows and movies. Sometimes unreliable speakers mean exactly what they say, but many other times they do not. The key characteristic is that speech cannot be relied upon as a primary and reliable means of communicating complex thoughts, ideas, and experiences.
An individual who is minimally speaking may be able to use some speech to produce a number of words or phrases, but does not have enough speech for robust and flexible communication. Minimal speech is often used for requesting wants and needs or for providing short answers to questions.
Nonspeaking is an umbrella term for individuals who cannot use speech as their primary, effective, and reliable means of communication. Nonspeaking is inclusive of those who do not speak at all, are unreliably speaking, or minimally speaking. The word “nonverbal” comes from Latin origin and means “without words.” Since the nonspeaking community are cognitively age level or above, we know that they produce language in the brain. Therefore, they are not "without words," they just don’t have speech to communicate their words, thoughts, and ideas. We believe that using the term “nonverbal” contributes to the widespread misunderstanding that nonspeaking individuals lack intelligence, which is far from true.
I offer a first time, free of charge client assessment that lasts one to two hours. During this time, I will introduce your loved one to using the letter board and assess the unique needs of their sensory-motor processes to better determine how to support their journey to communication. I will answer your questions and develop a plan for ongoing services. This appointment is designed to be the first step leading to regular appointments. If you’re interested in beginning, fill out the contact form and I will get back to you within 24 hours with available dates and times.
If your loved one is four years of age, please contact me now to discuss when it might be appropriate to begin S2C. I may recommend a consult session to give you some ideas to build some motor and literacy skills to get ready for S2C.
If your loved one is three years of age or younger, S2C recommends allowing traditional speech therapy, occupational therapy, and early intervention the chance to possibly work. In the meantime, “feed the brain." You can feed the brain by reading age-appropriate books aloud, using age-appropriate language, and practicing skills that build purposeful hand-eye coordination, such as catching balls, bouncing/throwing balls, tracing letters, etc.
S2C is appropriate for ages 5 and older who are nonspeaking, unreliably speaking, or minimally speaking, regardless of disability. Every individual can and wants to learn!
Absolutely! About 70% of clients who use S2C are autistic, but the other 30% have other disabilities. These disabilities include, but are not limited to: Autism, Apraxia, Down Syndrome, dual diagnosis of Autism and Down Syndrome, Angelman Syndrome, and other disabilities that affect motor-sensory skills. S2C teaches each individual the necessary motor skills to spell by using a letter board and it is not limited to autistic students.
All means of communication are celebrated, as every person deserves a voice! Access to 26 letters gives individuals endless opportunities to say what they want. Some forms of AAC, such as communication books, buttons, icons, or tablets, can be very limiting for an individual. It's impractical to program an app with every word in a language, as well as learn the complex motor skills to find each word and add them in the correct order in which you want. These limiting factors cause individuals to miss out on meaningful conversations and communication. It is a basic human right to have access to communication, communication that isn't just relaying basic needs, but communication that isn't limiting in any way. With 26 letters, individuals are given infinite possibilities!
Client assessments are free of charge. Each spelling and motor session are $40 per session. A combined spelling and motor session is $60. Traveling expenses are an additional $20 to the original price.
In S2C, our focus is on reliable communication. Reliable communication can be reached through consistent practice on the letter boards! Research has shown that use of AAC will not decrease speech and often increases speech. S2C practitioners have seen that using letter boards can sometimes improve speech; however, every individual is different. Spell 4 Yourself is a client-centered practice. If a speller has reached open communication on the letter boards and expresses to me that they want to work on their speech, I will happily work with them to reach their goal! I am open to working with Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and educators to reach a speller's goal and best help the speller. Learning S2C can be compatible with other interventions you may choose to pursue as well.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Advocate Blogs
Ido Kedar
Jordyn's Rocky Journey
Jordyn's Rocky Journey
Jordyn's Rocky Journey
Jordyn's Rocky Journey
Jordyn's Rocky Journey
Dare to Listen
Jordyn's Rocky Journey
Dare to Listen
Ben Breau
Typing 4 Change: Dillan Barmache
Dare to Listen
Typing 4 Change: Dillan Barmache
Typing 4 Change: Dillan Barmache
Typing 4 Change: Dillan Barmache
Gregory Tino
Typing 4 Change: Dillan Barmache
Typing 4 Change: Dillan Barmache
This is ME: Noah Sebak
Mitchell's Life with Autism
This is ME: Noah Sebak
Akha Khumalo
Mitchell's Life with Autism
This is ME: Noah Sebak
Mitchell's Life with Autism
Mitchell's Life with Autism
Mitchell's Life with Autism
Recommended readings
Ido in Autismland by Ido Kedar
Underestimated: An Autism Miracle by J.B. Handley and Jamison Handley
Leaders Around Me: Autobiographies of Autistics who Type, Point, and Spell to Communicate
In Two Worlds by Ido Kedar
Life in Letters: A Book About Autism by Lia Assimakopoulos
Brain-Body Parenting by Mona Delahooke
Anatomy of Autism: A Pocket Guide for Educators, Parents, and Students by Diego Pena
The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida
Autism: The Movement-Sensing Perspective (Frontiers in Neuroscience) by Elizabeth B Torres
Autism: Sensory-Movement Differences and Diversity by Martha R. Leary and Anne M. Donnellan
Communication Alternatives in Autism
Contact me
Please contact me directly with any questions, comments, or scheduling inquiries you may have.
Spell 4 Yourself
Hours
Monday - Friday: 8:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am - 12:00pm
Sunday: Closed
As a traveling practitioner, my hours are flexible. Please contact me if the above do not work.
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