Our Story
Crosby is a 10 year old boy who is one of the non-speaking students at Advancing Life Learners (“A.L.L.”) where students learn and communicate by spelling out words one letter at a time on stencil boards or letter boards. Crosby and his classmates have a neuro-motor disability called “apraxia.” Apraxia prevents them from speaking at all or severely limits their capacity for speech. This form of autism also prevents them from using a standard keyboard and from performing simple everyday functions like buttoning a button or tying a shoe.
The general public often mistakes this form of autism as a cognitive deficit, but in fact it is quite the opposite! Crosby and his classmates are prolific learners! These students do not learn in traditional ways, and consequently they have been neglected in traditional school settings and even in a special needs’ environment. They have learned to communicate using a special spelling technique, sometimes referred to as RPM for “rapid prompting method.” Thus, they are often referred to as “spellers.” More information can be found here: Remarkable Abilities about non-speaking ”spellers.”
While verbal autistic students benefit from considerable support and educational resources, regrettably, the same level of assistance is not extended to the non-speaking autistic community. A sense of human worth is often disregarded, and their potential remains consistently overlooked. Nonetheless, these students possess capabilities equal to or surpassing those of traditional learners. Non-speaking autistics exhibit profound intelligence, and with access to educational opportunities, they can not only make valuable contributions to society but also discover fulfillment in a world that has overlooked their abilities for far too long.
In 2023, in the aftermath of a devastating flood, A.L.L. found itself having to close its Mesa campus location. After coordinating with several investors (primarily family members), the Autism Learning Foundation was created and a facility was purchased on a 1.6-acre property in Gilbert, Arizona. This facility is called the Autism Learning Center (“The Center”) . The Center will allow us and the community to support the families of non-speaking autistic students and the educational activities of A.L.L.
This facility will provide A.L.L. with a permanent campus location which is tentatively planned to open late Fall 2024 due to unforeseen challenges with updating a residential property to a business location, this has taken a little longer than our original goal to open July 2024.