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Typed Words Loud Voices
"I'd like coffee, please."
"No. I don't believe you. How do I know it is really you who wants coffee and not your friend there subliminally transmitting that to you by touching your shoulder?"
Imagine a world where you had to prove you knew your own mind even to get a cup of coffee, where it was generally assumed that you could have no thoughts of your own, so if you did express your thoughts, it must be some trick. What would you do? Would you give up, or demand to be heard?
Sadly, this world is not imaginary for many of the writers in this book, who have chosen the path of demanding to be heard. Their best (and sometimes only) mode of communication is sometimes called "discredited" because it was "tested" in ways that make no sense.
Typed Words, Loud Voices is written by a coalition of writers who type to talk and believe it is neither logical nor fair that some people should be expected to prove themselves every time they have something to say.
Read our arguments and hear us. Help us change the world.
"Getting your attention that I want to "voice" something is my first challenge. ... However, if you calm your leap to judge, you may find that since we know we take more effort to "listen" to, we make sure you "hear" something memorable..." - Devva Kasnitz, PhD. CUNY-Disability Studies
"This groundbreaking book is a must read for anyone who truly cares about equality and it gives you a new perspective about what it means to have a 'voice'." - Matthew Wangeman, MCP. NAU - Disability Studies
"Ibby, Amy, and the other authors here speak from the heart, because they live it, all day, every day. I've learned from them in ways that can't be measured over the past couple of years - their words and thinking have literally changed my life. They'll change yours, too. Read this, now." - Phil Smith, Professor, Eastern Michigan University
"No. I don't believe you. How do I know it is really you who wants coffee and not your friend there subliminally transmitting that to you by touching your shoulder?"
Imagine a world where you had to prove you knew your own mind even to get a cup of coffee, where it was generally assumed that you could have no thoughts of your own, so if you did express your thoughts, it must be some trick. What would you do? Would you give up, or demand to be heard?
Sadly, this world is not imaginary for many of the writers in this book, who have chosen the path of demanding to be heard. Their best (and sometimes only) mode of communication is sometimes called "discredited" because it was "tested" in ways that make no sense.
Typed Words, Loud Voices is written by a coalition of writers who type to talk and believe it is neither logical nor fair that some people should be expected to prove themselves every time they have something to say.
Read our arguments and hear us. Help us change the world.
"Getting your attention that I want to "voice" something is my first challenge. ... However, if you calm your leap to judge, you may find that since we know we take more effort to "listen" to, we make sure you "hear" something memorable..." - Devva Kasnitz, PhD. CUNY-Disability Studies
"This groundbreaking book is a must read for anyone who truly cares about equality and it gives you a new perspective about what it means to have a 'voice'." - Matthew Wangeman, MCP. NAU - Disability Studies
"Ibby, Amy, and the other authors here speak from the heart, because they live it, all day, every day. I've learned from them in ways that can't be measured over the past couple of years - their words and thinking have literally changed my life. They'll change yours, too. Read this, now." - Phil Smith, Professor, Eastern Michigan University
150 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 9, 2015
9 people are currently reading
797 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 27, 2015
I started reading on my second day of being non-verbal and finished it during the first full day when I became verbal again. Not knowing whether I'll talk again, this book and Deutsche Gebärdensprache dictionary calmed me down. I knew that somehow it doesn't matter if I'll talk again or not, there will always be a way.
October 30, 2019
Like Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking and All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism, this anthology of writing by autistic people, and others who communicate primarily by writing, is important reading for autistic adults and people interested in the thoughts of autistics. I found it particularly interesting because, while I am autistic, I don't have trouble speaking, and only a couple of my autistic friends do. Thus, I found it a useful survey of the experiences of thoughts of autistics in this population.
October 29, 2019
got me to think of some things I hadnt before. Sometimes I struggled with just how unedited it was, though I understand the decision to do it that way.
September 23, 2018
This deceptively slender anthology is packed with a diversity of powerful, deeply expressive narratives and poetry from Autistic writers, centering the voices of those who communicate nonverbally all or much of the time. I especially loved a piece called "Putting On My Performance Face”
by Michael Scott Monje, Jr, which the author describes as "An Essay About Gender and Sensory Language Processing".
Highly recommend this one!
by Michael Scott Monje, Jr, which the author describes as "An Essay About Gender and Sensory Language Processing".
Highly recommend this one!
June 9, 2022
“Learning to be proud of who we really are seems to be a key element of moving beyond survival.”
- Christy Oslund, “I Write, Therefor I am”
“…how someone communicates is a vital part of their identity – whether it be through letterboard, AAC device or otherwise. The most important thing is that whatever is being said, however it is being said, is being heard.”
- Eva Sweeney, @22%
- Christy Oslund, “I Write, Therefor I am”
“…how someone communicates is a vital part of their identity – whether it be through letterboard, AAC device or otherwise. The most important thing is that whatever is being said, however it is being said, is being heard.”
- Eva Sweeney, @22%
March 17, 2021
This book is written by autistic people who type to communicate.We need more books like this written by autistic people.Not very long but profound and a enjoyable read.
April 16, 2023
“Typers think through their words / talkers don’t have the same commitment / to their words”
- Rick Maives
This is a thoughtful collection of short personal essays and poems by users of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) (e.g. typing to talk, rapid prompting method, etc.)
The writers are all ages and hail mainly from the US & UK. There is a good diversity of different experiences among the authors, although it is less clear about other aspects of diversity (e.g. racial/cultural). Some are fully non-speaking, whereas others speak some of the time.
The unifying thesis throughout the pieces is that speaking is not superior to other forms of communication, and speaking is no more indicative of intelligence than other forms of communication.
For context, I am a mostly speaking person who occasionally loses the ability to speak when I am very overwhelmed. I have recently started using typing during these periods, which I learned to do from other autistic people. It rocks! I really appreciated reading the experiences of AAC users who have more experience with it than I do and/or use it more frequently/exclusively. I've been thinking about using typing more often even when I can speak because I'm realizing just how much energy it saves me, especially when my social battery is already drained.
A few thoughts I had as I moved through the pieces:
- I hadn't really considered previously how the texting revolution has helped increase acceptance of AAC. It is more normative than it once was to communicate through text.
- It's interesting to me that talking in written words is less valued than speech given that in western cultures, in many contexts, we prize the written word over the spoken word. I'm thinking particularly of Indigenous peoples who have had to fight to have oral histories, oral laws & contracts etc. accepted as valid. And yet, when somebody exclusively uses the written word - or prefers it to speech - this is regarded as unacceptable. Bigotry often comes with contradiction.
- I love "always presume competence" as a slogan/counterpoint to the way that non-speaking people are generally assumed by default to be non-competent/non-thinking.
- Thinking about the idea of typing as a culture, similar to signing as a key part of Deaf culture: “typing is excellent for my culture of brain” Lily age 6
- In the piece "My many communication systems" by Anonymous - even though my speech is typically not as idiosyncratic as she describes it being at home, I found her oddities of diction and syntax relatable because I do speak in a slightly funny way at times, especially when I'm tired. Reading her essay made me realize that I do this more at home than in public, and that this is part of my masking.
- I learned from the piece "My typed voice" the idea that there are times "mouth words" are not the right way/needed way. We need to not privilege mouth words even when the person technically can speak verbally - this doesn't mean they should, for a variety of reasons.
- I will take away the relief people have in being able to type - typing saves energy that can be used for other things (whereas if speaking is available, it may be much more laborious). Typing also allows non-speaking people to be able to be known to others as human.
- Rick Maives
This is a thoughtful collection of short personal essays and poems by users of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) (e.g. typing to talk, rapid prompting method, etc.)
The writers are all ages and hail mainly from the US & UK. There is a good diversity of different experiences among the authors, although it is less clear about other aspects of diversity (e.g. racial/cultural). Some are fully non-speaking, whereas others speak some of the time.
The unifying thesis throughout the pieces is that speaking is not superior to other forms of communication, and speaking is no more indicative of intelligence than other forms of communication.
For context, I am a mostly speaking person who occasionally loses the ability to speak when I am very overwhelmed. I have recently started using typing during these periods, which I learned to do from other autistic people. It rocks! I really appreciated reading the experiences of AAC users who have more experience with it than I do and/or use it more frequently/exclusively. I've been thinking about using typing more often even when I can speak because I'm realizing just how much energy it saves me, especially when my social battery is already drained.
A few thoughts I had as I moved through the pieces:
- I hadn't really considered previously how the texting revolution has helped increase acceptance of AAC. It is more normative than it once was to communicate through text.
- It's interesting to me that talking in written words is less valued than speech given that in western cultures, in many contexts, we prize the written word over the spoken word. I'm thinking particularly of Indigenous peoples who have had to fight to have oral histories, oral laws & contracts etc. accepted as valid. And yet, when somebody exclusively uses the written word - or prefers it to speech - this is regarded as unacceptable. Bigotry often comes with contradiction.
- I love "always presume competence" as a slogan/counterpoint to the way that non-speaking people are generally assumed by default to be non-competent/non-thinking.
- Thinking about the idea of typing as a culture, similar to signing as a key part of Deaf culture: “typing is excellent for my culture of brain” Lily age 6
- In the piece "My many communication systems" by Anonymous - even though my speech is typically not as idiosyncratic as she describes it being at home, I found her oddities of diction and syntax relatable because I do speak in a slightly funny way at times, especially when I'm tired. Reading her essay made me realize that I do this more at home than in public, and that this is part of my masking.
- I learned from the piece "My typed voice" the idea that there are times "mouth words" are not the right way/needed way. We need to not privilege mouth words even when the person technically can speak verbally - this doesn't mean they should, for a variety of reasons.
- I will take away the relief people have in being able to type - typing saves energy that can be used for other things (whereas if speaking is available, it may be much more laborious). Typing also allows non-speaking people to be able to be known to others as human.
August 26, 2024
Amazing and I feel so less alone reading these experiences by others.
November 28, 2018
An informative, transformative, insightful, beautful, amazing anthology. One of many works that are giving me my life back. (I'm autistic -- I know to some of you that know me in person, this may (or may not) be a surprise -- "but you write so well!" Well, maybe that's not an adequate criteria, enough said. #presumecompetence)
Like one of the other reviewers, I started reading this book after losing speaking ability for a couple of weeks, which is a story unto itself. (Again, to people that know me: it may shock you to find out that email still exists in 2018, but an entire world awaits, if you are so inclined.)
As for the book itself: such a moving range of voices! Some of the pieces that particularly resonated with me: "A Teacher Who Types", "My Name Is Emma", "I Write, Therefore I Am", "Written English Is My First Language", "My Many Communication Systems", "My Typed Voice", "NotSpeakingNotSilent", "Notes on Not Speaking", "The Song of Life Unfolding", "I Don't Want Your "Protection"".
That said, to really appreciate this work, read the entire anthology.
Like one of the other reviewers, I started reading this book after losing speaking ability for a couple of weeks, which is a story unto itself. (Again, to people that know me: it may shock you to find out that email still exists in 2018, but an entire world awaits, if you are so inclined.)
As for the book itself: such a moving range of voices! Some of the pieces that particularly resonated with me: "A Teacher Who Types", "My Name Is Emma", "I Write, Therefore I Am", "Written English Is My First Language", "My Many Communication Systems", "My Typed Voice", "NotSpeakingNotSilent", "Notes on Not Speaking", "The Song of Life Unfolding", "I Don't Want Your "Protection"".
That said, to really appreciate this work, read the entire anthology.
July 5, 2025
I note, with regret, that it is very common to hear vocal Autistic people distance themselves from non-vocal Autistic people by pointing out that 'because they speak, they should be listened to'. While it is true that listening to Autistic people is the best way to understand the experiences and viewpoints of those who live with a condition that is still highly stigmatised and discriminated, it is also true that Autistic people who do not use their voice to communicate have much to tell and should be listened to.
This book is a collection of essays written by people who communicate by writing (completely, partially or alternately) and who, in their diversity of characteristics, tell what they would like to be known: first of all, the fact that they have a lot to say.
This collection of texts, thanks to its plural dimension, gives back the complexity of experiences that those who do not express themselves with the voice encounter in the different contexts of life where, for the most part, they are not listened to and are not taught to use alternative communication systems. Although things are changing and fortunately more and more is being invested in communication accessibility, it is a text that makes us reflect on how often we assume the incompetence of non-speaking people, how often we avoid understanding non-speech forms of communication, and how common it is to consider people who cannot express themselves with voice incapable of listening and understanding.
The text is unfortunately only available in English.
This book is a collection of essays written by people who communicate by writing (completely, partially or alternately) and who, in their diversity of characteristics, tell what they would like to be known: first of all, the fact that they have a lot to say.
This collection of texts, thanks to its plural dimension, gives back the complexity of experiences that those who do not express themselves with the voice encounter in the different contexts of life where, for the most part, they are not listened to and are not taught to use alternative communication systems. Although things are changing and fortunately more and more is being invested in communication accessibility, it is a text that makes us reflect on how often we assume the incompetence of non-speaking people, how often we avoid understanding non-speech forms of communication, and how common it is to consider people who cannot express themselves with voice incapable of listening and understanding.
The text is unfortunately only available in English.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews