Voice for the Voiceless

Since my post in 2018, when William participated in the World Trade Center memorial service as a reader, the world has changed. And so has William.

Voice for the Voiceless

On March 19, 2025, William Aronow went with several support people to the New Jersey Statehouse to testify to the Assembly budget committee. He spoke with NJTV NJ Spotlight news prior to the hearing, and he appeared on the news that night. 

Considering that he had difficulty making a phrase with his tech as recently as 2019, his growth can be overwhelming at times. 
He says:
“October 2020 is when I learned to type.”

Mastering Motor Movements for AAC

Schools had worked on typing with him for probably a decade or more. His fine motor tremors, limb apraxia, and difficulty looking up and down to check his work kept him dependent on some physical support to type. Lots of practice and help positioning himself were what he needed. 

Locked Down with Your Therapist

When the world stood still, conditions from April 2020 for the next 15 months were weirdly appropriate for practice. William was home with nowhere to go but on Zoom. For Zooming, he had an upright touchscreen on his iPad, or an upright laptop keyboard. On the other end of Zoom were people with whom he really wanted to connect. 

The other elements of practice came together:

• screens and keyboard on the same plane,

• a consistent arrangement of desk, chair, and tech with no distractions,

• high motivation to communicate with trusted people,

• Zoom etiquette, so each person had a turn and plenty of time to set up messages with technology,

• and lots of repetition for gaining confidence. 
  He also happened to have me, a speech language pathologist, to coach him quietly off screen. I pointed out how people were responding to him. Waiting for his turn, I watched him form speech messages until it was his turn to unmute. 

The Greatest Showman

He had dozens of hours practicing the timing of high tech communication when a day habilitation program that had gone online, Disability Allies, asked him to be “Narrator” for a zoom production of The Greatest Showman. He narrated all the stage directions and descriptions using voice output from a document on the Pages app.  He had the largest speaking role in a 3 hour production, worked his tail off, and loved it.

What a ham!

https://wtcautism.wordpress.com/2025/03/21/voice-for-the-voiceless/