A nonspeaking autistic writer’s advocacy – with Ben Breaux
03/06/23 • 12 min
4 Listeners
How do you get an education when you cannot speak, and the school system does not understand your abilities or support your needs? This was the experience of Ben Breaux, a 22-year-old nonspeaking autistic man with epilepsy who uses a letterboard and a text-to-speech app on his iPad to communicate.
Ben is an aspiring journalist who feels it is very important that non-, minimal- and unreliably speaking autistic people have equal rights, opportunities, and voices in society. He writes and advocates on these topics and more on his public Facebook Page, for numerous autism advocacy groups worldwide, and on advocacy boards and committees in his home state of Virginia and nationally.
During this episode, Ben discusses:
- What life was like before he learned how to communicate using a letterboard
- The struggles he faced to earn his education
- The advocacy work he does for nonspeaking autistic people with two nonprofit organizations, NeuroClastic and CommunicationFIRST
- What inspired him to start sharing his writing online
- His advice for parents of nonspeaking children, and for nonspeaking people themselves
Read Ben’s writing on his Facebook page, Instagram and on the Neuroclastic website, and follow Ben on TikTok.
Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!
Subscribe to the FREE Beyond 6 Seconds newsletter for early access to new episodes!
Support this podcast at BuyMeACoffee.com/Beyond6Seconds and get a shout-out on a future episode!
*Disclaimer: The views, guidance, opinions, and thoughts expressed in Beyond 6 Seconds episodes are solely mine and/or those of my guests, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or other organizations.*
How do you get an education when you cannot speak, and the school system does not understand your abilities or support your needs? This was the experience of Ben Breaux, a 22-year-old nonspeaking autistic man with epilepsy who uses a letterboard and a text-to-speech app on his iPad to communicate.
Ben is an aspiring journalist who feels it is very important that non-, minimal- and unreliably speaking autistic people have equal rights, opportunities, and voices in society. He writes and advocates on these topics and more on his public Facebook Page, for numerous autism advocacy groups worldwide, and on advocacy boards and committees in his home state of Virginia and nationally.
During this episode, Ben discusses:
- What life was like before he learned how to communicate using a letterboard
- The struggles he faced to earn his education
- The advocacy work he does for nonspeaking autistic people with two nonprofit organizations, NeuroClastic and CommunicationFIRST
- What inspired him to start sharing his writing online
- His advice for parents of nonspeaking children, and for nonspeaking people themselves
Read Ben’s writing on his Facebook page, Instagram and on the Neuroclastic website, and follow Ben on TikTok.
Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!
Subscribe to the FREE Beyond 6 Seconds newsletter for early access to new episodes!
Support this podcast at BuyMeACoffee.com/Beyond6Seconds and get a shout-out on a future episode!
*Disclaimer: The views, guidance, opinions, and thoughts expressed in Beyond 6 Seconds episodes are solely mine and/or those of my guests, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or other organizations.*
Previous Episode
Tourette’s advocacy on TikTok – with Monica Nguyen
1 RecommendationsNote: This episode contains occasional swearing (coprolalia).
Monica Nguyen is a 20-year-old disability advocate who lives in Sydney, Australia. Monica began sharing her experiences online after facing a lot of discrimination from people who don’t understand her Tourette Syndrome. Her goal is to inspire, educate and empower.
During this episode, you will hear Monica talk about:
- What her life has been like with Tourette’s, as someone living in Australia who is part of a Vietnamese family
- The discrimination she’s faced in public because of her tics and coprolalia, including a confrontation at a train station that compelled her to start sharing her life experiences with Tourette’s online
- The positive community she has built on TikTok by creating videos about her life with Tourette’s
- The goals she has for her advocacy
Follow Monica on TikTok @meowmons and Instagram @ticswithmon.
This episode features a promo from the Psychocinematic podcast, which discusses the representation of disability and mental health conditions in film and TV. Listen to Psychocinematic at PsychocinematicPodcast.com or on your favorite podcast app.
Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!
Subscribe to the FREE Beyond 6 Seconds newsletter for early access to new episodes!
Support this podcast at BuyMeACoffee.com/Beyond6Seconds and get a shout-out on a future episode!
*Disclaimer: The views, guidance, opinions, and thoughts expressed in Beyond 6 Seconds episodes are solely mine and/or those of my guests, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or other organizations.*
Next Episode
Neurodivergence and Giftedness – with Emily Kircher-Morris
After working as a gifted education teacher, Emily Kircher-Morris became a clinical mental health counselor who supports gifted and twice-exceptional (gifted + neurodivergent) children. She is also the host of The Neurodiversity Podcast and the author of several books, including "Teaching Twice-Exceptional Learners in Today's Classroom" and the revised edition of "A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children." She has three neurodivergent children and is neurodivergent herself.
During this episode, Emily talks about:
- What her life was like as a twice-exceptional student (gifted and ADHD)
- Her experience as a teacher of gifted and twice-exceptional children, and why she decided to become a clinical mental health counselor
- The importance of neurodiversity-affirming therapy, and what it looks like in practice
- What inspired her to start The Neurodiversity Podcast
- The story behind the books that she wrote
Find out more about Emily and her work at these links: Twitter: @EmilyKM_LPC The Neurodiversity Podcast Neurodiversity University Her books: Teaching Twice-Exceptional Learners in Today's Classroom and Raising Twice-Exceptional Children: A Handbook for Parents of Neurodivergent Gifted Kids
Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!
Subscribe to the FREE Beyond 6 Seconds newsletter for early access to new episodes!
Support this podcast at BuyMeACoffee.com/Beyond6Seconds and get a shout-out on a future episode!
*Disclaimer: The views, guidance, opinions, and thoughts expressed in Beyond 6 Seconds episodes are solely mine and/or those of my guests, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or other organizations.*
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Featured in these lists
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/beyond-6-seconds-neurodiversity-stories-from-neurodivergent-people-106117/a-nonspeaking-autistic-writers-advocacy-with-ben-breaux-28524631"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to a nonspeaking autistic writer’s advocacy – with ben breaux on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy