Words Unleashed, A Place for the Non-Speaking, LLC Toledo, Ohio

08/17/2026

The National Autism Association is now recognizing Spelling as a form of communication!!!

Spelling will be in schools. It's not if.. it's when???

This program provides communication devices to individuals with autism whose communication challenges put them at increased risk of injury or harm.

08/01/2026

Couldn't be more proud of Dan's words being heard by many for the first time!!! 👏 💪

Happy Birthday sir!

07/29/2026

One challenge being a non-speaker is getting through a Dental visit. Consider how much sensory impact you have when you sit in the chair and amplify it! All that sensory impact directly impacts our motor output making it wildly difficult for someone with brain-body disconnect to successfully make it through a cleaning, x-rays, and exam..

In two weeks Wave will go under general anesthesia for all the above to give her the best possible care of her teeth.

Today at the pre-op appointment Waverly was incredible advocating for herself, answering questions, and being a polite gal. She showed them non-speaking does not mean non-thinking.
She showed them there is so much more to her than what meets the eye.

They got to see me motor coach and presume competence. I spoke to her the way I would anyone else; I was respectful and did not dumb anything down. I showed patience and how to coach her body to succeed.

My prayer is every non-speaking persons they meet moving forward they remember the little girl who spelled!

****** The more you know**

TONS

Waverly uses this word, well TONS 😂
This word is considered a loop. Her body repeatedly goes to it in a obsessive way. However, she has somehow created a way to use it functionally. She uses it as an anchor to regulate herself while she spells. In those moments her body is fatiguing or beginning to dysregulate. She spells TONS as an anchor, and a relaunching, point.

07/28/2026

07/27/2026

The other day I unexpectedly had Waverly with me for some spell sessions. What unfolded was more beautiful than I could have dreamt.

This is what is possible when you give a NonSpeaker the tool to communicate!!

07/25/2026

The moment a speller is able to respond to someone is the most empowering and emotional moment!

Congratulations my man on breaking through!!!!!

07/13/2026

My girl has been openly communicating an entire YEAR! 👏 👏 here is to a lifetime more my love!

Waverly Iagulli, speller, age 7.

How do you feel about spelling?
“I RECEIVED ZION.”
What does Zion mean to you?
“THE END OF DARKNESS.”

*Shared with her permission.

07/02/2026

Raw moment with the hardstuff. Eloping. Wave has tried to elope a handful of times, once fully. Now that she is an open speller she warns us.

She just brought me the keys to our back gate!! These keys are kept about 7ft up on a nail for years. Until this moment I had no clue she even knew they were up there.

She then preceded to bring her swimsuit and tells me JUMP IN POND.

Behind our house, out of our sight is a pond.

Being able to communicate this moment gives me time to take all precautions before a nightmare unfolds. It doesn't make it less hard, but more manageable.

Our house is locked up tight. The snuggles are heavy.

Photo from Shutterstock.com

06/19/2026

When motor becomes over practiced it becomes automatic. This can be good like riding a bike, OR bad like self injurious behavior.

Motor coaching is a huge tool that every person can impliment whether you a loved one at home or a professional out in the community

Check out Dr. Dana Johnson's Ebook on motor coaching!

https://drdanajohnson.com/ebook/

I would love to talk more if anyone has questions, or needs support!

Waverly recently spelled TEACH MY HAND TO NOT HIT ME

Next to eloping, the head hitting is the one thing I most pray to fade.

On the topic of eloping, this happened two nights ago

TONS MY BODY WANTS TO ELOPE

I calmly sat back and said "well, that's hard. But you know you don't need to right? You know you are safe and where you need to be to be safe"

TONS YOU ARE RIGHT

** she was so calm and so sure of herself. I often think of eloping as a flight response, but in this moment there was no outwardly sign that this could happen.

Global Apraxia, when the body simply does not mirror the inside. The brains signals and the bodies movements are not aligned.

Her body being so incredibly regulated is greatest tool we have. We are getting to
Increased regulation through motor coaching and repeated purposeful movement.