I am a dear, sweet boy. I think I really know that I love to tell people I do hope to look like the other kids. It has been tough not being able to talk with my mouth. Not being able to look the same in knowing how to use my mouth to understand language using my voice is not fun. I get very lonely knowing I find no one can hope to just have a conversation with me.

The younger years were the impossible ones. I could not let people know I was smart. It really easily was the worst time in my life. You find yourself in your mind more than out. I really found it tough. It helped that my loving mom tried to find understanding, good to look for ways to help me. I know it just was very hard on her too.

Getting a note from the Adriana Foundation about facilitated communication put hope in our lives. I really was not sure what to expect in New Orleans. We traveled there to learn about FC. I was six years old I think. I tried to type with a fun lady named Annegret. It was understand, just loving, knowing thought in my life that I could tell my mom I loved her. I think it was so pleasing to me to find a way to talk.

I think it is not easy for people to understand how fc works. It does hope to show that people can be trapped in a body that does not do what it really wants to do. The reason it works for me is it helps my body get in thinking some just easy ways to type. I really need somebody to help me get started. It is not you thinking the thoughts but minds like mine that need the dear sweet running pace to help me stop freezing the thoughts from coming. It does not seem like too minds can just work together but it is important to look for loving, calm thoughts to hope for FC to plan on you really to type.

The beginning is not easy. I tried to type for a long time with my mom before I could get the right timing. It was not easy. My advice is to not give up on someone finding a voice. It was just my mom who tried to hope for me to talk. Remembering the younger, young times in my life is not full of hope. No one really thought I really had too much freedom in my life to hear their words and understand not to mention talking. I really, think people know very little about minds like mine.

This has been a very important year in my life. I found a good friend named Alan Kurtz. He came to school to help people learn how to type with me. I think I easily am the very lucky guy to have Mrs. Porell and Ms. Gilmore be my friends. I really was very frightened to type with other people other than my mom. It really is not easy to understand but it is like opening a book and not knowing where to just begin. I did not know if I could trust them with my thoughts. I am not feeling that way now. I know that they love me and want me to talk. I found that Kate tried to use music and art to look for ways to show me that it is ok to let go of fears. I think that gave me the idea that typing the thoughts in my head would be like letting the words leave my mind to just talk. You know that I hope that this timing of my freedom to type with other people does not stop. It has been the most important thing to happen to me since I learned how to FC. They hope that I will type by myself. It will happen in good time.

I hope you get good hope from my story. It has been my love wanting to help other kids talk that will make it not as hard to talk to you today. I think you know that I am trying to tell you not to give up on your dreams. I find mine are coming true.

By Zachary Brix

April 30, 1998