A World Behind the Silence: When the Letters Came Back | Naghmeh Afshinjah | TEDxLitte lran Women

A TEDxLittle Iran Women talk by Iranian-Canadian artist and art educator Naghmeh Afshinjah about her non-speaking autistic son, Matin. After reports narrowed his future, she sought a way for him to communicate. At sixteen, letter-based communication allowed him to point to letters and share thoughts, dreams, and poetry. The talk reflects on motherhood, communication, presuming competence, and how judgments about human potential shape people's lives. Afshinjah argues that nonspeaking people should not have to wait a lifetime to prove they have something to say.

• A mother's account of raising a non-speaking autistic son
• Letter-based communication opening access to his thoughts and poetry
• Presuming competence in nonspeaking people
• The right of nonspeaking people to communicate

For years, my non-speaking autistic son was defined by what his body could not do and those limitations were often mistaken for limits of his mind. At sixteen, access to letter-based communication began to reveal a world that had been there all along: thoughts, questions, poetry, and a voice waiting for a way to be heard. This is a story about motherhood, communication, presuming competence, and the profound consequences of how we judge human potential. Naghmeh Afshinjah is an Iranian-Canadian visual artist, painter, graphic designer, illustrator, writer, and art educator. She brought art into social action, earning recognition from the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada for defending freedom and women’s and human rights in Iran. For her, standing firm is deeply personal. When reports and assessments narrowed the future of her nonspeaking autistic son, Matin, she refused to accept them as the final word on his life. She mobilized her life around finding a path to communication. Matin worked to express himself: pointing to letters, he shared his thoughts, spoke of his dreams, and composed poetry. The young man others spoke about now had something to say himself. Naghmeh sees this achievement as the beginning of a larger mission. She advocates for nonspeaking people’s right to communicate, with one clear demand: no one should have to wait a lifetime to prove they have something to say. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx