Why I Changed My Podcast Name to Awesome Nonspeakers

I have an exciting announcement to share.

I changed my podcast name to Awesome Nonspeakers.

The tagline is: Connection, competence, and hope for nonspeakers, unreliable speakers, and their families.

This change felt important to me. It also felt right.

When I first started this podcast a little over a year ago, I chose the name Awesome Autism Tools. At the time, that felt powerful. It felt more focused than my earlier podcast, Finding Joy in the Journey, and it gave me a place to begin sharing tools, stories, and things I had been learning in a more specific way.

But over time, it became more and more clear to me that the heart of this work is nonspeakers.

That is where I have spent so many years. That is where so much of my love is. That is where I have felt called to listen more deeply, teach more clearly, and serve more openly. I have worked with nonspeakers and their families for over 12 years now, and this new name feels much more aligned with what I am actually here to do.

Everyone is still welcome here, of course. Whether you are a parent, whether your child is nonspeaking, whether they are an unreliable speaker, whether they use AAC or spelling, whether they communicate in ways the world easily recognizes or not, you are welcome here. But this name finally says more clearly what my heart has known for a long time.

Why the Name Awesome Nonspeakers Feels More True

Sometimes a name fits for a season, and then later something more true rises to the surface.

That is what this feels like for me.

When I first chose the old name, I think I was not quite ready to make such a specific distinction. I knew I loved working with nonspeakers. I knew I was drawn there. I knew that this population held such a special place in my heart. But I was still growing into the fullness of that calling.

And honestly, sometimes clarity comes in layers.

I think that is true for so many things in life. We do not always get the whole picture at once. Sometimes we get a little nudge. Then another. Then another. And then one day we look back and realize God has been leading us somewhere all along.

That is what this name change feels like.

It feels like I have been growing toward it for a long time.

The Prayer That Helped Me Finally Make the Change

A few days before I officially made the change, I was in my Friday morning prayer group. We meet on Zoom, choose a topic, pray silently about it for ten minutes, and then share what we learned. That week the topic was making our dreams come true. The dream I was praying about was simple: I wanted this podcast to reach more people so I could be of service to more nonspeakers and their families.

As I prayed and pondered, a little group of nonspeakers popped into my mind.

And the message was so clear.

It’s time to change your podcast name to Awesome Nonspeakers.

I loved that moment.

It felt sweet and direct and very much in line with how guidance often comes to me. Not loud. Not forced. Just clear.

And I could see it.

I could see how that one change might help the dream come true. I could see how it would make it easier for the right families to find the podcast. I could see how it honored the work I have been doing all these years. And I could see how it would make space for me to more openly say what this podcast is truly about.

How Group Coaching Helped Me Understand the Importance of Using My Voice

There was another piece to this too.

About a year ago, I was in a group coaching session led by someone else. It was all about using our voice. There were just a few of us in the group, and one of the first things she had us do was go around and share something we were passionate about.

I think that was the first time I had ever talked in a group setting about being able to communicate spirit to spirit with nonspeakers.

I shared that I could see them in my mind. I could talk to them. I could hear their answers. And even saying that out loud made me feel nervous and hesitant and a little uncomfortable.

Then she guided us through journaling and reflection on what it means to use our voice and how we can feel more confident expressing ourselves.

And as I sat there journaling, something became so clear to me.

These children I communicate with spirit to spirit do not have a voice in the way the world expects a voice to sound.

That realization touched me deeply.

There are nonspeakers who communicate through spelling and other methods, and I honor that so much. But even then, communication can still be slow. It can still be limited. It can still be hard for others to hear and understand all that is inside them. And in that moment, I felt such compassion for what it would be like to have thoughts and feelings and hopes and preferences inside of you and not be able to express them in a way the people around you can easily hear.

That group coaching session helped me understand something deeper.

This is not just about me having an unusual gift.

This is about using my voice to help children who are not easily heard.

That changed everything.

Being a Voice for Nonspeakers Matters So Much to Me

At the end of that group coaching session, we went around again and shared what we were passionate about. This time, I spoke more confidently.

Not because I suddenly felt polished.

But because I understood more clearly why this mattered.

• It is not just interesting.
• It is not just spiritual.
• It is not just “different.”

It is powerful because it helps nonspeakers express their thoughts and feelings to the people they love most. It helps families ask questions that matter. It helps parents better understand what their child is experiencing. It helps create connection where there has been confusion, longing, or distance.

I have had parents ask very tender questions.

Some ask something as simple and sweet as, “What do you want to be for Halloween?”

Others ask much harder questions, like why their child screams so much, or what is happening beneath a behavior that no one has been able to explain. And the range of answers is beautiful and meaningful and sometimes surprising.

I still think about the mom who sent me a picture of her son dressed in the costume he had chosen in a session. Seeing him in that costume made my heart so happy. He looked happy. He looked known. It was one of those little moments that says so much.

This is why I do this work.

Not to create dependency.

Not to make big promises.

But to help open space for understanding, connection, and hope.

Why I Included Unreliable Speakers in the Tagline

I also want to say that I intentionally included unreliable speakers in the tagline.

That mattered to me.

I do work with quite a few unreliable speakers, and they encouraged me to make sure they were included too. I thought that was important and beautiful. So the tagline became: Connection, competence, and hope for nonspeakers, unreliable speakers, and their families.

To me, that reflects the heart of the podcast.

Connection.

Competence.

Hope.

Those three things matter so much in this space.

Because so many families have been told what their child cannot do.

So many have felt dismissed.

So many have sensed there is more going on, but have not had language or support for what they were noticing.

I want this podcast to be a place that gently says:

There is more.

Your child is in there.

Your child is communicating.

And hope belongs here.

What the Awesome Nonspeakers Podcast Is About

So what is this podcast really about?

For over 12 years, I have worked with nonspeakers and their families. This podcast is a place where I share what I have learned, what I am still learning, and the unique tools that have helped so many families feel more calm, connected, and supported. I presume competence, honor connection, and make space for hope and expression for nonspeakers, unreliable speakers, and their families. You will hear interviews with parents and insights from nonspeakers and unreliable speakers. You will hear about spirit-to-spirit communication, the Hill, AAC, spelling-based communication, sensory experiences, regulation, energy work, the Telepathy Tapes, and the deeper ways connection and communication can grow beyond spoken words. The podcast supports families with children across a wide range of diagnoses and experiences, including autism, apraxia, aphasia, Down syndrome, and more. And if you know there is more to your child than the world may see or hear, this podcast is for you.

That is the heart of it.

And I keep the episodes short, practical, and full of useful encouragement because I know parents are busy. I know life can feel overwhelming. I know sometimes you only have a few minutes. So I want those few minutes to matter.

Why I Am Keeping the Website Name the Same

At least for now, I am keeping my website name as Awesome Autism Tools.

That is still where you can find my sessions, classes, show notes, transcripts, podcast resources, and newsletter signup. There is a lot there, and it still fits beautifully under the larger umbrella of the work I do.

Sometimes not everything has to change at once.

And I think that is worth remembering in business and in life.

You can follow the next clear step without having to force every single part of the journey all at the same time.

What I Hope This New Name Communicates

More than anything, I hope this new name communicates clarity.

I hope it helps the right families find this work more easily.

I hope it honors nonspeakers.

I hope it honors the sacredness of communication in all its forms.

And I hope it gives language to something many parents are already sensing in their hearts: that their child is deeply aware, deeply loving, and more expressive than the world may realize.

I believe nonspeakers have a lot to say.

I believe they are competent.

I believe they are in there.

I believe communication can happen in more ways than we have been taught.

And I believe parents deserve support that helps them feel more calm, more grounded, more hopeful, and more able to trust what they are already noticing.

If You Know There Is More to Your Child Than the World May See or Hear

Then this space is for you.

If you have ever sat with that quiet knowing that your child understands more than people think…

If you have ever wished someone would stop focusing only on behavior and start honoring your child’s spirit…

If you have ever wanted support that blends the practical and the sacred…

If you have ever longed to understand your child more deeply…

Then I hope you will come listen to Awesome Nonspeakers, and share it with your friends!

This work matters to me so much.

It feels like a calling.

And I am grateful that I am finally more ready to say that out loud.

You are heard.

You are seen.

You are known.

You are loved.