I wrote this poem as a reminder to myself. It reminds me to seek a way for everyone to communicate, even if every method that has been tried has not yet worked to allow the person to communicate effectively. It mentions some of the important elements of the search for a method, including making it possible for the person to use core words and not just nouns. Core words make up a large portion of everything we say, but they are not always included in AAC systems. Oftentimes people who need AAC are given an array of nouns, which make it impossible to put together a sentence or create a new statement. However, with only 40 core words, one can say many things. With the 26 letters of the alphabet and a space bar, one can spell anything. Never give up on spelling, with word prediction support, as a viable option. Spelling may even be easier than deciphering the countless visual symbols used in some symbolic communication systems.
It is important to be creative and to keep trying additional methods, technology, interaction approaches and anything that might help someone to communicate if their speech is ineffective. One must truly be relentlessly optimistic. If you think something is possible, then you will keep trying another way until something works. The risk in giving up the search for another method is that the individual will be left in what Chandi Rajapatirana calls the "silent abyss". So, I remind myself to be relentless with optimism and never give up.
