Food for Thought, When Reality Stops Being “Normal”

Sometimes so much happens, so quickly, that the mind can barely keep up.

When your life begins filling with experiences that would normally be labelled unusual, supernatural, weird, out of this world, or even “crazy”, it can be overwhelming trying to comprehend it all, let alone integrate it, especially when those experiences have sat outside the norm for most of your life.

So I’ve learned to keep certain anchor points, moments I can return to when I need grounding, and when I need to remind myself, this is real, and I’m not imagining it.

Anchor Points

One of those anchor points is when I first began speaking about telepathy outside of my own family.

Back in the summer of 2023, I joined a Zoom in a Global Heart Healing group. It was one of those conscious, open-minded spaces where people were invited to share what they were experiencing, what they needed clarity on, and what they felt called to explore.

I trusted the group, not because they had all the answers, but because they held people with respect and curiosity, not judgement.

And in that space, I said the word, telepathy.

I explained what had happened with Kody, that he had been spelling, and that through his spelling he shared things that were far beyond what people expect of a nonspeaker. He mentioned mediumship abilities, and then he spoke about telepathy too.

I still remember the response I got.

They didn’t panic. They didn’t mock it. They didn’t try to shut it down.

They listened, and they were genuinely interested. They simply said, “Wow. That’s incredible. Keep us updated.”

That moment matters to me, because it was logged in time. It happened before I had ever heard of The Telepathy Tapes, which didn’t come out until January 2024.

So if anyone ever wonders whether I’m “caught up in the hype”, or whether this is something I picked up because it suddenly became a trending topic, I can honestly say, no.

This was happening in our lives already.

It Was Already Happening

And I’m grateful The Telepathy Tapes exists now, because it’s showing people that it’s not just one or two families.

It’s many.

And realistically, it’s probably far more than the show can even capture, because they only know the families they’ve found, mostly English-speaking ones, or those connected enough to be reached.

The world is a big place.

There are children and families in countries we don’t hear from, people outside of the networks, people who don’t have the language or platform access, and yet their experiences are still real.

What I’m learning is this, it’s always been there.

These abilities haven’t suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It’s more that the collective awareness is shifting, and it’s becoming safer to talk about them openly.

I remember reading someone say, “It’s safe to speak out now.”

And that struck me deeply, because it made sense.

The Pattern of New Awareness

As we look back through history, whenever something new challenges the existing worldview, there’s almost always a familiar pattern.

First, people dismiss it.

Then they ridicule it.

Then they fight it.

Then they slowly start talking about it.

And eventually, it becomes accepted.

There’s a quote often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi that goes something like,

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

And it’s not just spiritual things that follow this pattern, it’s science too.

Galileo Galilei was treated like a heretic for suggesting that the Earth wasn’t the centre of everything. He was ridiculed, punished, and silenced, simply for being ahead of the collective mindset.

Even Braille, created by Louis Braille, was once criticised and rejected. People said it didn’t work. They implied it was cheating. They tried to shut it down.

And now it’s completely normal, completely accepted, and completely essential.

That is what truth does. It persists.

So when I see telepathy receiving pushback, I don’t take it personally anymore. I recognise the pattern.

New awareness always shakes the foundations of what people believe is possible, and some people react to that discomfort by trying to crush it.

But what I’m noticing now, especially as we move into 2026, is that we’re in a different stage.

We’re in the stage where people are talking about it openly. People are genuinely interested, and they aren’t as afraid of being judged for it.

Even family members, the very ones I might once have assumed would never believe this, are starting to accept it like it’s no big deal.

I love seeing that.

It feels like a collective shift is happening.

The Internet Changed Everything

The internet has played a huge part in this too. Without the ability to connect online, so many of us would have stayed isolated, believing it was “just us”.

But now I can sit in WhatsApp chats and Facebook groups with families who live this reality every day, families with children like mine, and suddenly you realise, it’s not rare… it’s just hidden.

And I’m excited.

I’m genuinely excited for what this year, and the years after it, are going to bring, especially now that I’m connected to people who truly get it.

People like Steven May are a perfect example of how this movement expands beyond the families themselves.

He spoke about learning what these kids were capable of, pulling over in his car to cry, and then feeling a deep, undeniable call to do something in service of nonspeaking people and their families.

That kind of response proves something important to me.

You don’t have to be the parent of an autistic child to serve this community.

You just have to have a heart.

It Can’t Just Be About the Magic

And yet, alongside the wonder of it all, I keep coming back to something I feel is vital to say.

It can’t just be about the “magic”.

Because yes, it’s extraordinary, and yes, it’s hopeful, and yes, it’s expanding people’s minds.

But I still clean up poop.

I still live through dysregulation.

I still have to protect my children from the practical dangers of daily life.

I still know what it feels like to be a parent holding everything together behind the scenes, even when people romanticise the story.

And sometimes it feels like the world only wants the inspiring parts.

They want the miracle moments, the beautiful clips, the jaw-dropping “proof”. They want the glossy version. The “Love on the Spectrum” version.

They want the story that feels uplifting and digestible.

But many families live in a reality that is raw, messy, exhausting, and relentless.

Some autistic children cannot survive physically on their own. Some need full support with toileting, eating, dressing, washing, and safety.

Some elope into danger without warning.

Some have died after wandering into water.

Some become so strong during dysregulation that families can no longer keep anyone safe without outside support.

Some have lived and died without ever being offered a way to communicate, simply because nobody believed they were in there.

That isn’t rare.

It’s just not shown.

And if part of these children’s mission is to teach unconditional love, then we have to be honest about what unconditional love really is.

Unconditional love isn’t only loving a child when it’s easy.

It isn’t only loving them when they inspire people.

It isn’t only loving them when their support needs don’t cost money.

It isn’t loving them only when they entertain the world.

Unconditional love is the whole truth.

And the whole truth is that many of these brilliant children still need real, practical, physical support.

Their families need help too, not just applause.

It can’t just be about the magic.

Apraxia Is a Mask

Because there’s another layer that the world still doesn’t fully understand, even now.

Apraxia is a mask.

Apraxia can cause a child’s body to say one thing while their mind is saying another. It can cause them to walk away when they desperately want to come closer.

It can cause them to push away what they actually want.

It can make them appear uninterested, or unwilling, or “challenging”, when the reality is completely different.

I’ve heard nonspeaking typers describe apraxia in ways that changed me.

One person said, “Apraxia is walking into my sister’s bedroom when I want to go downstairs.”

Imagine wanting something so simple, and your body betraying you.

Another described a moment where they wanted to go swimming with a loved one, but their body turned away.

The adults assumed they didn’t want to go.

Only later, once they could type, did the truth come out, they had wanted to go all along.

The body had just let them down.

This is happening all the time.

And yet professionals are trained to respond to what they see, not what is actually happening inside the person.

So children get misunderstood, misinterpreted, and yes, misdiagnosed.

The more independent typers speak out, the more this becomes undeniable.

People are beginning to understand that these children are not “less” just because their bodies move differently.

So What Happens Next?

My question is this.

If we know these children are intelligent, when does the education system shift? When does the curriculum shift? When do support systems shift?

Because acknowledging intelligence is only step one.

It’s important, but it isn’t enough.

Communication shouldn’t only be for the families who have the strength to battle the system.

It shouldn’t only be for the families who can afford practitioners.

It shouldn’t only be for the lucky few who happen to hear about letterboards early enough.

I didn’t hear about spelling methods until Kody was around thirteen, and by then these methods had already existed for over a decade.

So I ask myself sometimes.

Why didn’t I know sooner?

Why weren’t we told?

How many children could have been supported earlier, educated properly, empowered sooner?

I could easily sit in grief about that.

But I try to focus on the momentum now.

Because something is building.

More speech and language therapists, teachers, and OTs are waking up too.

Some are leaving their professions entirely to support nonspeaking communication.

Some are doing it quietly alongside their “official” roles.

That tells me everything I need to know.

The truth is moving.

And maybe, just maybe, we’re approaching the point where the next generation of highly apraxic, nonspeaking children won’t need their mothers to fight like warriors just to access the basics.

Maybe one day, the support will simply be there.

The communication will simply be available.

And the children will finally be met where they truly are.

Not where their bodies appear to be.

And that is what I’m excited for.

Why I’m Building What I’m Building

That’s why I’m writing The Adventures of Kody & Aron.

And that’s why I’m also gathering our UK families, so we can co-create a physical space and hub to call our own.

Because I know it’s not just about us, it’s about what comes next.

Monique