Luke Verhoeff, 21, is an Autistic non-speaker who was trapped in his own mind for 19 years until he finally found his voice through spelling on a letter board (one letter at a time), with the support of a certified Communication Regulation Practitioner.

Luke was presented with the Fifth Annual Jim & Ginette Munson Autism Leadership Award on Wednesday, April 15th at the 12th Annual Canadian Autism Leadership Summit hosted by Autism Alliance of Canada. He was awarded an artwork piece by artist Hope Flynn, an Autistic visual artist, muralist, and face painter based in Ontario.

In the past two years, despite minimal formal education, he has completed a university course, written 20 poems, co-authored the book Hopenstone with his mom, presented in an Aide Canada webinar, contributed to University of Calgary research on virtual/eye-gaze letter boards, and appeared on the CBC Gem show The Assembly.

Luke advocates for nonspeaking Autistic individuals, raising awareness of apraxia and the letterboard as a successful communication tool.

Inspired by his journey, his community founded the nonprofit Spellingway Communication Society, to help others access spelling-based communication (www.spellingway.com). A self-described “max-chill hippie,” Luke aspires to be a poet and finds healing in writing. He enjoys his morning Nespresso, a great steak, and spending time in nature listening to the wisdom of the trees.

Learn more at thisisluke.ca.