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My mamma is my woorde se stem, want ek is al 13 jaar oud maar kan nie praat nie. Tog het ek baie woorde in my kop wat ek graag met julle wil deel oor my lewe as ‘n outistiese seun. Daarom moet ek met my mamma se hulp vir julle skryf of spel op my spelbord, want my stem is stil. My mamma moet my help, maar my woorde is my eie woorde. Ek is nie my eie lyf se baas nie, daarom is dit vir my moeilik om self te tik, so, my mamma help my om te leer tik met Spelling to Communicate. Dit is my mooiste verhaal se begin by Spelling to Communincate wat vir my mamma gewys het dat ek ook mooi slim is en woorde het al het hulle niks klank nie. Ek is baie dankbaar vir Spelling to Communicate, want dit het my wereld van stilte oop gesluit. My woorde wat al so lank in my kop rond dwaal soos diere in ‘n hok, kan nou uiteindelik uit kom en my lewe is soveel beter as gevolg daarvan. My lewe was baie sleg toe ek nog nie kon kommunikeer nie. Nou word al my drome waar. Hierdie blog is een van my drome.

“It is important to tell my story so that other children can also be helped.” Nicolaas Paulsen

Translation to English by Mom.

Who I am and how I speak

My mommy is my words’ voice, because I am 13 years old but cannot speak.I have many words in my head though that I want to share with you about my life as an autistic boy. I therefore, with my mommy’s help, have to write to you or spell on my spellingboard, because my voice is silent. My mommy have to help me, but my words are my own words. I am not the boss of my own body, it is therefore very difficult for me to type myself. My mommy helps me to learn to type with Spelling to Communicate. My most beautifull story starts with Spelling to Communicate as it showed my mommy that I am also clever and have words eventhough they have no sound. I am very thankfull to Spelling to Communicate, because it unlocked my world of silence. My words, that have been wandering in my head like animals in a cage, can now be set free and my life is so much better because of that. My life was terrible before, when I could not communicate. Now all my dreams come true. This blog is one of my dreams.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.