Tom Foti of Springfield came up with Inside Voice when he saw his autistic non-verbal brother, Brian, using a spelling board to communicate with their parents, writes Jessica Boyington for 6abc.

It was a career changer that took him from a career in radio to develop a program called Inside Voice for the nonprofit A.A.L.I.V.E. started by his family in 2007.

A.A.L.I.V.E  creates social opportunities for families with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism.  

Inside Voice, started in 2017, teaches nonverbal and limited speaking people with autism 16 and up how to communicate by letter board.

Emily Pinto of Drexel Hill co-directs the program.

Pinto said autistic individuals soak in their environment and form “beautiful content, complex thoughts about those things,” but can’t communicate through speech.

The two work with about 35 students.

Gregory Tino is one of them.

“He was 25 when he started, and I thought he had the intelligence of a toddler,” said his mother, Linda. “He now writes a blog where he writes almost every other day with me. He writes the most profound stuff, beautiful poetry. He’s written a book that took him a year and a half.”

Read more at 6abc about A.A.L.I.V.E and Inside Voice.