When Micah was little, I used to catch him smiling or laughing at something subtlety humorous that I thought many people might not pick up on. As he did not speak, I could not ask him about his reactions, but I knew he was taking in far more than what most people thought he was capable of. Little did I know how much everyone, myself included, underestimated him. One of the most recent joys of his journey with Spelling to Communicate (S2C) is that he is spelling out statements that are so surprising and funny that Beth Frede, his S2C practitioner, has been laughing so hard that she has had to take a break to regroup to go on with his lessons.
On a lesson about Tardigrades (microscopic organisms that I knew nothing about until listening to the lesson) Beth asked, “What is something tardigrades can go a long time without?” I knew from listening to the lesson that the answer was water, but Micah spelled out SEX. Then he laughed and spelled SORRY SNL SKIT. ONE THING IS WATER. When Beth asked him, “What’s something else that causes radiation?” Micah wiped the board with his finger and she asked, “Are you cleaning my board off”? Micah wrote YES SO DIRTY. YOU SHOULD SO NOT MAKE CLAIMS THAT YOU”RE A GOOD HOUSEKEEPER. This is funny as Beth’s house is spotless, I can only dream of meeting her housekeeping standards. Micah knows it too; he just wanted to pull her chain! Beth then asked Micah, “If you were a superhero, what would your superhero name be?” Micah wrote MICAH SWANKY. “What would your superpower be? STINKING UP THE PLACE.
His next lesson was about Phyllis Latour who was a spy for the allied forces in 1944. Phyllis was 23 years old, an orphan who spoke three languages and was dropped behind enemy lines posing as a 14-year-old farm girl who sold soap. Micah was asked “Why might it be easier for an orphan to become a spy?” He spelled NO ONE TO STOP THEM FROM ESPIONAGING. Beth asked, “If you were going to be a spy, what would your persona be?” Micah spelled out A FOURTEEN YEAR OLD SOAP SELLING FARMGIRL then started laughing as we all tried to picture 6’2″ 240lb Micah trying to pull off that disguise! Beth asked, “How did Phyllis gather information?” Micah spelled SHE CHATTED UP SOME NATZI DUDES. The last question that day was “What’s the word that was used for deception?” Micah’s answer MY MOM IS SURE I’M DECEIVING HER WITH MY OUTLANDISH NONSPEAKING SUBTERFUGE!
What an amazing blessing to have Micah reach this level of openness with Beth so he can let us in on some of the funny thoughts he has not been able to share until now. One question that Beth asked him that I am hoping to explore in the future was about what language or languages he knows or is familiar with. Micah spelled out I KNOW FRENCH, CANTONESE, AND I’M FLUENT IN THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE! What a wild journey we are on!
*A quick update from last month, is that Micah is adjusting better to his new direct support worker which is a huge relief. Thanks to those of you who prayed and have been checking in on him.
**A quick update for next month is to give you the heads up that I will be posting about Our Homestead’s participation in the New Hampshire Gives fundraiser which goes from 5:00 PM on June 9th to 5:00 PM on June 10th. I am asking for support of this effort to create long term housing for Micah and his peers. Twice a year I will post about ways to support Our Homestead, not to make anyone feel pressured but to share the opportunity to help our nonprofit build much needed housing. I won’t live forever, so we need a safe plan in place for Micah and his peers as housing options are critically needed in New Hampshire. Thanks to each of you who donated last December, I so appreciate your support and will only post opportunities to support our housing project on this blog in June and December going forward.
Blessings, Jan Lessard Peightell and Micah James Lessard
May14, 2026
