Nick D'Amora had autism. He was a nonspeaker until the age of 12, when he broke through the silence and began to communicate using RPM with Soma Mukhopadhyay. Nick loved cooking, listening to music, going to concerts, dancing and playing various board games with his friends. Nick's friendships were legion, he had many, many friends, both neurodivergent and neurotypical.
As a young teenager, Nick quickly decided to step up and into the public eye to speak his truth – that he was a nonspeaker, but not a nonthinker. That he was capable and competent.
Nick, with his mother Barbara D'Amora, and his communication partner Susanne Cannella bravely put himself out there as a public speller, advocation with the Board of Education, the Grace Foundation, and parent groups for nonspeaking autistics.
Nick did the very heavy lifting before the word and the experience of spelling as communication had reached other parents and nonspeakers. He was a powerful and credible advocate in the face of skepticism about communication access for nonspeakers. Much is owed to him because he brought spelling to the lives of many, many nonspeakers and practictioners.
Tejas Rao Sankar, William Jusino, Cristofer Puleo and Nicholas - four inspiring young men, worked hard to create a world for spellers built by spellers. They advocated to start and cofound CrimsonRise.
CrimsonRise is cofounded by Spellers and is designed with the creed of the Autism Community. 'Nothing about us without us'. Much is owed to Nick D'Amora, who was the catalyst to change that many nonspeakers are now benefiting from.
Nick’s story has been covered in many news specials and he has received multiple honors.
He was a contributing author to Leaders Around Me: Autobiographies of Autistics who Type, Print and Spell to Communicate, Edited by Edlyn Pena.
