‘Victorious People:’ Fauquier man helps members of the autistic community find their voice – Fauquier Now

Nicholas Moore with his mother, Wendy Johnston, who assists him with getting his messages out to the world.

For years while he was growing up in Warrenton, Nicholas G. Moore, who has autism, hardly spoke at all. His intelligence was hidden behind a wall of silence. Now, having discovered several methods of communication and melding them into one that works best for him, he is reaching out to autistic people and their parents to help them unlock their potential with his new business, Victorious People, LLC.

The business is hugely important to Moore, primarily because of his wish to help free others with autism to achieve what he refers to as Intentional Open Communication (IOC), or reliable communication with others. But it is also for himself, to achieve more financial independence.

My business is predicated on the fact that I have mastered self-advocacy and clearly become proficient at communication via typing. I believe every voice in our community needs to be heard and I intend to see that it is. For me, it is a passion and a mission, to bring these families closer to God and to free the voices of their sons and daughters.

(Editor's note: All quotes attributed to Nicholas G. Moore were spelled out on an alphabet board and relayed to the writer by his mother, Wendy Johnston.)

Successes and struggles

Moore was adamant this article be about successes, not struggles. But his struggles and overcoming them are what makes him what he is today and are important to the story. He explained, I spent 25 years in near silence being misunderstood and taken for a fool. When I was little, I was forced to live in silence not by people, but by fear. I was literally afraid to speak because nothing came out correctly. It felt to me as if a stranger had my throat. I developed a negative mindset that I could not speak. It was a devastating curse on my entire life.

Moore went to school, of course, but struggled as many with autism do. He attended C. Hunter Ritchie Elementary School, Marshall and Cedar Lee middle schools and Liberty High School. He learned fast but was frustrated by his inability to communicate. The school told my mother I couldnt be taught how to tell time. What they didnt know was I already knew. But I couldnt demonstrate it. They didnt give me a chance to show them my way, he said.

He continued, So, I suffered through the entire course of my education until one day when I was a teenager, a teacher named Carmen Fox was given me as a student. She saw a light in my eyes. And she knew I was in there. So, she proceeded to teach me. She found I could spell. I was the best speller in her class, even though I could barely speak. She was a lifesaver. She rescued me.

Community support

Moore also received support from others in the community. At about the age of 12, he aspired to become an athlete and worked with trainers at the Old Town Athletic Campus.

Cole Forsten embraced him as any other and thought outside the box to teach him to run, jump and sprint, said Wendy Johnston, Moore's mother.

He was a hero to me because he did not require me to talk, Moore added.

John Tanner, also then at OTAC, was another huge influence because, as Moore explained, He did not see me as disabled, but abled. He has always been a good friend.

The beginning of a new life

When Moore was 20, he attended a Special Olympics event that changed his life and his familys. He met a young man whose mother had trained in a method called Facilitated Communication (FC). They had coffee together, and she introduced Moore and his mother to this method of communication. Johnston said, I looked at the young man and said, Thank you. You have saved my son. And then he said, Thank you so much for meeting us. My mom needed a friend.

FC -- and similar methods called Spelling to Communicate (S2C) and Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) -- involve the autistic person spelling out messages by touching letters on a card or keyboard while their hands are steadied physically by a facilitator. Armed with this information, Moore and his family plunged ahead, and Moore, using a hybrid of the three methods, developed his own method of communication. He became proficient in spelling out messages that his mom would read. After 25 years, Johnston said, just by having the connection of my hand touching his, he was able to communicate with me and teach me about his whole life and about God.

The methods are not mainstream -- and are even discouraged -- in the commonplace treatment of autism due to studies strongly suggesting that responses are actually coming from the facilitator and not the autistic person. However, spelling on alphabet boards does have the support of hundreds of families around the globe, many of whom have found independence through typing. Moore said, The methods I learned have been largely discredited by professionals, but they dont ask us. We are the true experts.

However, noted Moore, spelling is not perfect. It is laborious, he said, to spell out each word of each thought. It is excruciating, and yet I need my voice to be heard. As autists, we are conceptual thinkers, not word thinkers. Concepts are large and vast. To hone them down to words is a huge act of willpower. To have to spell out every thought is challenging because they come so fast. It is maddening to have to wait for my mother to tell what Ive spelled out because I have so much more to say.

Forging ahead

Now, Moore has goals, primarily helping others with autism and helping to reduce the stigma they face. His business rates are reasonable, because sometimes autism treatment is cost-prohibitive, and Moore doesnt want any family to be broken by the inability to pay. He is not educated in the treatment of autism - as he said, I dont have a degree, I went to the school of hard knocks - but what he can do is use his own experiences, methods and successes to help other families.

I meet individually with each family and listen to their challenges. Then we teach them a bit about anxiety and motor control. From there we do a series of exercises to establish a baseline. And then make recommendations for a blueprint to success for each individual according to his or her unique situation, Moore explained.

He continued, We are a group of people with vast capabilities who are awaiting the key to unlock the prison doors to discover our voice, which has been locked away in silence. Helping someone unlock their own true voice is a huge gift to all.

Growing his mission

Moore has seven clients already -- some nonverbal, some partially verbal -- and is working seven days a week. He meets with clients both in person and virtually, and travels extensively within the U.S. to spread his message of helping all to find their voices.

I flew to Montana recently where I found a community willing and ready to embrace the communication challenges of their students. They have formed an autism center and they are working with me to add a communication training piece that is underwritten by grants and supported by donations. My hope is that I can do the same here in Warrenton, he said. I hope to invite everyone to embrace us as intelligent people that are no different from everyone else on the inside. We are all in the battle for our lives imprisoned by bodies that at times do not obey and are hampered by voices that at times do not convey our truest intentions.

Moore closed, My vision is for a worldwide network of hope to spring up out of nowhere and to rescue the lost voices around the globe. It all begins with me. That is my purpose in life. My vision is to first build a virtual community, and then an actual community in which autists can live, learn, and grow, and teach the world the truth about autism.

Website coming soon: thequietvoice.godaddysites.comIf you would like more information, write to Nicholas Moore at his business email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

This article originally appeared in the April 2022 issue of Warrenton Lifestyle. Read the full issue here.

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'Victorious People:' Fauquier man helps members of the autistic community find their voice - Fauquier Now