Presuming Competence: Why It's the Foundation of Real Inclusion

When we talk about inclusion in education or society, we often focus on ramps, visuals, or assistive tools. These are important — but inclusion doesn’t start with access. It starts with mindset. And the most radical, powerful mindset we can adopt is to presume competence.

Presuming competence means believing that every individual — regardless of how they communicate — is intelligent and capable of learning. It means speaking to people, not about them. It means offering the same expectations, choices, and respect to a nonspeaking person as we would to anyone else.

In the world of Spelling to Communicate (S2C), we see every day how life-changing this presumption is. So many of our students have spent years — even decades — underestimated, misjudged, and misunderstood. Not because they couldn’t think, but because their bodies couldn't express their thoughts in a typical way.

But the moment we offer them a letterboard, a safe space, and the belief that they can, they rise. They spell. They share insights. They tell their truths. And more often than not, they outshine every expectation placed on them.

If we wait for someone to "prove" their intelligence before we treat them as competent, we’ve already failed them. Our job as educators, therapists, and families is to open the door — not wait for a knock.

💡 Today, I challenge you:

Speak to that student who’s never spoken back.

Offer choices to the adult who's always been spoken for.

Believe in potential, even when the world says "low functioning."

Presuming competence isn't a strategy. It’s a commitment. And it's the first step toward a truly inclusive world.

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