A dear friend in St Louis told me about a farm in Michigan, Benjamin’s Hope. In researching this farm, I spoke with Anna, a staff member who shared the history of Benjamin’s Hope and the incredible communication method they use, RPD, Rapid Prompting Method. Ben’s Hope was founded with a core value of assumed intelligence. RPM is a method for communication with those with developmental differences to connect with their world. Anna told me that RPM empowers those with nonverbal communication styles to express their intelligence and inner thoughts. RPM was developing by Soma Mukhopadhyay whose son Tito has autism. Here’s a link that shows you Tito explaining how he thinks.

Walking to Christmas eve service, Gabe spotted this cool wall!

With my nephew Gabe, I know he understands a lot but he has no way to convey his thoughts. When Anna told me about this method, I thought of Gabe and being able to unlock the door for him to communicate with his world.

Anna went on to explain the RPM training and how they incorporate it at Ben’s Hope. She encouraged me to take the training and learn it for myself. Not only for Gabe, but I think about the teams I enjoy on a weekly basis, imagine if they could have the option to communicate when/if they wanted. I told Anna about my plans and asked her for her recommendation on what to do first. Immediately she said, “Take the RPM training”. I appreciated her opinion but she went on to explain. After she had completed the training and returned to Ben’s Hope, she started working with one of her farmer friends using this method. At the end of their time together, he said to her, “Thank you for respecting me.”

Respectful communication. Assumed intelligence. Connecting with your world. Isn’t that what we all want?