The dad of a non-speaking, autistic boy who had the alphabet tattooed on his arm to help communicate with him says other parents are planning to do the same.
Dan Harris, 45, had the £180 tattoo completed on his left forearm three weeks ago after he became concerned that son Joshie, 11, can’t always tell him what he wants.
Joshie, who was diagnosed with autism when he was two years old, uses an iPad, also known as his ‘talker’, to communicate his needs using simple words and pictures.
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However, Dan said the iPad can run out of charge or become damaged or lost which means that Joshie is left without the means to express his feelings.
Now dad Dan has said he has been approached by other parents around the world who want a similar tattoo.
Dan, from Peterborough, Cambs, said: “I’ve had people both locally and internationally reach out me and say they’d like to get the same.
“Maybe a dozen people globally are talking about doing it.
“Joshie is spelling out his name and our names too. He also spelt out ‘I want ice cream’ when he wasn’t eating his dinner and wasn’t telling us why.
“He uses it all the time. Every day I’ve been at home he has come into my bedroom and looked to see if it’s still there.”
Dan, who is the founder of the charity Neurodiversity in Business, said Joshie’s ‘talker’ running out of battery was becoming an issue as it was with him all the time.
He explained: “Once we were up in Scotland at a beach and the talker had run out of battery. We were really sad at how upset Joshie was – he was desperately trying to tell us what he wanted.
“When we got home and charged it, he told us he wanted an ice cream but the moment had passed because we’d left.”
Joshie’s ‘talker’ uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) which Dan said has “transformed” his life. The alphabet tattoo is another “complimentary” way Joshie can express himself if the iPad becomes lost, damaged or unusable.
Dan said: “Joshie is a non-speaking autistic boy and when he was younger, he would communicate through physicality and pull you towards what you wanted.
“Before the talker, he would get incredibly frustrated not being able to tell us his desires but now he can.
“We’re blown away that his cognitive ability isn’t locked up in his head and he can communicate a certain way. It’s not replacing his speaking, it’s scaffolding it.”
The father-of-two said Joshie’s talker can help him “eloquently” communicate his needs while the tattoo is a back-up – and a great way for him to practice his spelling.
Dan said: “He tells us he wants ‘ice cream’ and he can spell it out on my arm. He is beginning to start bringing those letters together to say the word.
“Even though kids like Joshie may not be able to verbalise, they can spell and they know what they want – they understand.”
Dan was inspired by Joshie to set up the Neurodiversity in Business charity, a group of unpaid volunteers who are looking to transform the life chances of neurodivergent people.
As founder, Dan has spoken with prime minister Keir Starmer and been invited to the United Nations in Paris and New York to speak on the issue.
Joshie even went with him to one of the UN meetings and said through his ‘talker’: “I go big city, I go taxi, I have big breakfast”.
Dan also previously secured funding to install 100 communication boards for autistic and other non-verbal people around Peterborough.
He said: “There is a real discrimination against disability and for non-speakers, it’s not very well understood.
“When Joshie and I were at a communication board, a woman told us they shouldn’t be here as they were ruining nature. Does Joshie not have a right to be there and be able to communicate?
“As a compassionate society we should be understanding the difference in how the brain operates.
“Joshie would love to have more ice cream and it is on the tip of his tongue. It is a difference in the way his brain develops it’s not that he won’t, he can’t.”