A devoted mum has gotten an entire keyboard tattooed on her arm so her non-speaking son is always able to communicate with her.
Jessica Fletcher’s son Hunter, 11, was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old.
He uses Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices to communicate, alongside gestures and some sign language.
- Advertisement -
But when the tech failed one day, Jessica came up with a genius way of helping her boy talk.
The mum, 32, asked a tattoo artist to ink a keyboard on her forearm – allowing her son to spell out what he wants to say.
His first words upon seeing the tattoo left her in tears.
“As soon as I showed it to him after picking him up from school, he immediately grabbed my arm and typed ‘Mama’,” Jessica told Whats The Jam.
“Later that evening, before bed, he used it to say, ‘I love you mama’.
- Advertisement -
“I just knew in my heart at that moment that he understood it was permanent, like my other tattoos, and that it was all for him.”
A video of Hunter using the keyboard tattoo has since been viewed more than 100 million times.
Other parents have since been inspired to get similar tattoos, while artists have even offered their services and accessible clothing has even been designed.
- Advertisement -
Jessica said: “The response has honestly been overwhelming, but in the best way.”
The children’s author and autism and AAC advocate came up with the idea after Hunter’s communication device died while they were having breakfast at a restaurant.
He normally uses it to tell his mum whether he wants sausage, bacon or ham with his meal.
But the device had not charged properly overnight, and its battery went flat as soon as they sat down.
“Hunter got upset,” said Jessica.
“I knew he could point to the menu, but he needed a way to ask for other things or communicate other questions and thoughts.”
Jessica – who is from New Brunswick, Canada – asked a waitress for a pen and paper and began writing out the alphabet.
Before she could finish, Hunter turned the page over and wrote “Q W E R T Y” – the first row of letters on a standard keyboard.
Jessica helped him complete the layout before he used two fingers to “type” what he wanted to eat and continued communicating with it throughout his meal.
“I decided then and there that I would get it tattooed on me,” she said.
Shortly after that, Jessica was introduced to tattoo artist Farnaz at Main Street Tattoo Company.
Farnaz designed the keyboard and spent two hours applying it to Jessica’s forearm.
The shop’s owner covered part of the undisclosed cost because he believed the tattoo was “meaningful and important”.
Jessica deliberately positioned it where Hunter could reach it easily while allowing her to see which letters he selected.
She said: “This tattoo was the least painful tattoo I have ever had.
“I hardly felt it at all, almost as if it was always meant to be there.”
Hunter first began communicating through pictures before progressing to an AAC device.
Although he was initially reluctant to use it, his literacy skills developed at school and he now spells, types and has recently begun handwriting messages to his mum.
He can also sign words including “mum”, “home”, “drive”, “shower”, “more” and “eat”.
However, Jessica said he does not have the motor skills and dexterity needed to communicate extensively through sign language.
She added: “The biggest misconception I want to challenge is that non-speaking means non-thinking.
“Hunter understands, learns, remembers, has opinions and has so much to say.
“He loves swimming and music, collects marble runs and enjoys building them.”
His mum said he also has a mischievous sense of humour and “the most contagious laugh”.
The tattoo recently proved invaluable when Hunter’s AAC device broke and its replacement took a week to arrive.
He used Jessica’s arm to spell the names of shops and places he wanted to visit – including words she had never seen him type before.
She said: “It made me realise that he has been reading and remembering signs as we drive around and go about our everyday lives.
“I think limiting him to technology when technology can fail is not fair to him, because communication is a human right.”
Some relatives had warned Jessica that the keyboard might not look good as a tattoo.
But she added: “Looks mean nothing to me if it means giving my son another option for communication.
“I hope other families see our story and realise they don’t have to wait for spoken words to start listening.”
READ MORE: ‘Moving to the UK saved my LIFE after I shed nine stone through eating BRITISH FOOD’ reveals American
