Love John Paul was created to celebrate the life of John Paul Ingram, a non-speaking autistic and gentle giant. John Paul was officially diagnosed with regressive autism at the age of three.
John Paul had his own rhythm. He was a sensory seeker, a water-baby, curious, joyful, smart, mischievous and above all, a full of love for everyone. He never knew a stranger and would approach anyone with both hands up to deliver a thunderous high-five. He was 6 feet 8 inches tall, and 298 pounds: impossible to forget.
He worked hard in therapy with a positive attitude to control his body, even though it had to be so frustrating. As his mom, a speech language pathologist, I felt helpless; even with the knowledge I had acquired over the years. I started as a SLP in 1999, 7 years before I would have John Paul and Thomas, JP's twin brother.
There were definitely therapies that he enjoyed and that helped with his brain-body disconnect but out of ALL the therapies we tried, letter-boarding made the biggest difference. It gave him a voice, real autonomy. Not from an iPad or a high-tech AAC device, but a laminated piece of paper with just 26 letters. The laminate board allowed for real organic conversation.
Once he learned how to spell using the Rapid Prompting Method, it was like watching a rocket take off. John Paul loved to learn, and he was finally given the opportunity to do age-appropriate academics. Besides math, he had a love of poetry and wanted to pursue a career as a poet and writer. It was so exciting for us and his twin brother, Thomas, to communicate meaningfully for the first time in eight years of his life.
John Paul had many friends and a girlfriend of six years named Lily. He had two goals in life: learn to type independently and marry Lily. John Paul also had a seizure disorder we discovered when he was six years old. The seizures became worse as he grew up, and he passed on September 24, 2023.
John Paul had a heart that was pure and giving; he was love in human form. This website was created in John Paul’s memory to give parents and caregivers the knowledge to help their non-speaking, unreliably speaking, or minimally speaking children, young adult or even older adult autistic also find their voice.
John Paul had many friends and a girlfriend of six years named Lily. He had two goals in life: learn to type independently and marry Lily. John Paul also had a seizure disorder we discovered when he was six years old. The seizures became worse as he grew up, and he passed on September 24, 2023.
John Paul had a heart that was pure and giving; he was love in human form. This website was created in John Paul’s memory to give parents and caregivers the knowledge to help their non-speaking, unreliably speaking, or minimally speaking children, young adult or even older adult autistic also find their voice.
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I have created this website and charity in honor of my son, who lived and loved so big. My hope is that parents, caregivers, therapists and family members will visit this site to learn more about the ASD3 population and what we did that made such a positive impact on John Paul's life.