The Telepathy Tapes

Talk Tracks Season 2 Episode 9: Unlocking Ryan

Date: March 11, 2026
Host: Ky Dickens
Guests: Mary Heller (mother), Ryan Heller (non-speaking autistic adult)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the extraordinary journey of Ryan Heller, a non-speaking autistic man with apraxia, and his mother Mary. It delves deeply into their discovery of Ryan’s telepathic abilities and his eventual emergence as an “open speller”—able to communicate using a letterboard. The conversation highlights the challenges and triumphs of unlocking communication through non-traditional means, the inadequacies and ableism within the education and medical systems, and the greater mysteries of consciousness, telepathy, and connection.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mary and Ryan’s Background

• Mary introduces herself as a mother of three, raising her kids on a Sebastopol farm, and recounts her relentless search for ways to help Ryan after his autism and apraxia diagnoses.
• She shares the emotional toll of the special education system, especially the persistent dismissal of her hope for Ryan’s potential.
  • “I’ll just drop it. You know, I didn’t drop the spelling goal, but that was the day my heart kind of sunk, like, stop trying, you know.” — Mary (05:36)

2. What is Apraxia? [03:44–05:48]

• Mary explains that apraxia is a mind-body disconnect:
  • “Your mind tells your body to do it and your body does something completely different.”
  • Sensory issues add further challenge; achievements are hard to discern because of unpredictable physical behaviors.

3. The Breakthrough: Spelling to Communicate [06:30–09:50]

• Mary describes discovering “spelling to communicate” after reading An Autism Miracle, which shifted her belief from “one-off miracle stories” to seeing genuine potential for many non-speakers.
• Ryan’s first spelling session revealed locked-in intelligence:
  • “[The therapist] says, magic dragons, as he’s spelling E-N-G-L-A-N-D.” — Mary (09:25)
  • This confirmed for Mary that Ryan’s intellect was intact and simply inaccessible via speech.

4. Ryan’s Internal World and Intelligence [13:02–14:36]

• Early open spelling revealed Ryan’s profound intelligence, deep faith, and knowledge his family didn't know he possessed.
• Mary recounts Ryan spelling obscure, accurate answers to trivia nobody in the family had discussed, raising questions of how he accesses information.
  • “He said, well, I, I study at night...I study in the conscious realms.” — Mary (14:10)
• Ryan is now an A student in college.

5. Telepathy and Shared Consciousness [17:31–21:46]

• Mary recalls early “psychic” moments, like Ryan detecting her pregnancy before anyone knew.
• As spelling began, she and other parents noticed uncanny shared thoughts and mental overlaps.
  • “A whole sentence would pop in my head, and then he would spell it or, you know, and it wasn’t from me… That’s why I was so blown away when Telepathy Tapes came out…because I was like, this is exactly what we’re living.” — Mary (18:45)
• The phenomenon is common in the non-speaking spelling community but often discouraged from public discussion.

6. Telepathy as a Sixth Sense and “Thought Channels” [20:51–21:46]

• Mary explains the concept of “co-regulation” and “training wheels”—sometimes, non-speakers need to “tune in” to a support person’s mental presence to start communicating, then move into their own autonomy.

• Ableist misinterpretations of these methods miss the wider reality of neurodiverse experience and connection.

  “We share a consciousness. And so actually my spelling went a little wonky when I was trying to…break the channel. They call it the thought channel, you know, because you want to break the thought channels. … And then he finally said to me, Mom, that’s like asking me not to hear.” — Mary (19:51)

7. Ableist Biases and the Need for Paradigm Shift [21:58–23:00]

• Mary emphasizes that observing behaviors through a neurotypical lens leads to fundamental misunderstandings and underestimations:
  • “Everything is viewed through such ableist eyes that we’re really doing them a disservice…And this is how it happened. That all these intelligent kids are in a system where everyone believes they’re unintelligent.” — Mary (22:35)

8. The Fire Story: Psychic and Ancestral Connection [23:16–26:24]

• Ryan, prompted by a felt message from his deceased grandmother, insisted on going home immediately—just in time to prevent his bungalow from catching fire.

• In spell, he later shares:

  • “My grandma came to me and told me to get home right away. And when I got there, the bungalow was starting on fire.”

• Mary takes great comfort in Ryan’s descriptions of ongoing connection with ancestors, describing them as supportive presences.

  “She sings me songs of perpetual devotion.” — Ryan, through spelling (26:14)

9. Regulation, Co-regulation, and the Parent-Child Dynamic in Spelling [27:06–31:46]

• Many parents struggle to spell successfully with their own children even if the child spells fluently with a practitioner.
• Ryan tells Mary:
  • “Mom, you need to take care of your own regulation.” (28:22)
  • Deep calm and self-care in parents are necessary for successful co-regulation and spelling—much deeper than “just take a few deep breaths.”
• Letting go of expectations is crucial, as is perseverance.

10. Medical Advocacy and Safety [32:08–32:43]

• For many families, the drive to spelling is about safety—understanding urgent medical issues when speech is unreliable.

11. Ryan Answers Listener Questions [33:40–37:07]

Are you happy? What has spelling changed for you?

• “I love my life. I have been through many things in my journey to be an open speller. It has to be the accomplishment in my life to date that I am most proud of… Without a way to share my thoughts, the colors in the world fall away from vibrance. Darkness consumes those left behind. In silence we are deserving of the chance to be heard and have our intelligence respected… I believe with my whole heart that everyone that can’t speak can spell.” — Ryan, through spelling (33:40–35:15)

Are all non-speakers telepathic?

• “Yes. It can happen for anyone willing to open their mind to the frequency whether you’re speaking or not… Non speakers just know because it happens involuntarily.” — Ryan (35:30)

Does he read the minds of other family members too?

• “Y E S yeah.” — Ryan (36:24)

Precognition and savant-like abilities?

• “It should really be perceived as a sense that has been developing because the control of our speech isn’t there. We took control in another sense… Over time, it has strengthened to the point where it is happening unconsciously.” — Ryan (36:42)

On sharing telepathy:

• “It’s funny because people get so blown away by it and tell us it’s so normal.” — Ryan (36:01)

Gratitude:

• “Thank you, Kai, for championing non speakers.” — Ryan (37:07)

12. Ryan’s Hopes, Dreams, and Creative Life [38:08–42:47]

• Ryan is attending college; his dreams include graduating (possibly with a mathematics degree) and becoming an advocate for non-speakers.
• He envisions schools where younger non-speakers can see adult mentors spelling.
• He enjoys close friendships, activities like roller skating, skiing, and going to movies, and writes poetry and hip hop lyrics.

Notable Lyric Excerpt: “Repair Yourself 2023”
(read aloud by Mary)

“...making my way to university so I can let out every verse in me, understand all that I planned... Repair yourself. You're very good. You can surpass that childhood.” — Ryan (41:07)

Life Skills and Family:

• Now able to communicate preferences (e.g., spelling that he wants cooking lessons over yet another radio for his birthday), Ryan has found greater satisfaction and agency in daily life.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On giving up hope:
  “I just felt like a deluded, you know, okay, I'm just a deluded parent. I'll just drop it. You know.” — Mary (05:36)
• On discovering spelling:
  “He says, magic dragons, as he's spelling E-N-G-L-A-N-D. And I just got the whole thing at that moment. I just started crying.” — Mary (09:25–09:29)
• On their unique connection:
  “We share a consciousness... Mom, that’s like asking me not to hear.” — Ryan, via Mary (19:51)
• On telepathy among non-speakers:
  “A million new parents would be like, same, same. And then the moderator would come on and be like, listen, we don't talk about this here... So I was very aware. I was like, I don't know what it means, but we have it.” — Mary (18:54)
• On surviving silence:
  “Without a way to share my thoughts, the colors in the world fall away from vibrance. Darkness consumes those left behind.” — Ryan (34:45)
• On his greatest accomplishment:
  “It has to be the accomplishment in my life to date that I am most proud of.” — Ryan (34:00)
• On sensing ancestors:
  “She sings me songs of perpetual devotion.” — Ryan (26:14)
• Mary’s message:
  "Everything is viewed through such ableist eyes that we’re really doing them a disservice…” — Mary (22:35)
• On Ryan’s musical and personal dreams:
  “He really loves writing his songs...he wants a mathematics degree…he wants his career to be advocacy for non speakers.” — Mary (38:23–39:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:13 – Mary’s family background & Ryan’s early years
• 03:44 – What is apraxia?
• 06:30 – Journey to discovering spelling to communicate
• 09:25 – The “England” moment: first spelling breakthrough
• 13:06 – What Ryan revealed when first spelling
• 14:20 – How Ryan ‘knows things’
• 18:45 – Telepathic experiences and community responses
• 19:51 – Shared consciousness; co-regulation in spelling
• 21:58 – Critique of ableism in autism discourse
• 23:16 – The fire story: precognition and ancestral messages
• 27:06 – Why spelling sometimes fails with parents; self-care and regulation
• 33:40 – Ryan answers listener questions about his life, telepathy, and more
• 38:08 – Ryan’s dreams, creative pursuits and daily life

Concluding Reflections

This intimate episode offers a rare, hopeful perspective on alternate forms of intelligence and consciousness, and the unmeasured richness inside many non-speaking individuals. It challenges deeply-held societal assumptions about communication, agency, and the boundaries of the human mind, while giving voice and dignity back to those too often dismissed. Ryan’s journey, and his mother’s advocacy, echo themes of love, resilience, and radical openness to new understandings of reality.

For Listeners

• For more telepathy experiments, see the Telepathy Tapes YouTube channel.
• For parents of non-speakers, take heart: “Never giving up is the first commitment to give a non speaker the quality of life all people deserve.” — Ryan

End of summary.