The son cannot speak — so she tattooed a keyboard on her arm
Jessica Fletcher, a mother of an autistic child who does not speak, tattooed a full keyboard on her arm with letters, faces, and an "I love you" button. The idea was born in a moment of crisis, when the batteries in her son Hunter's communication device ran out at a restaurant — and in response, he drew a keyboard on a napkin and began pointing.
When the batteries ran out in the device that helps her 11-year-old son communicate, in the middle of a meal at a restaurant, Jessica Fletcher panicked — but Hunter, who does not speak, simply took a napkin, drew a keyboard on it, and began pointing at what he wanted. This small moment sparked an idea for the mother that has since become a phenomenon online: she tattooed a full keyboard on her arm so that her non-verbal autistic son could always "talk" to her — by tapping on her skin.
Fletcher's idea was born out of a daily family crisis. She went out to eat with Hunter when suddenly the batteries in his Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device ran out — a tablet that allows him to choose words and symbols. While she was upset, Hunter was not bothered at all: he took a napkin, drew a keyboard on it, and began pointing at his order. For his mother, it was a moment of enlightenment, and from it grew the solution — a backup that would never run out of charge.
Fletcher worked with a tattoo artist to tattoo a full keyboard on her arm: letters, a happy face, a sad face, and an "I love you" button. The first word Hunter typed when she revealed the surprise to him was "Mom." Since then, according to her, a large part of the communication frustration between them has disappeared — and every time they are together, Hunter can simply tap what he wants to say.
The tattoo also has an unexpected advantage: privacy. Unlike the communication device, which reads the words aloud, the arm allows the mother and son to have quiet conversations, almost in whispers.
On July 8, Fletcher posted a video on Facebook in which Hunter "talks" through her arm. The video exploded and garnered more than two million likes, becoming a source of inspiration for other families dealing with the same challenge.
"When we remove communication barriers, we give non-speakers a chance to show us who they really are," Fletcher told a Canadian news station.
Since then, the idea has spread far beyond and made waves in the world. According to the mother, the most touching moment was when Hunter's school friends also asked for keyboard shirts, "so they could talk to him on the playground, whisper, and tell him secrets." Fletcher partnered with a clothing company to produce shirts with a printed keyboard along the sleeve, and according to her, parents, nurses, doctors, and emergency responders have reached out to her from around the world — while tattoo artists have offered to tattoo similar keyboards on parents for free.
For Fletcher, the tattoo is a lifeline, a conversation, and an empowering message that everyone would be happy to receive: "I hear you." And she, according to her, would do it again:
"I would give my body a thousand scars if it gave my son one more way to communicate."
