INSIDE TRU: Trailblazer and changemaker unlocks voice, becomes poet

See the full article published by Inside TRU here 

Luke Verhoeff was first diagnosed at age 3 1/2 with mild-to-moderate autism and global developmental delay (GDD). A non-speaker, he often felt trapped. “I didn’t know the way out,” he said. Following years of speech, vision, oxygen, neuro, physio, occupational, hearing and cranio-sacral therapies, Luke found his voice through a letterboard, which his family refers to as the “great awakening.”

Luke, now a TRU student, poet and one of the stars of the upcoming CBC series The Assembly, said it best: “Silence is not an option. You can be seen and heard without the need for spoken word.”

Luke is featured on the CBC television series The Assembly as part of a rotating cast of 47 autistic adults, interviewing top Canadian celebrities, including Jann Arden, Howie Mandel, Russell Peters, and Arlene Dickinson, over the course of six episodes.

“I am very grateful for the exposure and experience”, Luke said. “I am pinching myself that non-speakers get to be a part of this, to have the opportunity to interview celebrities and for the world to see us in a new light. I am a part of something meaningful. I must admit, I feel overwhelmed. I never thought I would have this learning experience.”