When you come across someone who is non-verbal, their life may seem to be shrouded in mystery, their thoughts and feelings inaccessible. Unless you know someone well who is non-verbal, the chances are that you feel rather daunted by interacting with them. Without help to bridge this gap, people who are unable to speak can become incredibly isolated. Fortunately, techniques do exist for enabling people we once thought could not communicate, to express their wishes, make choices and connect with others. Our colleagues at Communication Space are introducing these techniques to the Russian-speaking world. This beautiful video that they have made gives a fantastic insight into their work.
A note for non-Russian-speakers. Open the video in You Tube, open the settings, select subtitles. Turn subtitles on by selecting Russian. You can then go back into subtitles and select auto translate to get auto-generated English subtitles.
When young people are given the means to communicate for the first time it changes the whole of their life. Andrei’s journey shows just how much difference our help in this area can make. 
Gleb is 19 and an only child. He does not speak because of a rare genetic syndrome, which affected his development from the first months of his life. He needs to be accompanied and helped in his daily life. Gleb is a sociable and determined young man and he is happiest when he is busy. But he can only communicate by a gesture or a sound so communication is critical for his development, making new friends and exploring the outside world. Unfortunately there are simply no other facilities in Moscow which can offer disabled young people a chance to be active in the community and give them a different perspective on life.