My story · in my own words
Born without a voice.
Still here, still loud on paper.
I am Staś. I am 13. I have never made a sound — not a cry, not a laugh, not a single hum. This page is the long answer to the question I get the most: “What actually happened to your voice?” It is also a little of who I am beyond the diagnoses.
01 · The condition
Bilateral vocal-fold agenesis
Most people have two vocal folds inside their larynx — small flaps of tissue that vibrate when air pushes past them. That vibration is how voices happen. I was born without those folds. Both sides. There is nothing in my throat for air to vibrate against, so I cannot speak, laugh, scream, sing, whisper, or even properly cough.
The condition is called bilateral vocal-fold agenesis. It is extremely rare — only one other person without tuberous sclerosis has been documented with it. I am not a case study, I am a kid, but the rarity is part of why doctors and specialists are always present in my life.
02 · Autism
Autistic, in the matter-of-fact way.
I am autistic. Routines, textures, light and sound levels all matter to me. Eye contact is hard. Crowds and loud rooms drain me fast. On set or at the desk I need predictable structure: same order, same warning before changes, written instructions over spoken ones. None of this is fragile — it is just how I work best.
03 · How I communicate
AAC, typing, sign, expression.
I use an AAC speech app on a tablet to ‘talk’. I type. I sign with my family. I write a lot, because writing has never needed a throat. People sometimes assume I cannot understand them — I always can. Please write to me, not around me.
04 · Upbringing
Foster care, then a real family.
My first five years were not kind. My biological parents never learned to talk to a child who could not talk back. I spent a lot of time in the same corner of the same room, tracing the same pattern on rough carpet to make the yelling quieter in my head.
I was taken into care when I was five, together with my twin sister. After that came the family I now have — patient, loud in the warm way, willing to learn AAC, willing to sit and wait while I type. They are why this website even exists.
05 · What this site is for
Quiet work, made loud enough to find.
The work pages collect the poems, drawings and editorial portraits I am proud of. The contact page sends real messages to my management. You are very welcome here. Just please remember I am a 13 year old, not an adult, and write to me like one.