Christian author Jonathan Bryan – known for his campaigning for fellow non-verbal children to be taught to read and write – has died at the age of 19.
Written in preparation for this time, a poem, Song of Life, was shared on his Instagram page with the caption concluding: “When you read this I will be in heaven enjoying my new body and all the freedom that comes with it, but most of all I can’t wait to be with Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith.”
“Knowing Jesus is with me, cradling me in pain, sheltering me from darkness and beckoning me forward, has given me the strength and serenity to look life in the eye and smile,” he wrote.
Bryan was born by emergency C-section following a car accident. After being transferred from the local hospital’s special-care baby unit to the regional children’s neonatal intensive care unit, Bryan was given an MRI scan of his brain. It was described by one of the consultants as the worst brain scan seen by the technician.
Bryan’s mother taught him to read and write using a spelling alphabet board. On his blog, Bryan wrote: “A year and a half after I was first taken out of my special school to be taught, I started to use my eyes to spell out everything I wanted to say and write on an alphabet board known as an E-Tran frame. My eyes became my voice.”
The importance of his faith
Subsequently, through his online blog “Eye Can Talk”, Bryan shared the importance of his faith: “Central to my life is faith in Jesus and knowing that this life is not the end. Spending time with others as we journey through the Christian life together is one of the highlights of my week.”
His book Eye Can Write came out in 2018 – when he was only 12 years old – and details the silence, loneliness and pain of not being able to speak, and the experience of becoming literate and being able to communicate with his own words.
The teenager promoted literary education for all, regardless of labels – he himself being labelled as having Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) – through setting up a campaign, “Teach Us Too”, which he later established into a charity.
Song of Life reads:
“Abandoning myself in Love’s embrace;
Fear’s menacing clouds evaporate.
Air sparkles with life’s energy,
Meadows dancing gracefully in peace.”
Bryan repeatedly shared his anticipation to be with his Saviour: “I am ready any time.”
