Communication First

For our July theme of AAC and Independence, this powerful compilation from Communication First shows something important: AAC independence looks different for every person.

"All Our Voices: Showcasing the Diversity of AAC" is a short (5:51) video featuring eight AAC users affiliated with CommunicationFIRST. Their communication methods are as unique as they are:

Grant Blasko types to communicate: "The truth is we are working way harder to be heard than we get credit for."

Lateef McLeod types into an AAC app on his laptop, iPad, and iPhone.

Bob Williams uses a speech-generating device, accessing words by spelling or by stringing symbols together.

Pancho Ramirez uses a head-mounted laser light to point to letters on a wall-mounted letter board.

Jordyn Zimmerman types on an AAC app and shares that "ableism is a real challenge" when people presume incapability.

Tim Jin uses a communication device at the base of his wheelchair, typing with his toes.

Niko Boskovic spells on a letter board with his mom as his communication partner, and does not hesitate to correct her when she gets his age wrong.

Devva Kasnitz uses revoicing, where a partner repeats her speech in real time. As Devva says: "I don't wanna just be in the room. I want to have the opportunity to fully participate."

Eight communicators. Eight different access methods. Every one of them independent, and every one of them interdependent with the tools, partners, and communities that make their voices heard.

This is what AAC and Independence really looks like.

Watch "All Our Voices: Showcasing the Diversity of AAC": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO82e6qf6fE

[Image description: screenshot of Grant Blasko typing on an AAC device to start the video.]

Ready to wear the change you want to see in the world? The Jordyn Zimmerman Speech Does Not Make Someone More Human Shirts are back, but only through June 30! Get yours now and support the fight for communication rights. https://lnk.to/shpc

[Image: Sitting in front of a microphone, Governor Abigail Spanberger proudly holds up a signed copy of the Virginia Acts of Assembly. Next to her is a young girl wearing a shirt that says: Speech does not make someone more human. Behind them, people are clapping.]