Category Archives: Communication First

Communication Rights Toolkit Launched

Like many of you, I have been home on quarantine. I am fortunate to have good weather and lots of opportunity to walk outside. I realize these isolating circumstances have been tough for many who haven’t lived a lifetime not talking. Lots of people are connecting via the internet. It’s pretty remarkable to see my dad chatting with relatives in multiple countries in international conversations and every one of them is stuck in their home.
These are strange days but my hope is we will be nearing the end soon, life will return to normal soon and that we will be healthy and better prepared internationally should another pandemic emerge.
As many of you know, I am involved with Communication First as a member of the board of directors and they have developed a toolkit for people with communication disabilities in response to the current situation. This is important to provide people who rely on alternative modes of communication to have the same rights of informed consent as any other patient.
Please share these links with those it may benefit, and please stay healthy.

Positive Trends in Awareness and Advocacy

I notice the media is suddenly writing about typers. See here in USA Today and here in the Chicago Tribune. I am pleased to see the attention, but curious too, though the trend is definitely interesting. More and more autistic people are communicating daily. The status quo is slowly moving in the right direction.

I know we are a long way from a new way of educating people with autism. ABA is still the default “gold standard” but despite this, somehow our silent voices are starting to be heard.

In terms of advocacy, some people are starting organizations. One family has started a new organization called Point to Freedom. They want to be loud and proud about their son’s success in learning to type to communicate and with his journey, to hopefully inspire other families to realize that typing to communicate may be possible for them too. I am proud of the son’s accomplishments expressing his lovely and powerful thoughts and also proud of my mom who taught him to communicate. May he go far with this freedom.

Finally, as I have written about previously, the civil rights of nonspeaking and limited speaking people is at last being addressed by the important new civil rights organization, Communication First.

Though there remains much to do, change is afoot. I believe the trend is toward liberation. In time the truth will prevail.

Civil Rights for Nonspeakers

The traditional term for not speaking is ‘dumb.’ That says it all. If someone can’t talk then they are ‘dumb.’ I am dumb, apparently.

The thesaurus offers these synonyms for dumb: among them mute, speechless, silent, and then fifty additional synonyms for stupidity, including the colorful pinheaded and dim-witted. The bias equating intelligence with speech stacks the deck against those with limited speaking ability.

People who are unable to speak are among the most maligned of all people. Treated as stupid. Under-educated. Far too often mistreated with no recourse.

No one has ever spoken up for the civil rights of the non speaking in a systemic, legal way. Until now.

Communication First is the only civil rights organization that advocates for the legal rights and the human rights of non speakers or those with unintelligible speech.

Please check out this brand new formidable organization as it makes its debut as a 501(c)3 organization.

I am proud to serve on its Board of Directors.

We will be loud in silence.