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Nonspeaking autistic panelists and advocates call for mainstream access to typing-based AAC and legal enforcement of communication rights
Summary
Nonspeaking autistic panelists and nonprofit advocates told a World Autism Awareness Day session that access to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), including typing, is transformative and urged schools and governments to treat AAC access as a civil right.
Nonspeaking autistic panelists and communication-rights advocates told a United Nations World Autism Awareness Day session that access to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools — particularly the ability to type — is essential to education, health care and civic participation. Panelists said misconceptions that equate nonspeaking with intellectual disability block access to schooling and supports.
The session, moderated by Charlotte Fuller, featured Aditi Somarina Rayyan (nonspeaking autistic author), Tarun Paul Matthew (nonspeaking autistic advocate, India), and Elizabeth Bonker (executive director, Communication for All). “We have a motor disorder called dyspraxia, not a cognitive one,” said Elizabeth Bonker,…
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