We. Can. Hear. You.

It’s AAC Awareness Month! AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) is more than just high tech devices like the one depicted here. It includes picture books/cards, sign language, writing it down, Spelling to Communicate - basically anything that conveys a message that is not speech. 

And anyone can use it! If you are non-speaking, unreliably speaking, not-yet speaking, or just find words hard sometimes, then AAC is for you. There is no “non-speaking enough” threshold you have to meet - if it makes your life easier, go ahead and use it.

AAC is empowering. People routinely talk about autistic kids and adults like they’re not even in the room, even when they CAN speak. (Which, if you’re someone who does this, STOP IT RIGHT NOW.) This parent could have assured this asshole professional person that her son could understand til they were blue in the face, and they wouldn’t have been believed if he hadn’t been able to communicate it for himself. 

Communication is a right. Don’t let anyone try to discourage AAC on the basis of it hindering speech or “being the easy way out” or whatever other nonsense they come up with. AAC *enhances* communication, and everyone deserves the ability to communicate their needs, tell you their thoughts and feelings, share their hopes and dreams, and tell people to fuck off when needed. 😉

(Image description in Alt Text.)

NEWSFLASH: Saying I'm well adjusted, or high functioning is as much a complement as saying I'm smart or pretty for a black woman 😏 #ActuallyAutistic #BGM #HerStory #AspieSecrets #Repost @nigh.functioning.autism with @repostsaveapp ・・・ Listen to nonspeaking Autistics... No human is low-functioning and no one certainly thinks that about themselves and if they do, it is because they were told or overheard that . [Image text: "Wouldn't it suck to be called low functioning? Can you imagine overhearing people talking about you and actually calling you, "low functioning"? How would that make you feel? If kids did this to an NT [neurotypical] child in school, it would be called bullying, but it is an "accepted" practice in the autism community. Here is the deal... So far, 100% of the kids I met who did not have speech have developed communication. Statistics already suggests that 70% of Autistic kids learn to communicate and with technology, the numbers keep growing. Do you know what they always say? "I understood everything"] . [2- Functioning Labels: something invented by "experts" in order to grade us. It says that some of us should be pitied, that we are better off being segregated and treated like children since we don't have much to offer. We are also the ones who are disproportionately abused and tortured under the guise of treatment. The grading of Autistics also says that some of us can be successful, we are "almost normal" therefore we should be included and accepted. We are to be celebrated. But we should keep our disabilities invisible. We should not look so "abnormal". What this invented functioning grading ignores is that anyone of us can bounce along the spectrum at any given moment"] . #NonspeakingDoesNotEqualNonthinking #PresumeCompetence #assumeCompetence #autismacceptance#autismawareness #nonverbalautism #nonverbal #severeautism #slp #typetotalk #loveneedsnowords #differentNotLess#inclusion #ig_autism #spectrum_inspired #neurodiversity #lowfunctioning #lowfunctioningautism #autismwarrior #rapidpromptingmethod #communicationisahumanright #actuallyautistic #autismlove #autisticadults #autisticadult #autismmom #autismdad #blackautism https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Y_47xJClD/?igshid=105pfaczzl9th

I wish people would take off their neurotypical (NT) filter off sometimes and not interpret atypical behavior through typical lenses. . [Image text: Why is presuming competence not the default? Instead, if someone can't "prove" what they know in an NT way, they're assumed to be incapable of having knowledge entirely and not incapable of demonstrating it"] . #PresumeCompetence #assumeCompetence #nonspeakingdoesnotequalnonthinking #autisticbehavior #loveneedsnowords #differentNotLess #ausome #ilovesomeonewithautism #worldautismawarenessmonth #autismawarenessmonth #actuallyautistic #ig_autism #onthespectrum #autismacceptance #autismawareness #autismwarrior #spectrum_inspired #stimming #autismo #autisme #blackautism #blackandautistic #autismmom #autismmoms #autismdad #autismdads #autismmama #SPD #abatherapy #autismtherapy #autistickidsrock #sensoryprocessingdisorder https://www.instagram.com/p/BwDr-gZAv-D/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9g9nnejew4xt

When you can’t show what you know, people assume you just don’t know anything.

At least that’s how it works for most autistic kids who can’t speak, or can’t control their bodies as much as they’d like to, or can’t answer things “fast enough,” and so on. Because the people who give the tests really don’t want to entertain the idea that their tests might just be garbage sometimes.

Non-speakers who have gained access to communication later in life all tell a similar story: that they experience a mind-body disconnect that makes it hard for them to control their own bodies. That means that they struggle to perform tasks on command, whether it comes from other people or their own minds, and that their bodies will just do things that the person didn’t even mean to do.

And despite the growing number of people who are able to share these stories, most of the People In ChargeTM are still operating under the assumption that if you can’t answer a question or follow an instruction correctly, it’s because you didn’t understand it.

Which means that kids who can’t show what they know because their bodies won’t cooperate are assumed to just not know anything.

Which means they never get to move to the next level of education.

Which means there are millions of children who languish in educational settings that are not academically challenging enough for them- because the problem they have with their bodies is assumed to be a problem with their mind.

But the inaccessibility of assessments is the problem here. As well as the assumptions people make about those who are thought of as “low functioning.” As well as the fact that the majority of autistic kids who can’t speak are still not given alternative means of communication soon enough, if at all.

We can do better. Presume competence. Treat communication like a basic human NEED and a RIGHT, not an optional privilege to be earned. And believe the people who keep telling us as soon as they can, “It’s our bodies, not our minds!”

NOTE: I’ve been wanting to do something on this for a while, and this particular cartoon came together a couple weeks ago while I was listening to “Ido in Autismland” by Ido Kidar. Please do check it out, along with the work of other non-speakers, to learn more about this experience from the people who actually live it. 

https://www.amazon.com/Ido-Autismland-Climbing-Autisms-Silent/dp/0988324709

https://www.amazon.com/Autistic-Boy-Unruly-Body-Autism/dp/B0B7XF3CVT

https://neuroclastic.com/directory-of-nonspeaker-pages-blogs-media/

Intelligence and IQ are not a measure of a person's ability to learn and especially not their worth. What neurotypicals can measure or see as "smart" and "intelligent" is actually very narrow. The definition that is used is unfortunately missing a lot of beauty and awe. . [Image text: "Intelligence is a socially constructed concept. It addresses the majority's perception of desirability. Autistics are neurodivergent. How we absorb and express information is not typical."] . #actuallyautistic #ig_autism #igautism #autismspectrumdisorder #autismadvocate #autisticadvocacy #iq #inclusion #DiversityandInclusion #disabilityrights #cripthevote #disabledrights #differentNotLess #nonverbalautism #ableism #nonverbal #severeautism #nonspeakingdoesnotequalnonthinking#rethinkautism #autismacceptance #autismawareness #loveneedsnowords #blacksandautism #blackautismawareness #autistickidsrock #ISupportNonspeakers #communicationisahumanright #intellectualdisabilities #intellectualdisability #iqtest #intelligencequotient #intelligence #amysequenzia #olliebean (at Gaithersburg, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu4FlQ4ACad/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=th1t768e484m

[Image description: background with a United States flag with text that reads, "Communication is a human right. I support typing to talk."] Via @suzykogenfriedman . #PresumeCompetence #NonspeakingDoesNotEqualNonthinking#rethinkautism #actuallyautistic #ig_autism#igautism #autismmom #autismdad #autismdads #autismmama #autismmoms #ilovesomeonewithautism #differentNotLess #loveneedsnowords #nonverbalautism #nonspeakingautistics #nonverbal #nonspeaking#inclusion #rapidpromptingmethod #rpm #speechtherapy #communicationdevice #communicationisahumanright #aacawareness#aac #abatherapy #ausome #slp #typetotalk #stimming (at Montgomery County, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuIeBxggUoG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1v52sf39irsjw

Period! 🤬🤬🤬 Via: @doubledoseofausome [Image description: white background with black and red letters that says, "The term low-functioning should never be used to define a person. PERIOD."] . . . #autismacceptance #autismawareness#autismawarness #loveneedsnowords #differentNotLess #ausome #ilovesomeonewithautism #lowfunctioningautism #lowfunctioning #nonverbalautism #ableism #nonverbal #severeautism #nonspeakingdoesnotequalnonthinking #rethinkautism #intellectualdisabilities #intellectualdisability #intellectualdiversity #autismadvocate #actuallyautistic #blacksandautism #blackautismawareness #autistickidsrock #downsyndromelove #cerebralpalsywarrior https://www.instagram.com/p/Btt7ajigWow/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1tzaqz28hqm94

Aware of how mystifying his behaviour can appear, Naoki Higashida explains his non-verbal autism #FallDown7GetUp8

“Having nothing to do in the present moment has the same impact on me as having nothing to do for the rest of eternity would,” he writes. “As long as I’m in motion, I feel as if I could become a valid member of society, like everybody else. That feeling, I think, brings solace. Maybe I’m mistaken, but I don’t think I am. By being active and in motion, my heart beats more strongly.”

Advice from Philip! Faith, Hope, and Love with Autism

Great advice from Philip on interacting with someone who spells to communicate!

“People show they are really interested in me if they have patience to interact with me. They show patience by waiting for me to spell even if they lose time because of me. I like when people talk to me normally even if I don’t respond to them. I know what is being said and how to respond. I just need time to organize myself to type it out.”

#ActuallyAutistic #S2C #autistic #autism #nonverbal?!?!? #nonspeaking! #totallyverbal!!! #letterboard #typers #FaithHopeLoveWithAutism #ShowPatience #NonSpeakingDoesNotEqualNonThinking

http://faithhopeloveautism.blogspot.com/2017/05/interacting-with-me.html?m=1

Drs. Beth Brennan and Edlyn Penya released this full text paper via the Autism and Communication Center at #CalLutheran University last May. This brief article features Samuel Cornelius Capozzi, a successful college #student who uses a #letterboard and #keyboard to #communicate. The article makes recommendations to student affairs professionals in higher education to create a more #inclusive #college culture for autistic students who communicate differently.

On February 11, 2017, a group of 9 nonspeaking autistics from Northern Virginia (a.k.a. "The Tribe") and 19 University of Virginia undergraduates gathered in Falls Church to discuss and plan autism advocacy efforts. They were joined by the mayor of Herndon (Lisa Merkel), and two members of the Virginia House of Delegates (Jennifer Boysko and Patrick Hope). The two groups of students are participants in a year-long seminar called "The Science & Lived Experience of Autism." This video captures highlights from their third in-person meeting. To see a video from a previous meeting, visit vimeo.com/191409936. For more information about the collaboration, visit: news.virginia.edu/content/new-course-connects-students-autistic-tribe and wvtf.org/post/uva-students-learn-first-hand-how-people-autism-feel.

From Wretches and Jabberers: Tracy was part of a keynote panel with Sue Rubin and Kelsey Krause at the 2017 Midwest Summer Institute: "Inclusion and Communication for All" at the University of Northern Iowa. The theme of their presentation was "Realizing Human Potential" through communication. A classroom teacher asked the panel what would be their best advice for her with her students. Tracy responded: "The best advice I have is to presume competence and look into the students' interests, ability and strengths and help students to feel inside the circle of life."

This came out last year and I still can't find where to watch it... "From award-winning filmmaker Dan Habib comes INTELLIGENT LIVES, a catalyst to transform the label of intellectual disability from a life sentence of isolation into a life of possibility for the most systematically segregated people in America. INTELLIGENT LIVES stars three pioneering young American adults with intellectual disabilities – Micah, Naieer, and Naomie – who challenge perceptions of intelligence as they navigate high school, college, and the workforce. Academy Award-winning actor and narrator Chris Cooper contextualizes the lives of these central characters through the emotional personal story of his son Jesse, as the film unpacks the shameful and ongoing track record of intelligence testing in the U.S. More information and to host or attend a screening: https://intelligentlives.org FB: https://www.facebook.com/intelligentl... Twitter: https://twitter.com/IntelligenceDoc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danhabibfilms/ #intelligentLives #OpeningDoors " . #autismacceptance #autismawareness #specialeducation #specialneeds #differentNotLess #neurodiversity #iqtest #actuallyautistic #severeautism #nonspeakingdoesnotequalnonthinking #intelligencequotient #eugenics #inclusion #DiversityandInclusion #disabledpeople #disability #disabled #downsyndrome #cripthevote #intellectualdisabilities #intellectualdisability #intellectualdiversity #autismadvocate #globaldevelopmentaldelay #nonverbalautism #ableism #nonverbal #lowfunctioning #autismwarrior #nonspeakingdoesnotequalnonthinking #blacksandautism (at Montgomery County, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvU6xArgWhV/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=192b1sjjvcz5q

Communication is a fundamental human right. Everyone, regardless their ability to produce speech, deserves the right to access and use their communication method of choice in all settings. #type2text #S2C#spell2communicate #nonverbal?! #nonspeaking!! #CommunicationRights#NonSpeakingDoesNotEqualNonThinking #totallyverbal #letterboard#autism #autistic #speech #SpeechIsMotor #language #cognitive#LanguageIsCognitive #civilrights #ASHA #SLP #SLPeeps#SpeechLanguage