Blogs with tag Advocacy - AssistiveWare

Overview

Autism acceptance? Not without autistic voices!

Autism acceptance is more than accepting the existence of autism. Autism acceptance is acknowledging the true experts on autism are autistic people. We cannot celebrate Autism Acceptance Month without using our platform to give the stage to autistic people.

3 minute read

Proloquo 2 Go screen with female super heroes and gender neutral symbol

Diversity front and center in Proloquo2Go 7.5

With this update, we are focusing on our user requests. We have added gender-neutral pronouns, female superhero symbols, and usability improvements for motor impairments.

2 minute read

Illustration showing people using laptops

AAC data collection and privacy

AAC users have an absolute right to privacy of conversation. That is at odds with current practice in language data collection. This blog post calls for data collection that respects the privacy of AAC users.

6 minute read

Mother and child using AAC to talk about protest happening

Supporting AAC users to speak about what is happening in the world

AAC users need to be able to communicate about complex topics. How can you support an AAC user to communicate about these topics too?

7 minute read

Just Ask: What we can learn from AAC users

Last year, we launched a new section of our website called Learn AAC. Our next project was to better support AAC users themselves. Here we share the insights we got from AAC users on their experiences.

5 minute read

Keyboard, pen and notepad with photo of author Alyssa Hillary on table

Respecting privacy in AAC

Autism Acceptance Month challenges us to examine how we teach autonomy and privacy to people learning to use AAC. Alyssa Hillary is an Autistic graduate student in neuroscience, where they do AAC-related research. Their perspective on privacy and autonomy was so powerful that it needed its own blog, which they tell about in their own words here.

3 minute read

AAC and the power of language

Everyone communicates. Communicating with others gives us connection and control in our lives. There are many ways to communicate - with facial expressions, gestures, and words and sentences. A key factor in successful communication is having language. Language gives us the words and ways to share our own thoughts and ideas, desires, and wishes.

1 minute read

Is AAC always a voice?

We often talk about how Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) gives people a voice, but nobody can decide what someone else’s true voice is.

2 minute read

Supporting all forms of communication

Communication can be defined as exchanging information by speaking, writing or some other means. It’s how we give and receive messages. But it is so much more than that.

8 minute read

Giving AAC users the power of independent communication

Our greatest wish for AAC learners is that they will become successful and independent communicators. We want them to have the power to say “what they want; when they want; to whomever they want; wherever they want.”

5 minute read

Illustration of people reading blogs and books

5 of our favorite autistic bloggers

In honor of both Autism Acceptance Month and Autistic Pride Day we would like to share with you some of our favorite blogs written by autistic people. Each blogger shares a few words to introduce their blog and some of the motivations behind writing it.

2 minute read

Communication as a basic right

Jordyn, a college student and AAC user, shares how the power of technology and communication allowed her to go from high school frustrations to finding her own voice.

3 minute read