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My Voice Wasn’t Coming Back

By Communication FIRST | Jan 22, 2025
A voice amplification device hangs from a strap around Sophie Bohnen's shoulder, and its microphone attachment is positioned by her mouth. Sophie smiles and looks at the camera as she holds up a printed program.

Sophie Bohnen navigates the world with a whisper. When Sophie developed Laryngeal Dystonia, she adopted a voice amplification device and found her voice in advocacy. Sophie is creating a platform for people who go unheard to share their stories.
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Tim Jin on Embracing Change in AAC Technology

By Communication FIRST | Dec 30, 2024
Tim Jin, a smiling AAC user with a shaved head, sits in his powerchair and presents onstage at the AAC Research Summit. Tim's AAC device is positioned by his bare feet, with which he types.

Typing with his toes is one way our Board Director Tim Jin communicates. Tim’s key(board) to success has been embracing change in AAC technology! Learn more from his AAC Research Summit talk.
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Bob Williams on the Power of Free Speech

By Communication FIRST | Dec 15, 2024
Outside the U.S. Capitol, CommunicationFIRST Policy Director Bob Williams poses with Executive & Legal Director Tauna Szymanski. The smiling co-founders sport sunglasses. An AAC device is fixed to Bob’s powerchair.

In celebration of Bill of Rights Day, Bob Williams reflects on the power free expression holds for those of us who cannot rely on speech alone to be heard and understood.
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Communicating in Times of Stress

By Communication FIRST | Dec 5, 2024
A glimpse over the shoulder of Ren, a fat nonbinary person with glasses and a partially shaved head visible, as they type into the AAC app on their smartphone. On their lap, a blanket is visible, patterned with smiling cartoon ghosts in the colors of the transgender flag.

Our resource guides people with speech-related disabilities and mental health conditions, allies, and lifeline workers.
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Dr. Lateef McLeod on “How Ableism Impacts People Who Use AAC”

By Communication FIRST | Nov 20, 2024
Lateef McLeod, a Black man wearing a black fleece top sits in his power wheelchair smiling at the camera.

Dr. Lateef McLeod’s “How Ableism Impacts People Who Use AAC” presentation was first given at the Future of AAC Research Summit on May 14, 2024, in Arlington, Virginia.
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Connecting on AAC Research Opportunities

By Communication FIRST | Oct 29, 2024
A smiling young girl uses her AAC device. Three women surrounding the girl cheer her on, and another woman sitting at the dining room table with them takes notes.

If you are a researcher, an AAC user interested in research opportunities, or a person supporting an AAC user interested in these opportunities, learn about how we can best connect you!
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Tips for Online Meetings with AAC Users, by AAC Users

By Communication FIRST | Aug 30, 2024
A drawing of five hands represents the Five Finger/Number voting method. The first hand holds up one finger, the second hand holds up two, the third hand holds up three, the fourth hand holds up four, and the fifth hand holds up five.

This resource includes quick tips written by AAC users on organizing and hosting online meetings with AAC users.
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Bob Williams on Literacy and AAC

By Communication FIRST | Aug 23, 2024
Bob Williams and Jordyn Zimmerman sit on a dais chatting with one another. They both have AAC devices in front of them.

Bob Williams’s Literacy and AAC presentation was first given at the Future of AAC Research Summit on May 14, 2024, in Arlington, Virginia.
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Technology for Equitable Communication: AAC Users Weigh In

By Communication FIRST | Jul 25, 2024
Three different speech generating devices are on a round table among drinking glasses and dinner plates. An AAC user's hand is in view as they type on one of the devices.

CommunicationFIRST held a brainstorming session to begin to identify some of the “good, bad, and ugly” ways technologies can uniquely impact people with speech-related disabilities.
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