AAC Users Interview Jordyn Zimmerman (Updated with Recordings)

On November 10, 2021, CommunicationFIRST hosted an opportunity for AAC users to interview Jordyn Zimmerman about the new documentary This Is Not About Me, featuring Jordyn and her educational experiences with and without access to robust augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). CommunicationFIRST’s Policy Director (and full-time AAC user), Bob Williams, moderated the discussion. 

Watch the recording below to hear how Jordyn answered these questions (and more!) from AAC users:

• Do you think you would have ever learned to type if you remained segregated? 
• Need to know how you learned to type independently.
• What successful strategies do you have for regulation? I am struggling with sounds.
• Do you feel there is anything that speaking autistic people can do to better support non-speaking autistic people? 
• How old were you when you first knew you could read?
• Is it likely that schools will change without fighting to maintain the status quo?
• Have you heard from any of the teachers that you had before you had an appropriate AAC device? Did they learn anything from the documentary?
• What helped you move past your experience without feeling resentful?