by Alyssa Hillary Zisk, Guest Contributor “There is no right voice!” typed in an AAC app on a smartphone.…
Angelica Vega, a proud Black woman with a speech disability, with natural hair in cornrows By Angelica Vega, Guest…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a resolution that applies to all MedStar Health Inc. (“MedStar Health”) care locations in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, MedStar Health has agreed to end its discriminatory treatment of patients with disabilities, including William King, a 73-year old man with communication-related disabilities, and to modify its policies to ensure patients with disabilities can access the in-person supports needed to communicate and have equal access to medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – CommunicationFIRST, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), and the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint (AASR) today condemned the Golden Globe-nominated movie MUSIC, directed by singer-songwriter Sia Furler. The film, released widely via video on-demand services today, contains a number of deeply disturbing and potentially harmful scenes.
I had to stop watching the movie because I found it too disturbing to continue to do so.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – CommunicationFIRST, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, and the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint today expressed grave concern about the soon-to-be-released, Golden Globe-nominated movie MUSIC, directed by singer-songwriter Sia.
Every day, your child is growing up, and there is a world out there for them. You want that for them – you want everything for them – and yet, the world can be a scary place.
CommunicationFIRST and the 47 undersigned supporters of communication rights, access, and equity urge the incoming Biden-Harris Administration to take immediate and specific steps to safeguard and advance the human and civil rights of people with disabilities, especially individuals who have little to no understandable speech and rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
Twelve-year-old AAC user Leo True-Frost participates in virtual learning with his father, Jim True-Frost, supporting him. In November and…
These nine studies, published between May and December 2020, tell us people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (including those who rely on AAC) are between 1.7 and 16 times more likely to die from COVID if they get it than those who do not have I/DD.
“How do we, as AAC users, make people stop and listen to us?” “How do we elevate individuals who…
Including, respecting, honoring, and listening to people who cannot rely on speech to be heard and understood can be…
by Angelica Vega, Guest Blogger If there were one word to describe the First Presidential Debate between President Donald…
On October 16, 2020, CommunicationFIRST joined with the National Association of the Deaf other communication rights organizations to formally petition the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to include text and direct video calling options to allow people with speech and hearing disabilities to access a federally mandated three-digit National Suicide Lifeline that will launch in 2022.
In response to multiple requests, we’ve prepared a resource to help our student members (US residents who cannot rely…