Giving Tuesday

We postponed our 4th birthday fundraiser in early October due to world events. This week, we are combining Giving Tuesday with that annual fundraiser and setting an ambitious goal of raising $25,000 by December 1! Help us celebrate our birthday and Giving Tuesday at the same time. We cannot advance our mission to improve the civil rights of people with speech disabilities without your support. The first $2,500 was matched by the law firm of Vanaman German LLP. The next $7,000 in contributions will be matched by The Gupta Foundation! Thank you for your generosity!

$25,150 of $25,000 raised

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Donation Total: $250.00 One Time

With your help, over the past 4 years, we have begun to transform the national conversation about the legal rights and lived experiences of people who need and use augmentative and alternative (AAC) tools and supports. We are ensuring conversations at the federal and state level around policy issues that impact us – guardianship, access to health care, restraint and seclusion, education, access to justice, employment, institutionalization, effective communication, and more – include our voices and address our interests. We are ambitious and unrelenting disabled advocates who believe in radical inclusion and acceptance. We are ﬁghting to change hearts and minds, and to build a world that centers justice, community, dignity, and humanity. And we are just getting started. We have so much more to do and with your help, we will!

GUEST ESSAY: Off Key from the Start, Sia’s Music Fails to Ring True for Nonspeaking Autistics

By Communication First | February 12, 2021

I had to stop watching the movie because I found it too disturbing to continue to do so.

blurry white and blue lights on a black background

Disability Organizations: MUSIC Is Dangerous

By Communication First | February 3, 2021

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.

A Black non-binary person with a filtering face mask walks down a neighborhood street with one hand in their pocket and the other hand on their cane. They have a short mohawk and are wearing a jacket, shorts, tennis shoes, and glasses.

Dear Parents Who Want to Keep Their Nonspeaking Children Safe as They Go Out Into the World

By Communication First | January 27, 2021

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.

Communication Equity Call to Action

By Communication First | January 14, 2021

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).

12 year old AAC and wheelchair user Leo True-Frost participating in virtual learning on a laptop with the support of his father Jim True-Frost. Both are smiling. Leo is looking at the laptop and using his left forefinger on the trackpad of the laptop. Jim is seated to his left, wearing glasses, and is smiling with a bemused look at the camera. Both are white. Leo has dark hair and is wearing a navy long sleeved shirt. Jim has light hair and is wearing a grey short sleeved t-shirt. They appear to be seated in a living room facing windows with a fireplace behind them.

National Survey Reveals Students with Communication Disabilities Are Being Denied Safe Access to Education

By Communication First | January 4, 2021

In November and December 2020, CommunicationFIRST surveyed families of students with expressive communication disabilities and significant support needs about how…

two people in blue-green scrubs and masks hovering over a patient

Are AAC Users at Greater Risk of Dying from COVID? (Updated)

By Communication First | December 20, 2020

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.