Public Comments | CommunicationFIRST

Two disabled people converse and sit across from each other at a table with pens and notebooks on top of it. One uses a power wheelchair; a tablet is on the table in front of them. Photo by Jordan Nicholson for Disability:IN.

Proposed Changes to the National Health Institute Survey

October 9, 2026 Communication FIRST

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proposed changes to the National Health Interview Survey that would make it harder for people with disabilities to be counted. This could hurt our ability to get services and supports. You can help by sending in comments against these changes.

Stock image photo of white hands typing on a laptop keyboard

Digital Accessibility for AAC Users is a Civil Rights Issue

November 7, 2023 Communication FIRST

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Government websites and apps are a central lever for exercising our civic and constitutionally grounded rights and responsibilities of freedom of expression, assembly, grievance, petition, protest, jury duty, and the franchise. As a matter of right and necessity, people who need AAC must be afforded equally effective access to state and local government websites and apps that all others are afforded.

Stock image photo showing two hands, one on a tablet and one holding a writing utensil in front of an open laptop

Federally Funded Research About AAC Needs to Change

Communication FIRST

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Last month, CommunicationFIRST submitted extensive input to one of the largest federal government funders of AAC-related research — the…

The FCC Needs to Address Digital Discrimination Against People Who Need AAC

October 17, 2023 Communication FIRST

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Invited Remarks of CommunicationFIRST Policy Director Bob Williams to the Federal Communications Commission Task Force to Prevent Digital Discrimination September 14, 2023…

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders wants to hear from you!

Research Priorities of AAC Users

August 6, 2023 Communication FIRST

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We encourage as many AAC users as possible to share your research priorities with NIDCD.

What Is Research?

August 1, 2023 Communication FIRST

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This is a plain language guide to research and why it is important. The government is asking people what…

Screengrab of the NIDILRR Research Long Range Planning Stakeholder Follow Up Webinar on April 20, 2023. On the left, there is a slide with the working definition of “Ableism” by Talila Lewis. At the top of the slide, the word “ableism” is followed by its pronunciation and the word, “noun.” Below, the definition reads, “A system of assigning value to people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy, productivity, desirability, intelligence, excellence, and fitness. These constructed ideas are deeply rooted in eugenics, anti-Blackness, misogyny, colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism. This systemic oppression leads to people and society determining people’s value based on their culture, age, language, appearance, religion, birth or living place, ‘health/wellness’, and/or their ability to satisfactorily re/produce, ‘excel’ and ‘behave.’ You do not have to be disabled to experience ableism.” Below the definition, yellow text reads, “Working definition by @TalilaLewis, updated January 2022, developed in community with disabled Black/negatively racialized folk, especially @NotThreeFifths.” On the right, there is an ASL interpreter with light skin wearing a black shirt. On the right of the ASL interpreter, there is a woman with brown skin and long black hair up in a ponytail wearing a red shirt with flowers and a black suit jacket.

When Agencies Listen

May 16, 2023 Communication FIRST

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It’s gratifying when policymakers #LISTEN! On November 21, 2022, CommunicationFIRST submitted comments to the National Institute on Disability, Independent…

Communication Equity Call to Action

January 14, 2021 Communication First

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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).

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Defining “Intellectual Disability”

October 1, 2019 Communication First

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Does the “ID” Label Do More Harm Than Good? CommunicationFIRST recently submitted comments in response to the American Psychiatric…