CommunicationFIRST Program Associate Ren Koloni shares their experience in graduate school as a multiply disabled AAC user. Ren discusses access for our community and their research on ableism in medical settings.
At an Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services listening session, the plea of attendees was clear: don’t weaken oversight of equity in special ed. Learn ways to advocate and how OSERS has supported students like our Board Chair Jordyn Zimmerman.
In this guest blog, Glenda Watson Hyatt answers our questions about her recent master’s thesis on the employment (and discrimination) of people with speech disabilities, including those who use AAC.
Every student deserves to be safe at school. House and Senate leaders reintroduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act to protect students from seclusion and dangerous restraint in school. Learn how to help and learn about KASSA’s impact on our community.
The Policy Advocacy 101 Webinar invited a panel of policy experts who are part of our community to discuss the ways they advocate for change.
We’re still processing the crushing news about the passing of CommunicationFIRST friend and Advisory Council member Alice Wong. We were made better by her work. Read about some of her AAC and communication-disability-related activism.
With mixed feelings, we share the news that CommunicationFIRST’s co-founder Bob Williams is retiring.
This webinar first aired on October 15, 2024, and begins with a screening of CommunicationFIRST’s latest See Us, Hear Us film featuring Bob Williams. It is followed by a discussion among CommunicationFIRST Policy Director Bob Williams, Forest Haven Institution survivors Ricardo Thornton and Donna Thornton, and advocate and ally Rebecca Salon.
Earlier this week, Virginia adopted its first law expressly addressing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Read our summary and statement of the law here.
Read CommunicationFIRST’s statement in response to the planned elimination of the Administration for Community Living.
Medicaid is at risk! Your elected representatives need to hear how losing your Medicaid waiver would change your life. This Policy Advocacy for AAC Users toolkit provides some tips.
Share how Medicaid cuts would hurt you or those around you who need Medicaid to stay in the community. We put together some resources from our amazing partners to make this easy!
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.
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.
Our resource guides people with speech-related disabilities and mental health conditions, allies, and lifeline workers.