The Art of Surviving and Thriving on the Margins: Ren Koloni Discusses Being Disabled in Graduate School

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.

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Expert Q&A: Employment Experiences of People with Speech Disabilities

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.

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Combatting Restraint & Seclusion: the Keeping All Students Safe Act (KASSA)

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.

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Completing a Ph.D. About AAC as an AAC User: Interview with Dr. Lateef McLeod

We interviewed our own Dr. Lateef McLeod about his dissertation on peer mentorship between AAC users. He showed the importance of offering mentorship by us, for us, and co-created mentorship spaces accessible to people who use a variety of forms of AAC.

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Virginia Legislature To Require AAC Training in Schools

Earlier this week, Virginia adopted its first law expressly addressing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Read our summary and statement of the law here.

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