On November 5, 2021, CommunicationFIRST’s Policy Director, Bob Williams, submitted written testimony to urge the DC Council (Washington, DC’s…
On November 10, 2021, CommunicationFIRST hosted an opportunity for AAC users to interview Jordyn Zimmerman about the new documentary…
We are thrilled and humbled to share that our film LISTEN: Made by and with Nonspeaking Autistics won the…
On October 13, 2021, CommunicationFIRST is excited to join with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Thinking Person’s Guide to…
Clarissa Kripke with Senate Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee Chair Senator Richard Blumenthal. Photo credit: Tauna Szymanski On September 28, 2021,…
Last month, CommunicationFIRST responded to the White House Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Request for Information about how…
CommunicationFIRST is pleased to announce it has joined other civil and disability rights groups in filing a brief led…
Guardianships and conservatorships are legal tools that are frequently used in the name of protecting people who rely on…
by India Ochs Content warning: This blog post and the embedded links include references to restraint and seclusion. Silence…
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.
“How do we, as AAC users, make people stop and listen to us?” “How do we elevate individuals who…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in response to the first federal complaint challenging discriminatory hospital “no-visitor” policies, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced a resolution agreement making clear that federal law requires hospitals and the state agencies overseeing them to modify policies to ensure patients with disabilities can safely access the in-person supports needed to benefit from medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Racism will not be defeated solely through the actions of those affected. We must work together toward this common goal. We will not, we cannot, be silent.