Help us fight for #DisabilityRights and #CommunicationAccess! CommunicationFIRST is hiring for two full-time roles: Community Engagement Associate and Policy Director/Associate. Please share! [Image: View from above of four pairs of hands, each holding a different kind of electronic device (tablet, cell phone, or laptop) with forearms resting on a wooden table.]

We thank the Autistic Self Advocacy Network for recognizing CommunicationFIRST’s work to date with their #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs award: Stay tuned for words from fellow awardees! [Image: Screenshot of some members of CommunicationFIRST’s team in a Zoom meeting. The group includes (from top left to bottom right): Toby Latham, India Ochs, Susie Lotharius, Bre Mercier, Tauna Szymanski, Chris Williams, Jordyn Zimmerman, Melissa Crisp-Cooper, Gita Gupta, Pancho Ramirez, and Lateef McLeod.]

Have you contributed to our #VisibleAAC photo bank? If you are an #AACUser with a great photo of yourself &/or your #AAC, email it to info@communicationfirst.org with “PHOTOS” in the subject line! On photos you post, you can tag us in a comment & include the hashtag, #VisibleAAC. [Image: A smiling teacher places her arm around her student’s shoulder. The young boy, who is an AAC user, happily points to his t-shirt. He and his teacher are wearing CommunicationFIRST t-shirts that read “Speech does not make someone more human.”]

RT @thinkingautism: Medicaid-funded services like aides enable many of our community members to live full lives—but many Members of Congres…

What would you do without your aide? Share how #MedicaidCuts 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! [Image: Alongside their aides, AAC users eat boxed lunches at a table in a hotel atrium.]

Our hearts grieve the passing of Devva Kasnitz (z”l), a monumental contributor to the #DisabilityCommunity and CommunicationFIRST's long-time Advisory Council Member. At this link, share memories and get updates on opportunities to honor her loving soul. [Image: With her back to the camera, Devva Kasnitz sits by a table at the Future of AAC Research Summit. She watches herself on-screen during the film premiere of “13 AAC Users: Priorities for Future Research.”]

Sophie Bohnen navigates the world with a whisper. When Sophie developed #LaryngealDystonia, she started using a voice amplification device & found her voice in #advocacy. Sophie is creating a platform for people who go unheard to share their stories. [Image: A voice amplification device hangs from a strap around Sophie Bohnen's shoulder, and its microphone attachment is positioned by her mouth. Sophie smiles and looks at the camera as she holds up a printed program.]

Can denying access to AAC cause lifelong #trauma? See article in new #Autism Spectrum News issue: “Without effective communication,” says our own Ren Koloni, “a person cannot express themselves, make decisions about their own life, connect with others, or be a part of their community.” [Image: Headshot of CommunicationFIRST Program Associate Ren Koloni who is a fat, nonbinary #AAC user. Ren sports a long, dark braid and glasses as they look at the camera.]

Typing with his toes is one way our Board Director Tim Jin communicates. Tim's key(board) to success has been embracing change in #AAC #technology! Learn more from his #AACResearchSummit talk, Embracing Change in AAC Technology: The Keyboard to My Success. [Video clip: Tim Jin, an AAC Research Summit speaker with a shaved head, sits in his powerchair and presents onstage. Tim's AAC device is positioned by his bare feet, with which he types.]

Our end-of-year fundraiser!

We wish everyone in our community a magical holiday season full of joy! As 2024 ends, please consider including us in year-end #giving plans. #Donating by 12/31 gets you an invite to a virtual coffee session with our Board Chair & Executive/Legal Director. [Image: #VisibleAAC photo submitted by Cristian Rosas & captured by Karen Baca. Cristian sits in front of a lit Xmas tree in a powerchair with an attached #AAC device. He wears a black-&-white sweater & looks at the camera.]

An important question posed by CommunicationFIRST Advisory Council leader Grant Blasko! Grant asks us to ��consider this: the #moral imperative is to protect from harm.” [Image: Black & white closeup of college-age AAC user @GrantBlasko. Among tall trees, bushes, & a clear sky, he looks pensive. Text on image: “When we know the devastating health & well-being effects of social #isolation & #loneliness,” says Grant Blasko, “should we then review all current & potential interventions with this lens in mind?”]

In celebration of #BillOfRightsDay, CommunicationFIRST’s Bob Williams reflects on #FreedomOfSpeech & the power this right holds for us who cannot rely on speech alone to be heard & understood. #AAC #advocacy must be reframed as an issue of #FreeExpression! [Image: Outside the US Capitol, CommunicationFIRST Policy Director Bob Williams (@rrw1957) poses with Executive & Legal Director Tauna Szymanski. The smiling co-founders sport sunglasses. An AAC device is fixed to Bob’s powerchair.]

Around the corner is what would have been #JudyHeumann's 77th birthday. 💙 In her memory, we revisit The Judith Campaign. This film campaign honors Judy's teachings on the value of creating space for #disabled people to share their stories with the world: [Image: CommunicationFIRST Board member Judy Heumann (z”l) poses with Bob Williams (@rrw1957) and Henry Claypool (@claypoolhenry) for a group photo. They are in their powerchairs, and they appear to be enjoying the outdoors together on a sunny day.]

RT @thinkingautism: It is important to be able to communicate with others, especially when you’re stressed, upset, in pain, dysregulated, o…

In moments of stress—when being heard may be more important than ever—we can lose the ability to communicate in the ways we usually do. Our new resource guides people with speech-related #disabilities & #MentalHealth conditions, allies, & lifeline workers. [Image: A glimpse over the shoulder of Ren, a fat nonbinary person with glasses and a partially shaved head visible, as they type into the AAC app on their smartphone. On their lap, a blanket is visible, patterned with smiling cartoon ghosts in the colors of the transgender flag.]

In celebration of #InternationalDayOfPersonsWithDisabilities, Pres. Biden recalled the words of #JudyHeumann! “Change never happens at the pace we think it should. It happens over years of people joining together, strategizing, sharing & pulling all the levers they possibly can.” [Image: CommunicationFIRST Board member Judy Heumann (z”l) and CommunicationFIRST's Bob Williams (@rrw1957) smile for a photo together.]

Our #GivingTuesday fundraiser!

RT @thinkingautism: “Anyone can be a victim of ableism if they do not follow societal norms that our culture sets for people’s bodies and m…