Advancing the Rights-Based Inclusion of People Who Need and Use AAC: A Guide to Allyship

• By: Ren Koloni, MA CommunicationFIRST
• July 9th, 2026
• AAC users, allyship, augmentative and alternative communication, communication access, disability rights, nonspeaking autistic people, presuming competence, Summer 2026 Issue, supported decision-making
• 68    0

People often ask CommunicationFIRST for our recommendations for interacting with people who need and use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools and supports,1 including nonspeaking autistic people, autistic people who are sometimes able to speak, and people with other...

Can Being Denied Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Cause Lifelong Trauma?

• By: Ren Koloni, MA CommunicationFIRST
• December 30th, 2024
• actually autistic, advocacy, communication, disability rights, emotional regulation, inclusive education, neurodiversity, nonspeaking, trauma, trauma recovery, Winter 2025 Issue
• 3732    2

Complex trauma happens when someone feels they are trapped and alone in continuing threatening or unsafe circumstances, like child abuse, war, or racism (World Health Organization, 2019). In situations where a person experiences threats every day, changes occur to the part of the nervous system...

Rights and Challenges for Autistic People with Communication Disabilities in the Legal System

• By: Staff CommunicationFIRST
• July 5th, 2023
• AAC, ableism, accommodations, augmentative and alternative communication, communication, cultural competence, disability rights laws, discrimination, equal access to public services, guardianship, law enforcement, nonspeaking, speech-related disabilities, stereotypes, stigma, Summer 2023 Issue, the legal system
• 8761    1

Police should be the last resort.... I shouldn’t have to call the police if my son is having a meltdown. When I get up in the morning, I say, “Thank God he’s not dead,” and “Thank God I’m not dead.” - Kerima Çevik, activist and parent of a nonspeaking autistic son (Sokol,...