The Work Before the Work: Lessons From Co-Designing Assistive Technology With Nonspeaking Autistic People

• By: Sofya Gektin University of Virginia Sajad Sarlaki University of Calgary Grant Blasko University of Washington Kristen Gillespie-Lynch College of Staten Island & The Graduate Center of the City University of New York Isaiah Tien Grewal Stony Brook Medicine School of Social Welfare Vikram Jaswal University of Virginia Sujit Kurup Autism National Committee (AutCom) Chandra Lebenhagen Including Autism Graciela Lotharius Georgia Perimeter College Elizabeth MacNeil University of Alberta Kyle Stauber Caroline Rose Tallungan University of Virginia Lisa Vallado Washington Adventist University Diwakar Krishnamurthy University of Calgary
• July 9th, 2026
• assistive technology, augmentative and alternative communication, autism research, autonomy, co-design, motor planning, nonspeaking autistic adults, Summer 2026 Issue, typing to communicate
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"I still struggle to put into words what it felt like to finally communicate in a personal, voluntary, and unscripted way. I've described it before as a prison door opening, but it was even more profound than that – more freeing, more life-changing." – Lisa, nonspeaking co-author For...