The Power of Presuming Competence: A Nonspeaker’s Call to Action

• By: Jace Pooley Nonspeaking Autistic Self-Advocate
• July 9th, 2026
• alternative communication, autism advocacy, communication access, letterboards, motor planning, nonspeaking, presuming competence, self-advocates, Summer 2026 Issue
• 999    1

I stop and think about what I went through as a young child all the time. On a scale of 0 to 10, so many of the therapies that overtook my life would get a negative number! It wasn't that the therapists were bad people; it was because the initial premise of the treatments was fatally flawed. How? I...