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...