Mental Health Care for People Who Use AAC: Rationale and Practice

• By: Alex LePape Beth Rosenwasser, PhD Manley Ghaffari, MD
• July 9th, 2026
• aac communication, anxiety treatment, autism services, cognitive behavioral therapy, mental health therapy, nonspeaking autistic adults, psychotherapy access, spelling to communicate, Summer 2026 Issue
• 81    0

Introduction: A Speller's POV Therapists are my heroes — they transform problems into paths toward the future you want to build. I was scared to start. My psychiatrist told me that meds alone would not solve my anxiety, and she encouraged me to give therapy a try. Dreams make work, and...

Freeing the Mind: A Nonspeaking Autistic’s Case for Presuming Competence

• By: Elsa Jean Pace Nonspeaking Autistic Self-Advocate
• July 9th, 2026
• aac communication, apraxia, autism education, autistic self-advocacy, letter board, motor planning, nonspeaking autistic, presuming competence, Summer 2026 Issue
• 172    0

Many nonspeakers are still locked in the prison of their own mind. Nonspeakers are underestimated because our bodies and brains are disconnected. Our minds work, but not with our body, so people conclude we are unintelligent. Apraxia is not well understood by parents, teachers, therapists, and the...

It Is Time to Remove Stigma from Autism Interventions

• By: Rebecca Rosenzweig Autistic Self-Advocate
• July 9th, 2025
• aac communication, actually autistic, interventions, masking, mental health, neurodiversity, self-advocacy, stigma, Summer 2025 Issue, therapy
• 1840    0

Historically, autism has been blamed for the challenges autistic people face. Struggling to stay in school? Get a job? Make friends? “It's because of the autism.” The belief is this: If autistic people are trained to behave like someone without autism, they will face fewer challenges. Under...