Core Learning Characteristics of Autism and Their Implications in Typing to Communicate

• By: Janie Burke, MA, MS John Burke, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA Dr. John Burke and Associates, LLC
• July 9th, 2026
• AAC research, augmentative and alternative communication, dyspraxia, motor planning, neurodiversity-affirming practice, nonspeaking autism, stimulus over-selectivity, Summer 2026 Issue, typing to communicate
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This article bridges the gap between decades of research in the field of autism and the actual cognitive-motor mechanics that define an autistic learning profile. Our objective is to cleanly identify why traditional Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) models often fail: they...

Presuming Competence: What It Really Means and Why It Is Life Changing

• By: Susan Nisinzweig, MSW STeP, Abilis Life Services
• July 9th, 2026
• augmentative communication, autism education, autism support, neurodiversity, nonspeaking autism, presuming competence, self-advocacy, Summer 2026 Issue, typing to communicate
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Presuming competence is such a core foundational principle for people working with non-speakers to understand. It is the very first thing we talk about in our training programs and a topic we revisit in every coaching session. Parents, staff, therapists, teachers, and anyone else interacting with...

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...