Archive for December 2013
Everyone Communicates – the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Resource
The website Everyone Communicates is dedicated to people who are still waiting for a means to communicate more effectively. The intention and hope of the site is to help bring access to communication to more people so that someday soon everyone will have the opportunity to communicate effectively, and no one will have to spend…
Read MoreThe Autism National Committee – Dedicated to Social Justice for All Citizens with Autism
AutCom, the Autism National Committee, is the only autism advocacy organization dedicated to “Social Justice for All Citizens with Autism” through a shared vision and a commitment to positive approaches. AutCom was founded in 1990 to protect and advance the human rights and civil rights of all persons with autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and related…
Read MoreHelen Keller and Anne Sullivan Demonstrate Self-taught Form of Facilitated Communication
Helen Keller, the blind and deaf American author, political activist and lecturer, is seen in this 1930 newsreel clip as her instructor and lifelong companion, Anne Sullivan, demonstrated how Keller learned to talk. While often described as blind, deaf and mute, the final line of this rare footage proves otherwise. At the end of the…
Read MoreMatt Hayes: A Tale of Silence and Beyond – A Tribute to Autistic Intelligence
Watch A Tale of Silence and Beyond, a tribute to autistic intelligence by Matt Hayes. Matt Hayes is autistic. He started typing at a very young age and surprised everyone because everyone thought he was mentally retarded and could not think normally. The film A Tale of Silence and Beyond demonstrates how intelligent autistic people…
Read MoreSelf advocacy via Facilitated Communication
Watch Johnathan telling it like it is at a DDS hearing “Johnathan telling it like it is at the DDS hearing on November 2, 2011. This was his first time using facilitated communication to self advocate, with the help of Dr. Linda Rammler. He did a great job!” Description from YouTube [dt_divider style=”thick”…
Read MoreVideo: “I Want To Say” – New Technology Helps Autistics Communicate
Watch I Want to Say to see how new technology improves the quality of life for autistic students. ‘I Want to Say’ is a 27-minute documentary short that tells the story of Hacking Autism, a newly adopted Autism Speaks initiative devoted to unlocking the voices of children with autism through technology. The film sprang from…
Read MoreTypers Hold Panel Discussion After Screening of Wretches & Jabberers
This past Sunday afternoon, a screening of Gerardine Wurzburg’s movie Wretches & Jabbers was held at the Brownsburg Public Libarary. The movie, released in 2011, is about the international efforts of Tracy Tresher and Larry Bisonnette to promote supported typing as a method of communication for nonverbal autistic individuals, as well as to connect with…
Read MoreHacking Autism: Developing Technology to Unlock Voices of Children with Autism
Hacking Autism, an Autism Speaks initiative sponsored by Hewlett-Packard (HP,) is devoted to unlocking the voices of children with autism through technology. Hacking Autism seeks to facilitate and accelerate technology-based ideas to help give those with autism a voice. When touch-enabled computing was introduced to the world, no one could have anticipated that this technology…
Read MoreDemonstrating the Validity of Facilitated Communication in the “Real” World
Live Validation Test of Facilitated Communication: Marlena (aka theaacjournalist) performs a live test to help demonstrate and validate how FC works: Marlena Katene, aka theaacjournalist, is a budding music journalist who uses Facilitated Communication (FC) to talk to the outside world. As both a journalist and an active advocate for Facilitated Communication, Marlena travels…
Read MoreDavid’s Facilitated Communication Evaluation
This fascinating video shows David, a young non-verbal autistic boy, working with a trained facilitator (possibly for the first time, although that is not made clear) to communicate with his mother. To the uninitiated, it may well look like the trainer is moving David’s arm, but watch closely and you will see her lift her…
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