Communication and Assistive Technology for Autistic and Other Disabled People

 Communication is more than speaking and Autistic people are a great example of a community who uses a wide variety of communication techniques and technologies to help assist us. Some Autistic people are speaking, some are nonspeaking, some partially nonspeaking, many have apraxia of speech, some connect to language in a synesthetic way, some are object visualizers, and some spatial visualizers.

For nonspeaking and partially speaking (and even speaking Autistics who want an alternative) can turn to assistive technologies or other forms of communication, such as facilitated communication, RPM (rapid prompting method), letterboards, AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) devices or apps, writing, typing, ASL (American Sign Language), and a multitude of other ways to communicate, including, but not limited to music, sound, and motoric movements that convey a message to the Autistic or otherwise Disabled person. These methods are used for other Disabilities sometimes as well, such as the Deaf and Cerebral Palsy communities.

I, myself, would consider myself to be partially nonspeaking as I seem to have apraxia of speech and it is often difficult to get words from my brain to my mouth, so I will often sound irritable, say something I don't mean to, fumble over my words, or people don't understand me, so when I am at home, I sometimes use a text-to-speech AAC app. It is much easier to get my thoughts out into text because I have to think about what I want to say first, so I do not speak through my AAC as impulsively as I would with my speaking voice. In addition to all of this, my speaking voice can often connect to language in a synesthetic way, which can be a strength when waxing poetic or explaining a metaphorical concept (yes, some Autistics do understand metaphors), but it creates a style of communication that is not easily accessible to listeners, but it does help for writing poetry very rapidly.

My point is that Autistics and Disabled people in general communicate in a very wide variety of ways, and this entry did not cover the full breadth of the humanities even, but there is more than one way to communicate and you should not have to limit yourself to just one kind of communication if you don't want to or if you don't feel that you have the ability to do so.