#aac awareness

[spectrumgarden]

Reminder that languages have tens of thousands of words if you only count common words, and hundreds of thousands if you count more specific / niche words from fields like jobs, sciences, hobbies, etc. There is no AAC board with tons of folders complex enough to hold all of them. If someone cant manually type in /spell their own additional words they can be severely limited in what they can talk about, even with creative work arounds. Be mindful that many AAC users are limited in their words by their communication method, even if they cognitively understand more words and areas than they can talk about.

[jasper-is-autistic-old-blog]

howdy friends!

amongst other things, it is AAC awareness month! if you would like to, please reblog or comment how you use AAC to communicate. this can be high tech or low tech, full time or part time. even sign language if you want!

here's a short definition of AAC:

AAC stands for augmentative alternative communication. it can include any method of communication that replaces or adds to verbal speech.

from Wikipedia: AAC is used by those with a wide range of speech and language impairments, including congenital impairments such as cerebral palsy, intellectual impairment and autism, and acquired conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. AAC can be a permanent addition to a person's communication or a temporary aid.

if you have any questions about aac, feel free to ask me! i can either answer from what i know, or do my best to help you find the information online.

i'll go first:

i am able to speak sometimes and often use verbal speech with my family. when i can't, i usually text them. i also use high and low tech aac. i use AAC when im out of the house and need to talk to someone who can't understand me or when i can't speak at all.

my low tech aac includes communication cards with simple words and phrases.

my current high tech aac is an iPad with the app TD Snap. i am using the free trial, but i hope to save up the $50 to buy it! i use AAC to have conversations, to talk to myself, to order food, and to ask for help.

what is your experience with aac?

[big-boah]

🎉 October is AAC Awareness month! 🧑🏻‍💻

The point of this post is to remind everyone how important it is to be aware of AAC (Alternative Augmentative Communication), the ways people use them, how to interact with someone that uses them, and how to access one in case you or a loved one need it.

Luckily there's several apps out there. Coughdrop.com is my favorite for Android, it has eye gaze tech and I have a recent post about it. There are ones for iPad like Prologuo2go and free apps you can use on your phone/tablet/computer.

For interacting with those of us who use AAC, all we require is clear communication and patience. PATIENCE is huge. Absolutely changes my day when someone is patient with me, my disabilities are obvious and things are challenging all the time.

All we ask is that you give us, any disabled person, or any other human being, patience and time. I'm also comfortable with questions as long as someone is patient with me.

Someone can use AAC on their phone, a tablet, or s separate device. Some people use eye tracking technology to choose the words and symbols, some use touch screen or cursors or switches. Some people need assistance operating the device while they use it.

It's good to know that AAC devices/situations can look different, and have different software for different needs. So if someone is using that to communicate with you, just listen and give that person time.

A fact of life is that you can become disabled at any time. You could fall in the shower one day like I did (my support needs increased significantly after that. I hadn't considered AAC before the TBI, now I like using it along with typing and ASL.)

You could get injured, have issues recovering from an illness, deal with a mental health disorder, develop a language disorder, or have an aneurysm/stroke and lose your ability to communicate. No matter how healthy you are, these things just happen. Not to be morbid, but accessibility and understanding/awareness are so important because of this.

Communication affects everyone.

AAC tools allow people to communicate in a much more expressive, efficient, and convenient way. I hope this month inspires you guys look into it and learn more! My asks are always open, too.

(I think I'm gonna to use my AAC to post this on TikTok at some point in the near future 😁)

[alex2xander]

Be nice and don't mock tumblr users that communicate differently.

Examples:

1.) Typing quirks

2.) No punctuation

3.) Random Capitalisation

4.) Long run on sentences

5.) Frequently misspelled words

6.) Missing spaces between words

7.) Repeating words and sentences

8.) Posts audios and videos instead of typing

9.) Express themselves through custom emojis

10.) Use an AAC (Augmentative and alternative communication) device

Some users have intellectual disabilities, use speech to text, struggle with grammar, have hand tremmers, have high support needs, etc.

Regardless of how they communicate and their reason why, they still deserve respect. They are trying their best.

[autball]

We. Can. Hear. You.

It’s AAC Awareness Month! AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) is more than just high tech devices like the one depicted here. It includes picture books/cards, sign language, writing it down, Spelling to Communicate - basically anything that conveys a message that is not speech. 

And anyone can use it! If you are non-speaking, unreliably speaking, not-yet speaking, or just find words hard sometimes, then AAC is for you. There is no “non-speaking enough” threshold you have to meet - if it makes your life easier, go ahead and use it.

AAC is empowering. People routinely talk about autistic kids and adults like they’re not even in the room, even when they CAN speak. (Which, if you’re someone who does this, STOP IT RIGHT NOW.) This parent could have assured this asshole professional person that her son could understand til they were blue in the face, and they wouldn’t have been believed if he hadn’t been able to communicate it for himself. 

Communication is a right. Don’t let anyone try to discourage AAC on the basis of it hindering speech or “being the easy way out” or whatever other nonsense they come up with. AAC *enhances* communication, and everyone deserves the ability to communicate their needs, tell you their thoughts and feelings, share their hopes and dreams, and tell people to fuck off when needed. 😉

(Image description in Alt Text.)

[lillypadcrochet]

REMINDER!!!!

Autism acceptance month starts THIS SATURDAY!

If you/someone you know needs to buy an AAC app, almost all companies have huge sales!!!! (They also do this in October for aac awareness month)

[k9emote]

helloo, first of all, I wanted to say, I enjoy your emotes! your art style is so pleasing to look at (^_^)

anyway, I've come to ask, do you have some sort of PTSD png? I've seen you've made some for other disorders n such, so I wished to ask if that's okay!

Never posted it but here here

[pxppet]

Mutism/Nonspeaking Awareness Flag

I, like many others, suffer from mutism due to a physical disability. Every flag I've seen for the nonspeaking and nonverbal community is based in autism and related issues, without representation for those of us who are nonspeaking for reasons such as being a cancer survivor, schizophrenia, muscle tension dysphonia, spasmodic dysphonia, aphrasia, brain damage, etc. and related conditions. There are a large variety of conditions that I rarely see representation for, and this flag is for us.

The white stripes represents hope for a more accepting future for nonspeaking and mute people.

The purple stripes represents entirely nonspeaking people.

The blue stripes represents AAC and sign language users.

The green stripes represents people with fluctuating levels of verbality.

The yellow stripe represents community and the way we have each other's backs in this struggle.

The symbol is a vague representation of the lack of a voice. I couldn't decide which one looked better so feel free to use either.

[aactailmon]

Happy Autism awareness and acceptance month everyone. May you all be blessed with never seeing the worst takes about Autism for the entire month.

But in all seriousness, I hope you all have a good month. Please remember to uplift those who are higher support needs, who are semiverbal or nonverbal, who use AAC, who are intellectually disabled, what are ABA survivors, and who are people of color. The Autism community is diverse and far from being a monolith, so please make sure that you are listening to people from all different walks of life.

May you get the chance to info dump to someone who really wants to listen to what you say, may your special interests continue to bring you joy, may your conversations not be awkward, and may you continue to grow and learn about yourself and the world around you.

[clownrecess]

(Trigger warning!!: Autism Speaks, murder, abuse, trauma, April, Light It Up Blue, panic attacks, meltdowns)

Hi. I am a nonspeaking autistic.

In a month, it will be April (autism acceptance month!). And I am, quite honestly, terrified.

Let's talk about why.

April is autism acceptance month, however it is also considered by most to be autism awareness month. During "autism awareness month", a ton, like a ton of propaganda is spread by Autism Speaks, lots of people donate to Autism Speaks, and I see a lot of people wearing Autism Speaks shirts.

Let me make this as clear as I can, Autism Speaks is a money hungry hate group that supports eugenics and abuse.

And, well, when for an entire month everyone is encouraging everyone to go donate to them, they get more money, and more attention, which means the more of their goals they will complete.

This is terrifying.

For me, April is genuinely traumatizing. I have an intense amount of panic attacks in April. Half of the time they are in public, too. I went into a store once, to see their walls were taped with puzzle pieces and every few minutes an announcement would come on encouraging shoppers to donate to Autism Speaks.

Within around 15 minutes of me being in the store, I began getting so upset and overwhelmed by this, I collapsed, and cried, and hit myself in the head repeatedly.

This probably seems like an overreaction. But, you have to understand, that is is so so hard seeing people advocate for the murder, and abuse of people like you. It is constantly being forced down your throat all year long, but in this month, it exaggerates. It gets much more intense.

It has gotten to the point, that I am so on edge in April, that I feel physically nauseated, and terrified, whenever I see puzzles, or even just the color blue in April.

Please, please, I ask everyone wear red as much as possible in April. And if you can, donate to ASAN.

[sobber1929]

Please go to my carrd for information about my commissions. https://pupscomissions.carrd.co all the information about everything is posted there.

I make disability cards for people, to put on their mobility aids or medical devices, communication cards, mental illness/neurodivergence information cards incase of emergencies or similar and also disability memes. I’ve also made stickers for aac devices.

Here are some examples

[badolmen]

I can fix him*

*bad writing, underutilized gameplay mechanics, characters with unfulfilled potential, funded by bootlickers

[themaveriqueagenda]

happy AAC awareness month to maverique AAC users!

[skadiofthemountains]

I am so excited. I just booked my first bookstore appearance to share this little book I wrote and illustrated for my kiddo.

[writerbeemedina]

October is a time to acknowledge many different things. One of those things is AAC Awareness Month!!

• AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

• AAC is any form of communication other than spoken words. This can take the form of a speech application on a device; the use of photographs or symbols; writing; drawing; sign language; etc.

• People who are mute, or find physical speech taxing or painful such as autistic people may depend on these alternative forms of communication. And that’s neat! 📱📖📝🤟

Above is my girl Cassandra, who will be a protagonist in a romantic short story collection I’ve been working on. She loves fantasy novels, true crime, and romance! 📚🔪💕More to come about her soon! I can’t wait for you to meet her when the WIP is ready!!

Special thanks to @perplexingluciddreams for helping bring her to life!!

[the-sleepiest-melon]

I'm getting a Speech to Text device to help me communicate. And I have basically picked out the software and tablet, its all being ordered. But I now realize I forgot one thing.

Can I fucking swear?

So I did some digging. Apparentely lots of disabled people, who use alternative communication device, either have the "innapropriate" words locked behind a child-friendly barrier that has to be manually disabled (if it can be at all), or refuse to put those words as a default option.

So yes, if you use alternative communication, you could be forcibly censored.

How fucked up is that? That instead of giving people the freedom to express themselves, people instead try to control the words a disabled person can say.

What if someone is verbally harassing me and I need to report it? Can I not repeat what they said?

What if I'm being hurt in some way? Can I not talk about abuse?

Even words like penis and vagina are not on the default list for body parts for some software. What's worse is if you can not program this yourself, and if nobody thinks to program it, you will not have the ability to discuss anything related to your genitalia, whether it be a sexual question or a medical concern.

Most communication devices are customizable. But not everyone (especially those who rely on symbols) can customize it themselves. You are put at the will of whoever can program it to give you the tools you need to speak. Even if those tools are "innapropriate".

I'm thankful I'm able to program my own device (that was necessary for the field I am going into) and you bet your ass I'm adding swears as soon as I can. But the process of adding new vocabulary and boards takes time. A lot of time. Some people spend days customizing their devices and boards. Days of work to gain the words other people don't think twice about.

Disabled people deserve the right to be assholes. To tell people to fuck off. To talk to their doctor or caretaker about health concerns. Its perpetuating this infantilizing idea of disability. Not every disabled person is a "ray of sunshine". With a communication device, I would like the freedom to speak. And with that, the freedom to tell people to fuck off.