About this Event
5 Lower Lake Road, South Hadley, MA
There are two dozen known and unknown disabilities that affect expressive communication, whether congenital or acquired, ranging from autism, apraxia of speech, and cerebral palsy, to ALS and multiple sclerosis. Among them, those who are nonverbal/nonspeaking and minimally verbal—those who rarely or do not at all communicate through verbal speech—face a variety of unique forms of erasure and marginalization. For people whose disability affect their expressive communication, having access to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is crucial in fostering connections, expressing wants and needs, preventing and reporting abuse, and overall improving their quality of life.
This panel introduces the concepts and the different forms of AAC, with a focus on high tech and symbol based AAC. It also centers the voices of AAC users, particularly apraxic nonspeaking/unreliably speaking autistic AAC users. There will also be interactive activities with AAC that provide a glimpse into life of a AAC user. This panel is presented by an autistic and apraxic nonverbal/nonspeaking person who is a full time AAC user.
Speaker: Earl Wren ’24, they/them, Disability Services Fellow, nonverbal/nonspeaking AAC user
This event is being conducted over Zoom. As the host, Mount Holyoke College reserves the right to record this session and the event sponsors will give prior notification to event participants of any intention to do so. The recording feature for others is disabled so that no one else will be able to record this session through Zoom. At all times, no recording by any other means is permitted without prior written permission from the event sponsor or as an approved accommodation.
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