Eye-Gaze AAC for Autistics!

This is a topic I have been passionate about for some time now, though I have posted about it elsewhere, it’s time I make an official post here, I maybe be the first to dis

Ok so aac is kind huge for me, I absolutely love aac and specifically my AAC,  recently I was introduced to An aac device that had something called eye gaze which you can use your eyes to select and speak things! I was almost immediately inlove!

This is typically for people with little to no motor control in their hands and fingers  but to me it opened up a whole new idea world of overcoming some of the brain body disconnect that comes with being autistic, especially on my especially on days where I'm having a really hard time with coordination,  during shutdowns, post meltdowns and post seizures when this tends to be a lot worse, you could also type to speak too or use your eyes that's was the best part! It was either!

I keep thinking  about it and wishing proloquo2go offered eyegaze and how much it could really help other autistics who have more of a brain body disconnect than I do also access aac as well or and this could really help out those who use FC and maybe useful for people using FC to try and be able to have access to addition option with FC for those who use it!

*this is not meant to be a replacement for FC and will not work for all FC users but could provide second communication option for some individuals using FC*

We really do need smaller more portable and more accurate eyegaze based aac systems, and or for dynavox to make a eyegaze passed switch/control like the PCEye go. That is comparable with the iPad and ideally bluetooth connected so we can keep our devices safe in waterproof cases but still utilize the eyetracker, additionally smaller tobbi I-12 type series of dedicated speech devices  that are more portable for autistics would also be ideal

Unfortunately eyegaze isn’t really even ever considered an option or priority for autistics, I suspect this is largely because the brain body disconnect many of us experience, especially those of us who are intermittently verbal to non speaking /part time to full time aac users) experience is often not well known and not much discussed outside the autiatisticcomminuty. It’s not even something most clinictions are much aware of or really understand in my experience so it comes as little surprise to me that  the major manufacturers of eyegaze aac tech would not be marketing to the autistic community, which is a huge loss for us.

Eyegaze isn’t perfect, and it does have its down side of coarse it it is tiring, expensive, hard to get approval for right now and currently most no one knows about its massive benefit and need in the autistic community! The modern AAC tech, while much improved also still needs to be made smaller and more portable S well as more accurate from slightly off angles, but I think it could still believe eyegaze AAC could make a world of difference for many other autistics as well! I think it would be huge if more nonspeaking autistics could have eyegaze as an option!.  Eyegaze needs to be made available to the autistic community.

Happy Autistic Pride Day

Today is autistic pride day, and I really don’t have much I know what to say,  ca months ago I wanted to be sure to have some big post out for this day, but honestly? I’m still struggling to get back into the swing of posting again, and right now there is just so much going on in the world and in life  spoons are really low, so I want to keep it simple,  

Happy autistic pride day, remember to celebrate neurodiversity today, 

Uplift autistic voice,

Center the voices of Autistic PoC today! 

Presume competence 

Everyone has a right to AAC

Communication access rights are basic human rights! 

Embrace stimming

You are not a burned 

Your support needs are valid and matter and you deserve access to supports that’s are helpful and not harmful to you as an autistic person!

There is so much more I want to say, I want to make a long post about autistic culture, I want to talk about the importance of aac but right now none of it is falling into words, this year has gone by so fast I can hardly believe it, 

 I hope everyone has a wonderful autistic pride day! 

You are failing Autistics when you don’t prioritize AAC

this is going to be short to get me into the swing of blogging again,
lately I have noticed a very upsetting pattern parents of autistic, in many cases non speaking autistic children don’t know what AAC is,
This is not ok!

This concerns me greatly!  I suspect more often than not it is because “specialists,” hold off on mentioning it and or introducing it in hopes of pushing for mouth words, all to often we know that specialists will tell families to wait on aac, even though studies have shown aac help build languages and communication skills!

Here is the thing I’m going to lay it out short and sweet,  


AAC need to be the first step!

Communication is a basic human right!

Your first step must be Providing Access to communication

If it's not then you are failing Autistics!


Right after diagnosis a child should immediately start the process of finding communication supports that help them and work for them as well as at least 2back ups! This needs to be the primary goal of any or all autism based services, to provide access to communication, also sensory supports,

I really can’t stress enough how critical aac services are!

If your goal is to teach the autistic to stop stimming you are failing autistics!

If your goal of to teach them to be indistinguishable from peers your failing autistics!

If your first and primary goal is not providing the autistic client with access to as much communication as possible  then you are failing your Autistics! If you are a service provider you are failing your Autistic clients!

these services need to also include teaching presumption of competence to family and all other support staff working with the autistic individual as well, and lessons on the importance of respecting their disabled child’s rights and dignity!

Yes you are failing Autistics when you do not prioritize AAC and access to communication!

We Need To Stop Treating AAC Like A Last ditch Option and so much more!

im going to keep this short, I’m tired and low on spoons I have been for a while now, I mean low on spoons  but I wanted to get something out for Autistic speaking day.

We need to stop treating AAC like a last ditch option, so often I see parents waiting till their kids ore older to try AAC, they are told to try for speech  they believe that if they go straight to AAC that they will loose the opportunity for speech, but the science just isn’t behind this! Study after study has proven that if anything AAC helps promote speech  but more importantly they are loosing valuable time and spending years denying their kids access to communication methods in fear of not getting for mouth words. This isn’t just against the since it’s massively cruel, providing and teaching communication to your child should take priority over all else.  Not all of us will gain mouth words and that’s ok but it is critical you do everything to help us access methods of communication that work for us!

We need to do away with the idea of prove it low tech first this is archaic and BS  just google “everything wrong with prove it low tech first”and that should give you plenty of blogs with explanations.

Introducing comprehensive aac early and modeling is critical

We need to start treating AAC like a language and we need to start valuing AAC as much as we do as mouth words!

We need to recognize that AAC access is important and critical for many individuals with a variety of persevered verbal abilities. i say percieved as all to often what you see is not all that we are trying to say or express but often we cant get all the right mouth words, or the wrong ones come out, or they wont come out at all even when we know exactly what we want to say.

there are many Autistics (and im sure NTs) who can speak well or even exceedingly well but loose speech and need AAC part time. their need is no less real than someone who has never spoke a word.
some individuals need AAC to help them hold and process thoughts as they type them out so they can communicate clearly. Their need for access to AAC is real!

Some Autiscs have an easier time typing or using symbols than mouth word their need for AAC is real

Autistics  who ha intermittent speech, their need for AAC is rel

the autistic who has neever spoke a words need for AAC is real

Autistics that type and speak the words as they types need for AAC is real

baseline if someone expresses and interest in AAC no matter how old or how verbal their need and right to have access to AAC is real and valid

we need to change the converastion around AAC, from something tabo to just another way some individual communicate.

lastly it is acceptable and we need to nomalize switching between multiple modes of communication  be it

AAC- signs- sounds-pecs
0r
verbal speech aac-sounds
or verbal speech-sogn
or
sign-aac sounds - letter board
or
letter board-verbal speech- pecs

and so on most any combination you can think of every individual has needs to be allowed their right to switch through ( yes even you)

They are not Heros! a post to people magazine on Autism speaks

hello,

         Recently People magazine featured bob and susan wright as "heros among us"  They got a huge cover page and a story of coarse but here is the thing People if you had done a little research first on your subject matter you would have learned very quickly

Bobs and Susan wright are NOT heros!

• there is nothing heroic about dehumanizing Autistics!
• there is nothing heroic in spread fear and stigma for your personal gain!
• there is nothing heroic about make an entire group of people feel like burdens and curses to their family!
• there is nothing heroic about SHUT OUT the people you claim to speak for and silencing their voices!
• there is nothing Heroic of parading parents in front of a screen to cry and say how much their child has ruined their lives!
• their is nothing heroic about demonizing Autism and fighting against autistics that want acceptance, and understanding
• Bob and Susan wright are NOT HEROS!!! Autism speaks hurts ‪#‎actuallyAutistic‬ people! the little good they have done pales in comparrison to the pain suffering, tears and harm they have caused building barriers of fear between Autistics and the community! Period!

People magazine you may ot have realized this but by featuring them as heros and battling autism as a good thing you too have contributed to the steriotyping, dehumanizing, demonizing and spreading of hate and fear towards Autistics

if you want to feature real heros look at the Autistics and our families who are fighting for accetances, understanding and supports that actually benifit autistic people.look at people fighting the stigma and demonization of Autism because in a world the tells you we ar lost, broken and burdens the true heros are the ones who stand with us in love support and acceptances who lift up our voices, We are not broken, we are not lost we are here we matter and we deserve to be heard!

Whit German Shepherd standing next to large chalk writing that reads "boycott Autism Speaks!

Lighting it up blue hurts Autistics! Wear Red instead and hangmulticolored light too!

Hello,

        This year I will not light it up blue, I will not wear blue
Please join me don't wear blue don't light it up blue wear red and hand multicolored lights instead!!!
What's wrong with blue?

          To starts off Autism is a vast spectrum, no to individuals are the same, symptoms And the severity of the symptoms are different for everyone on the spectrum and even this is a bit fluid for autistics.  A single blue light is very one sided one view,
Light it up blue and wearing blue was started by autism speaks. autism speaks is at the center of a major boycott and is the only charity continually challenged by the people they claim to represent and there is a very good reason for it!

         Autism speaks has several MAJOR issues that can not be ignored! From irresponsible  spendings where only 8 percent goes back into the community in the form of services and 43 percent going into research that does NOTHING to help autistics and is generally geared towards things such as prevention and prenatal testing which would enable parents to choose if they want to abort the child based off of a prenatal test,  (this is based off of their 2011 tax form because in their 2013 tax form they merged "awareness, such as adds and self advertisement with "family services making calculations  very difficult)

        This means Autism Speaks is actually TAKING money out of the community that could be going towards providing much needed supports and service

        What maybe even worse then taking much needed funding for resources out of the community
Autism speaks uses fear and demonizes autism to get donations, Awareness is important but it is no good when it is done through creating fear, pity and stigma and light it up blue is their national awareness campaign and is nothing more then a thinly veiled self advertisement and I simply can't support autism speaks!
I refuse to support an organization that tells the world that I and others with my disability are

Lost
Broken
Missing
 A Crisis
Tragedies and
Ruining our families lives

            If any other charity said this about any other minority there would be national outrage! What if this was how  national female, Hispanic, black,  pagan, Muslim or christian groups spoke of the people in their ranks? What if they went even further and had none of those individuals in their actual organization and refused them a voice? What if they garnered pity for family members who killed these individuals sighting that person's gender, orientation or religion as being so hard and burdensome their deaths were understandable and even acceptable? That what Autism speaks does, when you support Autism speaks this is what you are supporting!

            So I will not light it up blue, I will not support autism speaks and I will not help spread an awareness that at its core harms Autistics!

            Instead I am going to promote Acceptance and understanding by wearing instead and hanging multicolored lights for Autism Acceptance and by participating in events created by Autistics!

            That's what we really need acceptance, supports and understanding so please join me in raising the voices of my fellow Autistics, promote acceptance wear red instead and hang up some multicolored lights and shine a light for acceptance of the entire spectrum!
                                   
                                             Thank you!!!
                                                   -AutismDogGirl


For more Autism Acceptance month activities Check out

Not just blue- multicolored lights for Autism Acceptance https://www.facebook.com/events/1418248198477746/

Walk in red https://www.facebook.com/events/441004906049419/

Autism Acceptance Month https://www.facebook.com/events/640472342746324/