07/17/2026
🗣️ We are excited to share the latest edition of Autism Spectrum News with you because the entire edition is about NONSPEAKERS! Our new C4A team member, Heather Burroughs, has put some thoughts together about the contents that we hope will get you reading and sharing with the world.
I’ve been slowly working my way through the Summer issue of Autism Spectrum News, and I keep finding myself stopping just to take it all in.
I am in awe of the wisdom, courage, and humanity woven throughout these pages. Honestly, I am also overwhelmed with emotion.
For years, nonspeakers, families, and the professionals who believed in them worked quietly. They challenged assumptions, endured criticism, and kept moving forward because they knew people deserved the chance to communicate.
Something feels different now.
We are no longer hiding in the shadows. We are center stage.
Tonight, Dev and I watched Crip Camp. It was a powerful reminder that this is not the first time people with disabilities have had to fight to be seen, heard, and treated with dignity. Every generation has people who insist change is impossible, until suddenly it is not.
I kept thinking back to 2022, when Devyn and I watched Elizabeth Bonker’s viral valedictorian speech. It ultimately generated over 4 billion media impressions, but that night it felt deeply personal. We sat together imagining what a future like that could mean for Devyn.
I never imagined that just a few years later, I would have the privilege of supporting Elizabeth’s mission by helping inspire and guide Communication 4 ALL’s first team of 22 nonspeaking interns.
As I turned these pages, I realized I was not simply reading articles. I was reading the words of people I have admired for years, learned from, and now have the privilege of working alongside. ASN-Summer2026.pdf
A few passages stayed with me:
Elizabeth Bonker
“We Shall Overcome: Why I Am Certain Nonspeakers Will Win Our Rights to Communicate”
Pages 1 and 29
“This is the opportunity I want for every nonspeaker… To be free from the bonds of frustration. To be taught to type. To be educated. To be productive members of society. To have friends. To tell their parents they love them.”
Barry M. Prizant, PhD
“A 30-Year Journey From Skepticism to Acceptance”
Pages 1, 30, and 31
Barry is someone I have admired and learned from for decades. What I appreciate most is his willingness to rethink communication when doing so may allow more people to be heard. That kind of humility moves both science and humanity forward.
“At issue is not only the validity of a method, but the expression of personhood.”
Andrea Palerino, PhD
“What Parents Should Know About ASHA’s Position Statement on Spelling Methodologies”
Pages 23 and 47
Andrea is Abby Newbold’s mom. Her article captures what so many families experience as they advocate for access to communication.
“I will not deny her the basic human right to communicate simply because she is not yet fully independent.”
Susan Croen Nisinzweig, MSW
“Presuming Competence: What It Means and Why It Is Life Changing”
Pages 13 and 33
Susan is a beautiful soul. For years, she quietly continued helping nonspeakers communicate, even knowing people might belittle her efforts. She stayed focused on the people in front of her. Today, she has helped unlock so many voices that there is no reason to remain in the shadows anymore.
Her son’s words, quoted in the article, say so much:
“The reality of my life is that I need help to be in the world, but I don’t need help to think.”
Jace Pooley
“The Power of Presuming Competence: A Nonspeaker’s Call to Action”
Pages 21 and 48
Jace was already a rockstar before I met him. The more we team up, the more impressed I become by his insight, confidence, humor, and ability to move people with his words.
“The obsession with ‘fixing’ me disappeared and was replaced by a new obsession to help me thrive.”
Jace is one of our 22 interns. So is Abby Newbold, whose mom’s article appears in this issue. I keep returning to something Abby said during a television interview:
“This is a human rights issue for my generation. I was trapped in a silent cage, now I am out free.”
Do the critics still exist? Yes. Some are protecting careers built on assumptions that underestimated nonspeakers. Their authority is being chipped away by research, lived experience, and a generation of communicators who refuse to disappear. Someday, history may view them with pity because they were given the opportunity to reconsider, but could not admit they were wrong.
This is not simply a debate about communication methods.
It is a human rights movement.
And there is no putting these voices back into the shadows.
🔗 Read the full issue here: https://autismspectrumnews.org/asn-summer-2026-issue/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTB7O9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeHuvS9SKTbed9TRmbpWZiaME1P9eb9WYBhq--nKvX-cG1s0GOXJ0EZ2eZMv0_aem_w7JTKXcDCFp7IIfT0pc4iQ
