#aac users

[vixdesl]

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

autistic people dominate AAC conversation on tumblr so for this AAC awareness month (October), let us also remember all non-autistic AAC users & autistic AAC users who not use AAC because or solely because autism.

people use AAC for from intellectual & developmental disorders to neurocognitive disorders to neurological to physical disorders. people use AAC for disorders from birth & acquired disorders. progressive & non progressive disorders.

some AAC users have mouth speech, motor, and/or sound clarity related difficulties, others use for language and/or cogntive difficulties, some for combo of reasons.

those with…

intellectual disability

genetic & chromosomal disorders like down syndrome, rett syndrome, angelman syndrome, williams syndrome, etc.

cerebral palsy

speech language disorders like aphasia & dysarthria

schizophrenia & schizoaffective & schizo-spec

brain injury

dementia

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), huntington’s, frederick’s ataxia, etc.

tracheotomy

locked in syndrome

n so much more not listed here

[clownrecess]

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people with undiagnosed physical disabilities

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people with undiagnosed mental disabilities

Happy disabled pride month to mobility aid users

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people who are in constant pain

Happy disabled pride month to AAC users

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people with ableist family

Happy disabled pride month to fat disabled people

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people with scars

Happy disabled pride month to disabled addicts

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people who's disability is progressing

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people who love their disability

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people who hate their disability

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people with underrepresented and/or uncommonly known disabilities

Happy disabled pride month to all disabled people. I love you. /p

[cripplecharacters]

hi! i'm creating a nonverbal autistic character and i'm unsure if i've fallen into any tropes while writing hxr. for context i'm a fully verbal autistic teenager who feels most comfortable writing autistic characters. the reason i'm sending this ask is that i'm planning on making an ask-blog for hxr and i'd want to smooth out anything offensive before doing so.

hxr design is very simple intentionally, and while trying to minimize the amount of lines it takes to draw hxr i decided to not give hxr a mouth. my worry is that writing an autistic character and then going "well actually shx's nonverbal because shx doesn't have a mouth so it's not actually because of the autism" might leave a bad taste in some people's mouths. (no pun intended) for the record if shx had a mouth shx'd probably still be nonverbal, but i don't want to word-of-god in representation.

the second thing is that hxr name is ":)". (smiley emoticon) this is not pronouncable so when i talk about hxr irl i usually just draw out ":)" with my finger. somehow it feels cliché to give my nonverbal character an emoticon for a name. is that actually bad or is it just my anxiety? (the reason shx's named that is that i'm bad at names) hxr closest friend is one of my friends' ocs and he's named "the optimal wizard", so it's not like shx's the only one with an unconventional name

another thing is the world shx lives in. very simple and wholesome, like something out of a very little kid's book. this means adls aren't really a worry, and everyone around hxr is pretty accepting of hxr autism, so it doesn't really disable hxr enough to get diagnosed. if diagnosis is even a thing in a very simplified kid-logic world. again, i worry this falls into the trope of never actually confirming representation. if someone sends in an ask like "are you autistic" i would absolutely say yes though.

(hxr special interest is birds and shx's very birdlike hxrsxlf, so her aac is a bunch of really shiny rocks that are enchanted to float into the air, if you're wondering how shx communicates)

i'd also like to note a couple of things. one of my hyperfixations is emojis, which bled into any symbols that need to communicate something clearly at a small size, which bled into aac symbols, which bled into symbol-based aacs in general. just felt worth mentioning

the second thing is that :) is a kind of underdeveloped character but i'm confident that's because of my lack of skills as a character creator and that i would write an allistic verbal character at least as badly if not worse.

attached are some drawings of hxr

thank you for your time and have a good day ^^ (happy eyes closed emoticon)

Hi asker,

First of all, I don't think there's anything off about your design. It really is a very stylized art style, in a way that the fact that shx doesn't have a mouth doesn't feel out of place at all. If you really wanted to, although you haven't, you could maybe include another character without a mouth that does speak to show that no mouth doesn't automatically mean nonverbal in this universe.

On the same vein, I don't think it's cliche for hxr name to be :). The main reason is because I don't think I've ever encountered any character with an emoticon for a name! That seems to me the opposite of a cliche. It's also something that I completely believe as something very reasonable for the universe shx lives in, based on the art style alone. Like, yeah, it makes sense that this character that reminds me of an emoji has an emoticon name. I don't think that's something you need to worry about given what you've told us about hxr and hxr world.

When it comes to diagnosing hxr, if it's not something that is feasible in your universe, that's okay. If you wanted to, you could include in something like a character profile something like "This is :), shx likes birds and is autistic!" Obviously I'm limited in that i don't know anything else about your story or world, but a character profile is something I've seen a lot in webcomics and in ask blogs. That wouldn't be out of place at all.

Hope this helps!

mod sparrow

PS I love hxr AAC. Enchanted rocks are cool.

[transspeciesguy]

AAC symbol/emote blogs that have limited or no DNI

(If you would like to be removed from this list, please either comment below or DM me! - Alternatively, if you would like to be added to this list, feel free to comment or reblog.)

@stellas--symbols

@vixys-aac-hoard

@tcc-mojis - only NSFW dni

@schar-aac

@cytochrome-symbolz

@wolf-pack-emojis

@pet-cemetery-emotes

@lopmotes , @lopmojis , @bunixels

@ayiemojis

@gillipopmoji - DNI link is rickroll

@coralreefemotes

@evanemotes

@masqueraders-motes-and-boxes

@ever-emotes

@blackholemojis

@froggeymotes

@smolmoss

@storyshift-mogai

@mothman-mojis

@bunnsemojis

@1nf3ct3d-3m0t35

@dustyaacsymbols

@houndz-mojis

@dustymoji-aac

@voidhiding

@symbols-by-me

@zaza-art

@coval-emotes

updated April 23rd

[maes-aac]

Using my AAC out right now in public is making me continue to realize that I truly do not have to justify myself, my use of AAC, or perform verbally in any kind of way for anyone. I don't have to explain to anyone that I can still speak but prefer not to, I don't have to explain the reasons for why speech is difficult for me. I don't have to do anything but just stay true to how I want to be, and to continue to do what helps me

[pixierainbows]

“ If you use augmentative or alternative technology to communicate and have equipment lost or damaged due to a national disaster, we can help!

Who We Are

USSAAC's Disaster Relief Committee responds to nationally declared disasters on behalf of USSAAC members, people who use AAC, their families, and other AAC stakeholders. We work collaboratively with other organizations to replace AAC tools and devices that are lost or damaged.

How We Can Help

I Have a Need

If your AAC equipment has been lost or damaged, we can help with a replacement at no cost. Use the ‘I Have a Need’ button at https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

I Want to Donate

To support USSAAC's efforts with monetary donations, communication devices, AAC app codes, or other AAC-related items, use the ‘I Want to Give’ button at https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

I Want to Volunteer

Enter your skills and location using the 'I Want to Volunteer' button at https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

FAQs

What equipment IS covered?

*Speech-generating devices

*Access switches

*Device mounting systems

*Communication boards and books

*AAC device batteries and chargers

What Happens Next?

Requests - we will contact you to get more detailed information about your AAC needs.

Donations - we will contact you when there is a need that matches your offer.

Volunteers - we will contact you when there is a need that matches your skills, time, and location.

Contact Us “

https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

[zebulontheplanet]

I’m. Still. An. Adult. I’m still an adult! Even when I’m using aac. Even when I’m stimming. Even when I refuse eye contact. I’m still an adult! Stop treating autistic people like they’re children. We aren’t children! Yes, I may have interests that are “childish”, yes I may need more time with things, yes I may need patience. But I’m still an adult! It annoys me so much when I’m babied by those around me. I’m still a person, I’m still a teenager, I’m still a adult.