#alternative communication

[clownrecess]

I want to talk about the importance of not watching an AAC user's screen without consent.

People watch my screen a lot. When someone watches my screen without my permission, it not only violates my privacy but also makes me feel uncomfortable and exposed. Imagine if someone was watching your thought process for a sentence before you say it out loud, that sounds violating, right? My device is a personal and intimate form of communication, and it's not fair for people to intrude on that.

Secondly, it's incredibly distracting. When someone is watching my screen, I feel like I'm performing. I become self-conscious about every word I type, and it can slow down my communication speed. This can be especially frustrating in situations where I need to communicate quickly, like in an emergency.

So please, if you know someone who uses an AAC device, be respectful of their privacy and don't try to watch their screens without their consent. And if you see someone else doing it, speak up and let them know that it's not okay.

[blog-of-my-interests]

I don't use my aac app often but I'm adding swears to it anyway.

If I can say swears then I will say them. Not verbally communicating shouldn't stop me.

Disabled people can swear. I am one of them.

[frameacloud]

Rogan's Aphasia, by LB Lee

Content: Rated PG. Swear words, brief mention of surviving child abuse.

Medium: Book. An illustrated nonfiction zine.

About a personal experience of one plural system member losing the ability to talk due to brain damage (called Broca's aphasia), and very useful advice about how to deal with it! Some methods explored here are texting with emoji, carrying pocket-size cards with common messages, pointing at symbols on communication boards, and making your own cards so they reflect your own style and needs. Recommended reading.

To feature this zine created by LB Lee, I include it in my itch.io collections of plurality and zines. I'm doing this series of Tumblr posts reviewing and featuring other people's creations with links to where you can see them on itch.io to celebrate and draw attention to the cool stuff that folks make.

[insertname8617]

Sonic themed communication cards.

Use them if you want to, but please credit!

I made them for myself during verbal shutdowns.

Blank

Part two coming soon!

[redinkpress]

i definitely havent made yet another set of communication cards for chronic illness…. wink wink winkety wink

[artisticmedley]

HearMeOut: Free AAC

& other tools for mental health & executive function! Also games. Brought to you by an autistic friend of mine. Shared with permission.

Link to AAC

Link to other tools & apps

Features of HearMeOut:

Use online on any browser.

Download for offline use on any device. (Note: Some Linux users (Debian in particular) may need to use Firefox Nightly until Firefox is updated with PWA support).

Money free and ad free forever.

Comes with some pre-made cards.

Customise cards with your own text and icons.

Categorise custom cards by category name & by colour.

Filter cards by category or search.

[loser-pet]

omggg, this owl might get some communication cards soon!!! yippeeee!

we went to an occupational therapist yesterday, and we were talking about how to navigate around/through verbal shutdowns, bouts of situational mutism, and general shutdowns/meltdowns. the ot mentioned that communication cards would be good because they’re portable and easy to use and understand, and we started on a plan to make some cards online and print them out and laminate them (they would be those small ones on a keychain). it would include how I’m feeling, saying something along the lines of “I can’t speak right now”, and stuff that I can do to calm down (I was also thinking of having a blank card so that I can write a custom message with a whiteboard pen) (for context, this would be used the most in school or public places in general).

finally, a way to navigate my disability!!! everyone in headspace is super happy about this too (especially princess and ty; they’re excited to help make the cards). any autistics or folks in general with communication cards, please leave suggestions below with stuff I can add to my list of cards, or just general tips of how we can effectively use them or any other things that we should know! /nf