"Everybody Communicates" New Toolkit on Communication Support for People with Disabilities

ASAN is proud to announce the release of "Everybody Communicates: Toolkit for Accessing Communication Assessments, Funding, and Accommodations" with the UCSF Office of Developmental Primary Care.

Everybody communicates - whether by using language, actions, gestures, facial expressions, sounds, or other means. People with disabilities need access to effective communication in order to be able to advocate for ourselves in all aspects of our lives - from health care, to housing, to everyday decision-making. Having access to the right communication supports can mean the difference between being included in our communities, or being locked up in an institution. It can mean being able to tell the doctor what’s wrong, rather than having our health problems ignored. Everyone has something to say - and having the tools to say it makes our lives better.

As a self-advocacy organization, we’re working hard to make sure that however you communicate, your voice is heard. This toolkit will explain how to find the communication supports you or a loved one needs, get them paid for, and advocate for your right to effective communication. We hope that it can help you, your family member, or someone in your community - and if it does, we hope that you will share it, and help us ensure that everyone has the tools they need to communicate.

Source: AUTISTIC SELF ADVOCACY NETWORK press release