aac symbols

[ID: A drawing of a plain yellow head with an open mouth, speaking a speech bubble with four pink question marks. End ID]

[ID: A drawing of a plain yellow head with an open mouth, speaking a speech bubble with four light green question marks. End ID]

(if you'd prefer these be in separate asks just let me know)

you can request as many symbols as you like! i don’t mind :3

invisible disability (image of a disability flag with a sunflower symbol on it)

sensory disabilities (a disabilty flag with an eye ear nose hand and mouth on it)

heart medication (image of a. pill bottle with a heart on it)

self diagnosis (image of a blue dog with an arrow pointing out of it to a disbilty flag back to the dog)

i hope something good happens to you today!

[ID: A generic yellow person wearing a blue binder. There are brown emphasis lines around the binder. End ID]

"Nonverbal people are speaking, by using AAC devices, but you're just not listening" what about the nonverbal people who don't have the skills to use AAC?

"Nonverbal, not non thinking!" What about the nonverbal people who don't understand language and don't think in language?

"Nonverbal people are more likely to be a high IQ!!!!" "Nonverbal does not mean intellectual disability!!!" And the nonverbal people with intellectual disability?

i made this instagram post !!! there isn't as big of a community of AAC users on instagram so I thought I would share this on my instagram (@cytochromesea).

Image ID:

A light blue background with a rainbow and a cloud and some stars. There is a blue border collie with wings holding an aac tablet that says I love you! Text reads: AAC etiquette. Do’s, Don’ts, and other stuff. By cytochrome sea.

The same background appears in every following slide. Text reads:

AAC is my voice! It is not a toy or accessory

Don’t touch my AAC without my permission

Don’t take my AAC away from me, for any reason (joke, punishment, etc)

Don’t press buttons randomly or flip through my communication cards without permission

How would you like it if I randomly poked you on the mouth and throat (or on your hands if you sign)? It would be unpleasant, so don’t do that to me

Some AAC users can speak sometimes. It is not your business why someone can or cannot talk

Don’t ask questions about why an AAC user cannot speak. 

Do let us communicate however is best for us in that moment

Don’t ask us if or when we will be able to speak verbally. It’s not your business 

Do not value verbal speech more highly than AAC. Any communication is good communication

Some of us never talk, either, and that’s ok! Those of us who can talk sometimes are not better than those of us who can’t. None of us owe you an explanation for our use of AAC.

Don’t look at my screen until I show you. It feels really invasive!

It feels like when someone is looking at your phone screen over your shoulder, so please don’t do this

This applies to low tech AAC as well, don’t look at someone’s cards or letter board until they show you

You have the dignity of forming your thoughts in your head before you say them, whereas my thoughts are all on display. Please afford me the same dignity that you get automatically.

Don’t shame someone for not being able to speak verbally. It makes us feel horrible

We are real people with thoughts and feelings. Please treat us with kindness. 

We are trying our best

Don’t shame someone if their device mispronounces a word. It’s quite literally out of our control.

Other Don’ts. Don’t

Don't Treat an AAC user as childish or stupid for not being able to speak. Our ability to speak does not define our worth

Don't Show frustration at the way someone communicates

Don't Make comments about how fast or slow we communicate

Also don’t…

don't Act surprised when we swear or talk about adult topics like sex, drugs, or violence. We are not pure uwu precious smol beans, we are normal fucking people

don't Assume what is “wrong” with us. There are about a hundred reasons for someone to use AAC and you probably aren’t the expert in any of them.

“OK, so what CAN i do?” im glad you asked! When interacting with an AAC user, DO…

Ask us how we prefer to communicate and support us as you are able

Assume that we are competent

Talk to us with the same respect, tone and vocabulary that you would for any one else

Give us money (this one is a joke)

Understand that AAC grammar isn’t perfect and we are doing our best

Is it rude if…

I can’t understand your device? Not rude! Misunderstandings happen all the time in any conversation, just be patient as you would normally. 

I want to complement your AAC? Not rude!

I ask to see your AAC and understand how it works? This isn’t rude if you are already talking about AAC, but don’t ask random strangers this. They don’t owe you an AAC tour. 

Iwould be truly grateful if you could help me with a donation in order to save my children and my family from the dangers of war and death in Gaza and escape to a safe place. My situation is very catastrophic

Please Donate and Replog and Shaer For My Family 🙏

https://gofund.me/0511f253

Safaa is halfway through her goal, €25.9K raised out of €50K, but donations are incredibly slow. The last donation was 9h ago. There have been a total of 15 donations in the past 24h.

This is URGENT. Please, SHARE, and if you can, DONATE! Any amount helps. Don't let Safaa's campaign stagnate

"form"

ID: Photo of Ahmed and Abdelrahman standing in front of a building in the daytime, wearing coats. /End ID

Ahmed ( @ahmedalnabeeh11 ) has reached out to me to help share his story. Please read it, and consider reblogging and sharing.

Ahmed and his family lived a happy life before October 7th, he was looking into getting married soon, but all of their dreams were shattered when the attacks began, and their house was destroyed. Because of this, they've been displaced, and are now living in tents, in very poor conditions, like many other families.

ID: Photo of inside a white tent, with pans and dishes organised on one side, sheets on another and bags in the corner. /End ID

His father has passed away, and his mother, Tahani, suffers from several health conditions, such as diabetes and blood pressure problems. The extreme heat, lack of food and medicine and the poor conditions in the tents means her condition gets worse every day.

This is why this campaign is very urgent. Ahmed is trying to evacuate himself, his twin brother Abdelrahman, and their mother Tahani, to be safe from the attacks of the occupation and to find proper medical care for their mother, who desperately needs it.

Currently, their fundraiser has €17468 out of €30000, they need to reach their goal quickly, as time is running out. Please, donate if you can, any amount, and if you can't, share. They're very close to their goal

Tagging for reach

Vetted by @90-ghost

This campaign is at €4.4K out of €50K raised, with only 7 donations in the past 24h of a total of €123. This campaign is slowing down severely, please help by sharing and donating