Citizenship is membership in a community which is a person’s by right, regardless of her or his specific qualities, skills or characteristics. Citizenship carries with it a presumption that a person’s interests and those of her or his community are somehow intimately linked with each other.  Acknowledging the citizenship status of individuals with significantly impaired communication directs us towards making certain presumptions on behalf of those persons. We must begin to alter this presumption and assume that they belong in and have a direct interest in, the surrounding community, and that they are capable of communicating when properly supported with the assistance of appropriate aids and techniques. 

* It is essential that difficulties with communication not be taken as evidence of intellectual incompetence. 

* The right to communicate is both a basic human right and the means by which all other rights are realized. 

* All people communicate and we must ensure that all people have a means of communication to allow their full participation in the wider world. 

* When people lack an adequate communication system, they deserve to have others try with them to discover and secure an appropriate system. 

* No person should have this right denied. 

This argumentative communication training is helpful for those who cannot speak or whose speech is highly limited (e.g., echoed from others or limited to one or a few-word utterances), and for people who cannot point reliably due to neuromotor problems such as impulsivity, regulation of movement, poor eye/hand coordination and difficulty with initiating and sustaining movement.

The Inclusion Connection offers assistance through periodic training sessions (as funds become available), regular support group meetings for users and access to communication resources.  For more information contact us!

Not being able to speak is not the same as not having anything to say.