Disability-led 501(c)(3) protecting the civil rights of humans who cannot rely on speech alone to be heard and understood. https://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mtp5o5zq5226Help protect our right to live in the #community! Ask your Governor and State Attorney General to sign the Commitment to #CommunityIntegration for People with #Disabilities. It’s a commitment to defend and follow the integration mandate. More info here: lnk.to/defOI. @bazeloncenter.bsky.social22 Aug 2026 20:50 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtp5o5zq5226https://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mt7qyim46c2xThe Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, #IACC, advises the government on #autism research & funding. They drafted a Strategic Plan that got some things right & some things wrong. Submit a comment to improve their plan before Thursday, August 20. lnk.to/IACCcmt 📸 Photo Credit: Disabled & Here16 Aug 2026 17:53 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt7qyim46c2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3msr3selg2k25Amicus briefs help us share insights with the legal system. We recently joined one supporting the National Association of the Deaf & its challenge to the federal government’s decision to stop providing #ASL interpretation in official White House briefings. lnk.to/suefed 📸 Photo… 1/210 Aug 2026 21:57 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3msr3selg2k25https://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3msgclibufc2kAre you worried about #Olmstead? The Bazelon Center made a guide to resisting DOJ’s harmful memo. It includes a statement for your governor and attorney general to sign in support of our right to live in the community: lnk.to/olmbkg. @bazeloncenter.bsky.social 📸 #VisibleAAC photo by Shira Wakschlag06 Aug 2026 14:59 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3msgclibufc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3ms4lqul3is2zPush back on the narrative of Medicaid being fraudulent or wasteful! Share your experiences with #Medicaid & #HCBS to inform the upcoming Senate Budget Committee Hearing. Email your statement for the record to Anirudh_Srirangam@budget.senate.gov by Wednesday, August 5 @ 12pm ET. [Image: A close-up…02 Aug 2026 18:17 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms4lqul3is2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mrsekaljps2fOur partners at DREDF and AAPD released a new report on barriers to #DisabilityBenefits. They found more barriers came about as the government cut staff and regional offices, replacing some with #AI: lnk.to/barrier. @dredf.bsky.social @aapd.com 📸 Photo Credit: @affecttheverb.com/Disabled and Here…29 Jul 2026 16:41 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrsekaljps2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mrif5xxrk22fWe conducted focus groups with #AACUsers to better understand our community’s perspectives on #ArtificialIntelligence. Findings informed the Consumer Technology Association white paper on #AI and #Accessibility: lnk.to/AIwhtppr. [Image: Focus group participant Juan Cobeñas sits at a desk with… 1/225 Jul 2026 17:25 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrif5xxrk22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mr6gm4sfls2oWith George Washington University’s handy new tool, keep track of, and submit your own updates on how federal policy changes are impacting home and community-based services for disabled people: lnk.to/trackHCBS. #HCBS @milkeninstitute.org 📸 Photo Credit: @affecttheverb.com/Disabled and Here 1/221 Jul 2026 18:25 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr6gm4sfls2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mqufgdk32k25“When other people know how to be respectful…they’re much more likely to include us.” Check out a new guide to #allyship by our own Ren Koloni, & learn AAC-related rights & tips for supporting them! Ren is featured in Autism Spectrum News’s Summer Issue. lnk.to/ltpfAAC [Video: Ren Koloni… 1/317 Jul 2026 18:37 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqufgdk32k25https://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mpr7ufmvj22kWe should not have to prove that we deserve #healthcare. The federal government has a new rule that could make it harder for people who need #AAC to keep #Medicaid. Send in your comments to oppose this by July 31 at 11:59pm ET! Use our helpful tips: lnk.to/wrkreq. 📸 Photo credit: Norma Mortenson…03 Jul 2026 18:54 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpr7ufmvj22khttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mpr7ufmvj22kWe should not have to prove that we deserve #healthcare. The federal government has a new rule that could make it harder for people who need #AAC to keep #Medicaid. Send in your comments to oppose this by July 31 at 11:59pm ET! Use our helpful tips: lnk.to/wrkreq. 📸 Photo credit: Norma Mortenson…03 Jul 2026 18:54 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpr7ufmvj22khttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mphg7npms22dThe #DOJ released a memo stating it will not enforce the #Olmstead decision, which protects the right of people with #disabilities to choose where to live. Learn about this attack on our community & how to take action via the explainer: First In, Last Out. lnk.to/olmmem [Image: “We must not… 1/229 Jun 2026 21:21 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mphg7npms22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mp2htpjxcs2yReady to wear the change you want to see in the world? The Jordyn Zimmerman Speech Does Not Make Someone More Human Shirts are back, but only through June 30! Get yours now and support the fight for #CommunicationRights. lnk.to/shpc @jordynbzim.bsky.social [Image: Sitting in front of a… 1/224 Jun 2026 17:46 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp2htpjxcs2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mojarlmlic2jWe helped create plain-language versions of articles published in the Journal of #AAC. Articles drew from the Future of AAC Research Summit we organized in May 2024 with the RERC on AAC. Authors include #AliceWong: lnk.to/nwacs. Thanks to NWACS for leading this effort! [Video: Alice Wong with… 1/317 Jun 2026 21:24 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mojarlmlic2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mo74jykwp225Enter our Jordyn Zimmerman Shirt giveaway! Think of someone who's new to CommunicationFIRST & tag them in a comment. You could win a Jordyn Shirt (of your choice), which supports the fight for #CommunicationRights. A winner will be randomly chosen on 6/18. lnk.to/shpc @jordynbzim.bsky.social 1/213 Jun 2026 20:41 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mo74jykwp225https://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mnusby5ke22vCongrats to our friends Samuel & Dan Habib on winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding #SocialIssue Documentary! Watch their film #TheRideAhead on 6/30 at 1pm PT/4pm ET. CommunicationFIRST Board Member Judy Heumann & co-founder Bob Williams are interviewed! lnk.to/rascreen [Image: Co-directors… 1/209 Jun 2026 18:11 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnusby5ke22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mnatyinzjc2yOur Director of Policy & Legal Advocacy Sam Crane spoke at Healthier Together! Sam, Henry Claypool (Brandeis’s Community Living Policy Center) & Michelle Meade (Univ. of MI Center for Disability Health & Wellness) discussed #HealthCare best practices for people with disabilities. 1/401 Jun 2026 19:49 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnatyinzjc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mmp3kodgbs2c“Every message already takes attention, motor planning, & time,” says Hari Srinivasan, Neuroscience Ph.D. candidate & #AACUser. “When technology adds corrections & guesswork, it compounds that effort.” He explains how engineered exclusion harms #AACUsers: lnk.to/desdig. @neuroscientist.bsky.social25 May 2026 18:16 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmp3kodgbs2chttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mmf4fd22t22uFather’s Day will be here sooner than you think. Be ready to show the father figures in your life some love. Get them (and the whole family!) CommunicationFIRST gear to help us win the fight for #CommunicationRights and #access: lnkfi.re/c1shp. [Image 1: A grandpa wearing a CommunicationFIRST… 1/321 May 2026 19:04 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmf4fd22t22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mltnwia3lk2kWant to learn more about advocacy by & for people with speech-related disabilities? Subscribe to our newsletter! A few times each month, get updates on calls to action, programming, & the latest from our colleagues. lnkfi.re/nc1st 📸: #VisibleAAC photo from DJ Reinhardt [Image: A person sits… 1/214 May 2026 20:30 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mltnwia3lk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mlh7m5xgbk2eWelcome our new Board Treasurer, Shubha Balabaer! They are a #DisabilityAdvocate, social & racial justice activist, & parent to a #nonspeaker. They help other parents connect to a broader #DisabilityJustice movement & ways of disability-centered parenting. lnk.to/shubha [Image: Shubha… 1/209 May 2026 21:42 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlh7m5xgbk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mkv7zzg6fk2vPeople with speech-related disabilities are a diverse community with a lot to say. We communicate with #AAC, including low-tech & high-tech tools & with support people like revoicers. Learn from us in our own words: watch All Our Voices. lnk.to/allvces [Video: First wearing a sweatshirt that says,…02 May 2026 18:02 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkv7zzg6fk2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mkgdd67ayk26In our series about AAC users in higher ed, Ren Koloni discusses their work on #disability & racial justice, Glenda Watson Hyatt discusses her thesis on employment discrimination of AAC users, & Lateef McLeod shares about his dissertation on peer supports. lnk.to/aachred @glendalwh.bsky.social 1/226 Apr 2026 19:51 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkgdd67ayk26https://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mk3v2rqivs2jWe attended the National Federation of the Blind’s tenBroek Disability Law Symposium. Our Director of Policy & Legal Advocacy Sam Crane presented on #SupportedDecisionMaking alongside #AACUser & SDM advocate Otto Lana, DREDF’s Ayesha Elaine Lewis, & ACLU’s Britt Belwine. @dredf.bsky.social @aclu.org22 Apr 2026 16:09 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk3v2rqivs2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/communicationfirst.bsky.social/post/3mjrdsupnxs26CommunicationFIRST Program Associate Ren Koloni shares their experience in graduate school as a multiply #disabled #AACUser. Ren discusses #access for our community and their research on #ableism in medical settings: lnk.to/RenGrad. [Image: Headshot of Ren Koloni accompanied by a quote. It says,...18 Apr 2026 11:34 +0000at://did:plc:rttsf4zrtbea47kiv56ec4vb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjrdsupnxs26