Communication 4 ALL

06/12/2026

Today, our Executive Director Elizabeth Bonker was featured on NBC News!

Elizabeth explains that many spellers and typers, including herself, need a communication partner because "NONSPEAKERS HAVE WHOLE BODY APRAXIA, A MOTOR DISORDER." Communication partners help nonspeakers overcome their apraxia "WITH THEIR CALM PRESENCE."

She further advocates that the original Communication Bill of Rights in New York "WOULD ALLOW NONSPEAKERS TO COMMUNICATE IN THE MANNER THAT WORKS BEST," a "BASIC HUMAN RIGHT."

This past legislative session, "SENATOR FAHY ASKED TO SPONSOR" the Communication Bill of Rights, "AND THEN THE STATE AGENCY TURNED HER AGAINST US." Elizabeth is "ANGRY AND ENERGIZED TO FIGHT THE ABLEISM THAT EXISTS IN STATE AGENCIES." On Senator Fahy's amendments to the bill, Elizabeth clarifies, "THE WORD VALIDATED IS AN ABLEIST CONSTRUCT. ALL COMMUNICATION SHOULD BE ACCEPTED."

Thank you, Vicky Nguyen and NBC News, for your steadfast, uplifting, and honest journalism. We deeply appreciate you bringing the issue of communication rights to the attention of your millions of viewers.

Watch and share the full story: https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/nonspeakers-question-donations-to-sen-fahy-after-exclusionary-amendment-265013317564

06/11/2026

Read Woody’s book!

When Woody Brown was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, doctors told his parents it was pointless to even speak to him. They said he would never understand language.

They were wrong.

Around age 5, his mother Mary noticed he understood far more than anyone realised. He started spelling simple words on a laminated letter card. By 8, she discovered he’d been spelling out entire stories for an alter ego he’d created, “Cop Woody,” with plots pulled straight from real news headlines.

“That’s how Mom figured out I was listening to everything,” Woody shared, tapping it out on his letter board as Mary spoke his words aloud.

Woody went on to graduate from UCLA, earn a master’s in creative writing from Columbia, and publish his debut novel, Upward Bound, a story set in an adult day center for people with disabilities. He called learning to spell “a miraculous discovery.” 💙

Source: People / The New York Times

06/03/2026

Listen to this awesome song!!!

05/30/2026

Aiden and Elizabeth just released their All Together Now 2026 special on SiriusXM's The Beatles Channel!

And, in even better news, if you've let your SiriusXM subscription expire, you can listen for FREE in your car from now until Monday!

The SiriusXM Listen Free Event is happening now through June 1! Listen to SiriusXM free in your car—100+ channels of music, sports, & talk, including The Beatles Channel (Ch. 18) where you can hear The Fab Four 24 hours a day, 8 days a week.

Learn more at: https://www.siriusxm.com/TheBeatlesLF

Happy weekend listening! 🎶🚗🎵

05/28/2026

ABC News is amplifying our voices! ABC News shared Abby’s story and the fight to get the Communication Bill of Rights passed by the NY Senate.
https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/new-bill-could-protect-preferred-communication-for-disabled-new-yorkers/amp/

A new bill passed by the State Assembly last year could guarantee that no person will be denied their preferred method of communication.

05/27/2026

Thank you for sharing our mission with the world! Communication 4 ALL!

Elizabeth Bonker stopped speaking when she was 15 months old.

Within hours, her words were gone. Her mother Virginia described watching it happen in real time — her daughter’s voice simply disappeared.

Doctors didn’t offer much hope. But her family refused to give up. At age five, Elizabeth was taught to type. And when she typed her first words, something extraordinary became clear.

She had never stopped having something to say. She just hadn’t been given a way to say it.

Elizabeth went on to graduate as valedictorian of Rollins College in Florida. She delivered her commencement address to thousands of people — not with her voice, but through text-to-speech software. The speech went viral.

“I am not special,” she said. “We need to change the way the world sees non-speaking autism. It is a neuromotor disorder, not a cognitive one.”

She founded Communication 4 ALL — a nonprofit built on one principle: that communication is a basic human right. 26 letters. A stencil. An internet connection. That’s all it takes to unlock a mind that the world wrote off.

An estimated 31 million people worldwide are non-speaking and autistic. Most have never been taught to type, point to a board, or use an AAC device. Not because it’s impossible. Because nobody gave them the chance.

Elizabeth is trying to change that — one letter at a time.

Source: Communication 4 ALL / Newsweek / Rollins College

05/20/2026

🗣️ Last week, nonspeakers Abby and Alex were featured on NBC News. Abby is a 14-year-old minimally speaking typer who has plans to go to college. Alex is a nonspeaking typer in his second year of college studying mathematics.

📣 Both are strong advocates for communication rights in New York and across the US. They are fighting for the Communication Bill of Rights to be passed in the NY State Senate.

Support Abby, Alex, and all nonspeakers by:

1️⃣ Sending a message to NY Senate leadership and the Disabilities Committee asking them to intervene by introducing the correct Communication Bill of Rights, which matches Assembly Bill A7363C: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/ny-state-senate-introduce-a-new-communication-bill-of-rights-like-assembly-bill-a7363c?source=direct_link&

2️⃣ Help keep Abby’s billboard up in Albany for the rest of the legislative session. We are less than $1000 away from our goal! https://www.gofundme.com/f/billboard-for-nonspeakers-right-to-communicate

3️⃣ SHARE THEIR STORIES. Tell everyone about what Abby, Alex and others are fighting for, and how important it is to ensure their rights!

VD: News on "Fight over nonspeakers' right to communicate." At Mouth to Hand Learning Center with her family, Abby spells “mommy,” “No, it’s my first,” “My mom,” and “It was the best feeling” on a letter board. Patricia Fahy speaks with “validated communication” overlaid. Headline reads “Helen Keller’s family members irate over changes to communication bill of rights proposal.” Diane Paul speaks to reporter over video. Alex types on a keyboard "It is torture," then "To be able to talk is a basic human right." Abby, Andrea, Alex and Judy walk hand-in-hand. Anchors report on “Helen Keller Family Statement: [Helen] did not arrive at communication independently… It was through her partnership-guided facilitated learning that Helen first broke through isolation and accessed language.”