#deafblind accessible aac

[nonspeakingkiku]

Hi! I hope you don’t mind my asking. I was curious if you could explain a bit about how you use electronic AAC with a vision impairment. I’m also an AAC user and it’s something I’ve wondered about!

Sure! First off Kiku's visual impairment is dynamic (think that the right word), it changes depending on what ever else is going on and its als brain based so its different that eye based visual impairment (which Kiku also has but glasses help with that). Kiku has a reduced visual field (lower vision very bad, perifrials not great some days better than others some days completely gone, more common on right side. Some time visual field narrows to a small cone or when Kiku is focused on say walking and listening to surrounding, vision goes away entirely) the inability to see more than a few, or on bad days, one thing at a time, reduced contrast sensitivity (harder time seeing things if they don't contrast enough), sometimes Kiku's eyes shake, and probably more things Kiku can't think of now. But it all fluctuates, some days have more vision than others, but always takes consious effort to figure out what looking at, easier if look at familiar thing. Hope this helps understand how AAC can be hard.

How Kiku uses AAC is complicated and it depends on the day. On good vision days (or days where navigating more button presses is harder) Kiku uses a larger grid size (several apps, although mostly Proloquo2go and Speak4Yourself recently. On bad days Kiku uses a smaller grid size or LAMP on an ipad and a accent. The accent has a keyguard so Kiku can use it tactically rather than visually (although it is a work in progress). High contrast symbols help and Kiku uses colors to help find buttons too, although how the buttons are colored varies from app to app.

Kiku also uses a handful of tactile signs with partners, and is working on learning deafblind manual (a sign alphabet modified for touch based on BSL fingerspelling.) Kiku is working on getting a set of tactile symbols but only have one so far. And one day Kiku would like a set of those buttons used for dogs to communicate with tactile elements on them. But that would require money and a dedicated space Kiku doesn't currently have.

Kiku is also looking into other access methods such as switch access with auditory prompts but currently doesn't have a switch or anything to use as one.

Kiku uses low tech AAC a lot but hasn't figured out the best solution for bad vision days with that.

Eventually (once have a wheelchair or adaptive stroller) Kiku wants a communication board on a tray with tactile cues on it (braille and/or textures).

Part of what helps is being a multimodal communicator and having access to a ton of different ways to communicate.

[nonspeakerlibrary]

A DeafBlind, multiply disabled autistic AAC user talks about how much motor and processing effort goes into our communication , especially if we are using an alternative access method.

[cripplecharacters]

what are the top 5 things you'd like to see a disabled character do in a story?

Hey! This is a very vast question and a lot of it would depend on the character's actual disability - I have completely different wishlists for what I'd like to see intellectually disabled characters do versus what I'd like to see characters with facial differences do. Different stereotypes and tropes affect different groups of disabled people differently - to work with this fact, the below list will try to account for as large amount of disabled character as I can reasonably think of, but it won't have as much detail as you might want. If you have a specific kind of character in mind, feel free to send another ask.

Not in specific order:

Disabled characters being in love. Disabled x disabled, disabled x abled, disabled x very different kind of disabled, all these variants but including more than 2 characters (since I've yet to see a polyamorous disabled character), all of this.

And I mean in actual relationships, not the pitiful and devoid of actual chemistry thing that we usually get (think "really sad disabled man only becomes happy after an abled woman takes pity on him, but they never kiss or god forbid have sex because that's gross and the disableds surely don't do that anyway").

I want to see an interabled couple going through IVF because they want to have kids, a wife with hemiplegia getting to grow old and wrinkly with her autistic husband, a lesbian with Treacher Collins syndrome moving in with her chronically ill girlfriend after a month of knowing each other, DeafBlind men getting hands on each other in the bathroom of a shitty nightclub, a trans woman with autism asking out a trans man with Down syndrome via her AAC tablet, a neurotypical guy with an obvious crush on his classmate with cerebral palsy.

I want to actually see disabled people being shown as desirable partners, good parents and grandparents, potential crushes, going through some new feelings and going on both good and bad dates, from all walks of life, of all sexualities and genders. Just like abled people.

Disabled characters participating in their community. Especially severely and/or visibly disabled characters. This is obviously a concept as vague as it could possibly be, but a big problem with a lot of disabled characters is that they don't... do anything. Not in the sense that they aren't "active enough", but that they aren't really... characters. They're often reduced to a family member who's at home and maybe the abled character takes care of them sometimes, but that's seemingly all that happens; they have no interests, hobbies, agency, preferences, or an internal thought process. All they do is wait for an abled savior to do something to them, not even with them.

I want to see more disabled characters who have jobs (whether it's a "regular" job, a supported employment workplace, a creative job that maybe they can only do a few hours a week, or self-care as a full-time job kind of thing), participating in hobbies that are accessible and/or modified to their ability level, emailing or sending pigeon letters to their friends, trying out new stuff that they're interested in, having actual complex relationships with their caregivers. Anything to actually make them feel like characters that exist in their setting, not just cardboard cutouts that the author had no ideas for.

Disabled characters who are a part of real-world disability (and adjacent) culture. Obviously also a vast topic. Most disabled characters, regardless of setting, are completely separated from concepts that were made by disabled people for disabled people; usually the connection to disability is their actual medical condition and a sterile mobility aid. This is not incorrect or bad to represent since that describes a lot of people, but I'd like to simply see more variety.

I want to see disabled characters who do parasports, who are excited about tactile art, went to blind/Deaf/SPED schools, call themselves #a babe with a mobility aid, decorate their AAC device, learn about disabled history, experience Feelings when hearing that Neanderthals cared about their disabled children, go to disability-centric events or support groups to meet people similar to them.

Do all disabled people do these? Absolutely not, but I'd like for even 1% of fictional characters to represent those who do.

Yeah I just want more disabled characters doing sports. As in real-life sports that real-life disabled people do, apologies to all the fantasy swordfighting that's out there.

There are so many sports out there we can do, some are adapted, some have a sitting or wheelchair version, while others were made specifically for us. Team sports are such a good opportunity to have your character have a community of people like them, have interesting dynamics, yet the only anything I can think of that's about it is REAL by Takehiko Inoue (wheelchair basketball) and the art by @/gayaest / @/sproutwiki (sitting volleyball). Also some Paralympics documentaries that I can count on a single hand - there's like three of them.

I want to see characters who are starting out and really suck at their sport, ones who are decent, ones with ridiculous sports-anime-level over the top abilities. I want to see all kinds of sports done by all kinds of disabled characters; blind kids learning goalball with their blind parents, quadriplegic guys working their ass off to qualify for national murderball championships, folks using sticker-covered bright-pink ramps in their boccia games, people with POTS playing along with their abled partner on their wheelchair rugby league team, standing fencers becoming disabled and adapting to wheelchair fencing that they love just as much. More disabled people having fun, knowing other disabled people, having interests!

Also, parasports are just cool as fuck and interesting to both watch and read about.

Disabled characters getting to make bad decisions. Disability representation is often extremely black-and-white in terms of morality: the character is either an angel who always does the right thing and talks about being grateful a lot, or the character is comically evil, wanting revenge because of their disability, hating their disability, constantly in grief and anger since not a single mildly ok thing happened to them since they became disabled. Neither of these feel like real people.

Disabled characters should be able to say hurtful things, get mad, lie, and whatever else, without being demonized to hell for it the same way abled characters are. They should be allowed to consciously make a decision that they shouldn't take (also known as "dignity of risk" in context of disability). They should get the same consequences for mistakes as everyone else and need to have the opportunities to actually make them.

In a much shorter way: more complex disabled characters.

These are things that I'd enjoy seeing for disabled characters. But the main thing would probably be that I want more of them. The scope of disabled characters in media is so painfully narrow because there's so few of them + they're usually capped at one per series. More writing featuring multiple disabled people please.

Here is a list of wishes from other mods who wanted me to throw them here:

Disabled characters who act like the author did more than a 10 min google search about their disabilities. [So authors doing actual research.]

More disabled characters of color. A lot of time disabled characters are white because it's only acceptable for them to be one kind of marginalized. In real life that's not how it works. People of color are disabled too!

Characters with comorbidities, characters with physical and mental health and developmental symptoms. Disability doesn't just come with one cut and dry disorder all the time - you can even be diagnosed with some things and undiagnosed with others.

[A character can have 5 comorbidities, or 5 completely unrelated disabilities - both happen. Or, most frequently, a bit of both.]

Characters existing in all parts of their diagnostic journey. [So characters who are yet to be diagnosed, currently investigating their symptoms, ones recently diagnosed, and ones who had their diagnosis for their whole lives - and as mentioned previously, you can be on one stage with disability A, and on another with disability B.]

Characters whose whole life isn't just tragedy/struggle! See this a lot when a story with disabled character is just about how life is hard for them as disabled person. Would love disabled characters being leads in other genres and just existing as people. Not to say disability isn't a struggle, but there is more to life and person than disability.

mod Sasza

[sag-dab-sar]

(I'm so so so sorry this is long but I can't seem to squeeze it down unless I wait awhile and read it again but I'm afraid migraines might prevent that so here is my brain dump)

Okay I wanted to chime in with a comment but like it got a bit long so I was going to write two comments then said fuck it and wrote a post instead

First. I realize you said it is not a "must"! So this isn't an argument just a "I want to show a perspective" sort of post, and answering the disability thing. /gen

Second, I also advocate for learning parts of the language that are relevant to practice, for examples instead of slapping the Tungusic languages' "shaman" on a spiritual practice, learn what that culture called that ritual in their language. My emphasis is usually "learn the phrases that are necessary for proper understanding" not "learn the language." Examples such as Eusebia or Kharis for Greek religion, Me and Sukkal for Sumerian religion, Norito and Jinja for Shinto etc. You might want to learn a modern language, because the ancient culture will have more resources in that particular language like a Slavic language for forms of ancient Slavic religion.

Third, I'm an absolute MASSIVE fan of research, LINK and LINK and LINK (small bit of redundancy on the last two but not fully). I do think it's important to fact check, and misinformation will always piss me off, I love debunking misinformation but I feel kind of bad if people deactivate because of me. I do think we need to remind ourselves how hard research can be, LINK, sometimes a practitioner has innocent ignorance they simply don't know, not willful. It becomes willful when they refuse to engage with actual facts presented to them. The younger they are the more innocent ignorance they probably have.

🔹In Regards to Disability Question

It is not only ability to learn but accessibility to learn. Many language courses emphasize Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing. If you can't do one of those then many resources become useless.

For me the main disabilities are severe fatigue from CFS and long covid (I can't sit up for a majority of the day); a TBI my aphasia apparently can kick in at random now; memory problems; and especially migraines.

I'm not saying ALL people in these examples cannot learn it but second language learning as an adult, can be significantly difficult if you fall in any of these "categories". If you can't do all of the four "aspects" of language learning it can easily lead to frustration and inaccessibility.

Any speech disorders

Any condition that has acquired different forms of aphasia (which can be a lot)

Traumatic brain injuries

Dyslexia depending on severity, especially if the language is written in a script different from their native language.

Any neurological problem that effects the memory center.

Intellectual disabilities even if they could learn their native language to some degree.

May be difficult for deaf people unless it's another sign language, this isn't true for all deaf people of course. But their is also accessibility to language learning materials, someone who uses ASL may find the most popular learning programs simply don't consider deaf learners when developing their programs.

Blind individuals often lack the resources for many languages, so it's possible but significantly more difficult. If a language learning primarily on listening/speaking thats useful but when they emphasize reading/writing with no assistive technology they kind of shut the door to access the language for blind people.

Deafblind individuals need various specific communication devices.

Actually, anyone that use Augmented and Alternate Communication, even if they only use it occasionally. There are so many disabilities/nerodivergence that use AAC

Treatments or Medications that disrupt thought processes or communication.

Many mental illnesses that disrupt communication as a symptom and its more than "execution dysfunction." For example: word salad or logorrhea. Or the nearly complete inability to learn ASL, due to severe flat affect that prevents using proper grammar when signing.

Motor disfunction that effects any part of body used to speak or sign.

Brain fog, fatigue, migraines, chronic pain. If you have any of these consistent practice may be essentially impossible you may be in bed for a week, you may have to save the brain power to do a basic household chore. Language practice takes a back seat, and before you know it you haven't practiced in a month and forgot a lot—making language learning a difficult energy consuming task that someone cannot afford to "spend" energy on.

"Verbal ability to learn their native language" we learn that at like 2 years old. The average person can learn their native language starting as a toddler. Toddlers are bombarded by a language they hear around them. Adults usually aren't, and they usually have some idea about the language before going to that area that speaks it.

Actually I have a good example, I learned Darija (and clawed out some French from the back of my brain) out of sheer necessity while living in Morocco Rabat's old walled city. I didn't know any Darija, maybe Hi and Thank You. I kind of knew the standard Arabic alphabet but almost no words. Since no one spoke English at all and as you went "deeper" into the walled city many didn't even know French I learned it out of necessity which is basically the same reason a toddler learns it. I had to take a Darija "class" while there and came extremely close to flunking, I didn't get a single good grade. Yet buying correct foods in the walled city, bartering in the souk very effectively, taxi conversations, and other things I did just fine— despite nearly flunking. I think language acquisition and language studying/learning can be two different things. Babies get acquisition long before proper education based learning. In Morocco, I got language acquisition and nearly flunked language learning. Also I know literally none of it now.....like at all. I don't even know Arabic script, I forgot it because I never used it. And in 2019 I probably could have easily relearned Arabic/Darija. But now? My memory, TBI, and exhaustion say no.

🔹I'll use me, a monolingual language lover as an example. And connect them to my religious practices so its kind of on topic with a 🔸.

First, I fall under the "cannot spend any energy on language learning" and "the consistency of learning would be too inadequate" so essentially any language isn't really feasible, but I'll mention things anyways.

I can't seem to learn Spanish no matter how hard I try due to [insert bad mental health symptoms here] and feeling like I'm failing making me want to quit because somehow it doesn't come as naturally to me as opposed to other languages. I was fluent as a kid, so its the first type of heritage language, and that makes me crave learning it, but I just... can't. I might be able to learn Spanish reading/writing, not listening/speaking. But I can't sit up with a book to do it. And even if I could, at the beginning of this month the aphasia hit so bad I couldn't read literally anything in my native language. 🔸It would be useful for the worship of Mary Our Lady of Solitude (María de la Soledad) who is mainly venerated in Spanish & Portuguese speaking countries, and Our Lady of Altagracia (La Virgen de la Altagracia) as protector and mother of Dominican people. It would also let me explore Taino history and explore Dominican Voodoo & Espiritismo, all with cultural sensitivity.

Then there is ancient Greek, which to some degree can be understood today by many Greeks. I'd still prefer to learn modern Greek because its another heritage language, second type I guess. I'd just sound silly speaking in Ancient Greek. Big issues is I NEED audio for Greek learning and my daily migraines don't care what I need. 🔸I think it would be nice to speak in my heritage language to the Greek Gods, I don't think they'd mind the modern form. But right now it seems I simply can't... thanks brain.

Again, I learn best from listening.🔸Not exactly a lot of recordings in ancient Sumerian, and I certainly cannot learn cuneiform, so I have no clue how it's pronounced.... same with Akkadian. It might be cool to say prayers in Sumerian, but I'd rather learn French or German for the Assyriologists resources, if I chose to learn for my Sumerian practice.

And while I think I'm decent at learning Japanese, my undiagnosed brain issue, memory, fatigue, and other stuff mean I can't do Kanji and its just a difficult language in general. One of my favs though.🔸It would be spectacular to learn for Shinto. But all I know is Kana and how to pronounce it, so the prayer book with Kana Romaji and English is helpful but information materials on Shinto aren't as accessible.

As I said I'm an audio learner in every which way..... but the daily migraines have decided that they don't like the activity. I think German is probably the only language I could learn with minimal audio but still learn speech (I'd probably have a distinct accent though) I am very good at German if I give it a chance. But Greek? I need allllllll the audio. And of course I have no energy to "spend" on language learning.... also modern Greek has abysmal levels of learning material compared to other languages.

.🔹.

So yeh I disagree with the "learn the language" part as @transbutchblues does in the comments. Though I believe learning at least some small parts can be necessary or valuable. And if you want serious in depth research a modern language could be a good idea. And of course I'm speaking of neo-pagan and revived polytheisms not traditions that require a second language of some kind. Also HEAVILY agree on the research, and respecting cultures even if its reading info about the modern culture in your native language

My most controversial take is that I think if youre going to be any kind of culturally based polytheist, you should a) learn the language and b) learn to do scholarly research.

I wont use the word "must", and call me a gatekeeper all you like, but there is so much misinformation out there that if you care about your practice being authentic/culturally sensitive AT ALL you need to learn how to sift through the centuries of romanticism and neopagan-speculation-sold-as-fact (looking at you, Wiccans).

Not saying your practice must be reconstructionist in nature, but if you can't tell what is supported by the data, what is conjecture, and what is outright fabrication, you are doing the material, your practice, and yourself a disservice.

[nonspeakingkiku]

Kiku's followers might be interested in this. Kiku wants to get a set eventually.

[cripplecharacters]

Tag Directory

[large text: Tag Directory]

This list is not exhaustive, but covers the most common tags we use.

Last updated: 01/01/2025.

Disabilities:

#Albinism representation #amputee representation #Autism representation #ADHD representation #Blindness #Brain Damage representation #Burn Survivor representation #Cerebral Palsy representation #CDD representation [Complex Dissociative Disorder] (includes DID, OSDD, etc.) #chronic illness representation #chronic pain representation #Deaf character (includes Hard of Hearing) #DeafBlindness #Down syndrome representation (for things specific to DS) #Dwarfism representation #Epilepsy representation #face difference (includes facial scars, burns, etc.) #GAD representation [Generalized Anxiety Disorder] #heart condition representation #Intellectual Disability representation #Learning Disability representation (includes dyslexia, dyscalculia, etc.) #Limb Differences #mobility disabilities #monocular vision #mysterious disability #multiple sclerosis representation #muscular dystrophy representation (includes all types of muscular dystrophies, SMA, vague muscle atrophy/dystrophy, myopathies, etc.) #mute representation #Nonverbal representation #nonspeaking characters #OCD representation #personality disorders #POTS representation [Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome] #PTSD representation #psychosis spectrum representation (includes schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, psychosis in general + other conditions that cause it) #Selective Mutism representation #speech disability representation #spinal deformities (includes scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis) #SCI representation (Spinal Cord Injury but does also include spina bifida etc.) #substance use disorders #strabismus representation #Tourette's Syndrome representation (includes other tic disorders as well) #vitiligo representation

Aids:

#AAC users [Augmentative and Alternative Communication] #ambulatory wheelchair use #ankle foot orthosis #assistive technology (includes Braille) #canes #crutches #guide animals (includes both dogs and miniature horses) #feeding tubes #hearing aids #knee scooters #mobility aids #prosthetics #eye prosthetics #rollators #service animals #walkers #wheelchairs #white canes

Frequent Topics:

#combat and disability #fantasy setting (includes SCI-FI etc.) #fantasy disabilities #fantasy ableism #fantasy species (while this was originally meant for actual fantasy species, anything that's non-human goes here, including basic animals like cats and things like robots) #fantasy tropes #historical fiction #horror and disability #inaccessible setting #intersex representation (majority of intersex variations are not disabling but a few are/can be) #magic aids #parasports in media #religion and disability #sign language representation #villains with disabilities

Tropes:

#blindfold trope #cure trope #faking disability trope #fetishization of disability #disability as punishment #disability erasure #disability negating superpowers #magic induced disability #mask trope #perfect prosthetic trope #tropes

Other:

#acquired disability representation #accessibility (for making things accessible to readers) #art reference #CCartShare (sharing art from our art tag) #character inspo #cripping up (cosplaying disabled characters) #disabled character ideas ("what disabilities make someone use a cane" etc.) #recommendations (various media about disability, mostly not writing related) #sensitivity reader #terminology #writing descriptions #more information needed (for when we need some additional info before answering properly - if you've sent an ask, it might be in there) We also tag the username of the asker so if you've sent an ask off-anon you can check through that as well. Anon asks are tagged as "#anonymous" and/or with the sign-off included in the ask.