advocacy
nothing about us, without us
We know that true accessibility requires more acceptance and awareness in our communities at large and that young people are a strong voice in advocacy. Spellers and Allies wish to create a network of passionate and informed young people working to make acceptance and awareness a reality.
We strive to advance the I-ASC mission of communication access for all nonspeaking, minimally, and unreliably speaking people by educating everyone about the importance of neurodiversity and acceptance through public education and advocacy campaigns. We seek to make real change for all nonspeaking people.
An ally is any person who doesn’t identify as nonspeaking, unreliably speaking or minimally speaking and who is interested in listening and advocating with nonspeaking people. Allies contribute skills and expertise (like taking notes, co-facilitating, and editing) while making space for nonspeakers to make the final decisions and guide the process. In Spellers & Allies, we use the term “allies” instead of “neurotypical” because we have a lot of speaking allies who are neurodivergent. We are looking for more allies and encourage you to join! For more on being an ally, read this blog post or review our guide on how to be an ally.
That is absolutely fine. We encourage you to join so you can learn more.
The Spellers & Allies Advocacy Network welcomes nonspeaking, minimally speaking, and unreliably speaking adults above the age of 18. We welcome allies and anyone interested in becoming an ally who is willing to assist spellers in realizing our goals and is above the age of 18. In order to keep the authentic voices of spellers in leadership and in recognition of the fact that parents typically serve as Communication Regulation Partners (CRPs) to spellers in the group, parents are asked not to join Spellers & Allies as allies. We encourage you to support our work in other ways.
We value parents SO much! Our network would not be successful without the dedication parents have to support their spellers as CRPs, by creating time so that spellers can participate in our advocacy projects and by sending numerous emails. Many of our spellers have shared that Spellers & Allies is one of the only spaces in their life where the focus is on them entirely. For this reason, we ask that parents support Spellers & Allies in different ways. Parents can amplify the voices of nonspeakers by supporting spellers as CRPs, attending our events, and spreading the word about our work.
We are collecting names and contact information for those who are interested in joining a youth advocacy group. If you are under 18 years old and interested in being involved, please email spellers-allies@i-asc.org.
Yes, listening is also a great way to participate! Please get in touch with a Spellers & Allies coordinator at spellers-allies@i-asc.org and we can meet with your CRP to think of ways to change our questions so that you can participate as much as possible.
We want as many people as possible to be involved in Spellers & Allies. Please email spellers-allies@i-asc.org with the times that you can meet, and we will see if there is a subcommittee you can participate in that has a flexible schedule. You are also welcome to participate by watching our meeting recordings and offering your thoughts through email.
Yes, Spellers and Allies Advocacy Network is run by nonspeakers. This entire presentation is created by nonspeakers spelling letter by letter on letterboards or keyboards. There are many misconceptions about nonspeakers which our presentations address.
What can you expect to learn from our presentation?
The presentation is entirely online and lasts about an hour including a Q and A session with nonspeaking members of the Spellers & Allies Advocacy Network.
sequat.
Welcome to the Spellers & Allies Advocacy Network! We are always excited to have new members join us! Because the Spellers & Allies Advocacy Network is a collaborative effort, it will be important for the Spellers & Allies coordinators and network members to know how best to contact you. Contact spellers-allies@i-asc.org with any questions.
After completing the registration form, a Spellers & Allies coordinator will guide you through an onboarding process which includes a welcoming presentation, getting to know existing members, and assigning a mentor to help you get settled.
(FO-MO – noun Slang. – the fear of missing out)
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