How awesome is this?!
Ahmed Ali, a 21-year-old nonverbal student attending a transition program in the Minneapolis Public School system gave the ceremony speech using a text to speech program. You can listen to a clip of Ahmed’s speech below…
“Just because you can’t speak, doesn’t mean you can’t communicate” is a quote I use often in talks I give when I speak about individuals who are nonverbal. Ahmed is a perfect example of this. As I recently mentioned in an interview I did with a 21-year-old name Justice, who uses a device to communicate, we have to get away from this stigma that says that all individuals who are nonverbal are unintelligent. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. You can listen to Justice’s story below.
Growing up and being nonverbal for the first few years of my life, my parents were often curious what my future may look like and what role assistive technology may play. Luckily, I started speaking but technology played a huge part in my journey growing up on the autism spectrum to the point where I am today as a professional speaker. For parents and educators who may be reading this, I encourage you to continue to embrace technology! I just got my Doctor of Education in Educational Technology Leadership and I’ve seen firsthand the impact it can play for our loved ones!
Wishing the best too Ahmed and Justice in their future endeavors!
Have a special story you’d like to share from our community? Let me know by sending me a message here.
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Kerry Magro, a professional speaker and best-selling author who is also on the autism spectrum started the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference in 2011 to help students with autism receive scholarship aid to pursue a post-secondary education. Help us continue to help students with autism go to college by making a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit here.
Also, consider having Kerry, one of the only professionally accredited speakers on the spectrum in the country, speak at your next event by sending him an inquiry here. If you have a referral for someone who many want him to speak please reach out as well! Kerry speaks with schools, businesses, government agencies, colleges, nonprofit organizations, parent groups and other special events on topics ranging from employment, how to succeed in college with a learning disability, internal communication, living with autism, bullying prevention, social media best practices, innovation, presentation best practices and much more!
