I am so grateful for the VIP in NZ facebook group for keeping everyone informed regarding parliament and time frames for parliamentary submissions. They are also great at encouraging people to write to their MPs.

If you are interested in submitting your own letter, here is my draft based on their recent sample letter.

View all of Writing to parliament regarding physical restraint restraint in school

Gabrielle Hogg is an autisticadvocate and AAC user based in New Zealand. She blogs over at [AutismoGirl], post Facebook, and also is on twitter.

A few years ago we co-developed a one page handout to help psychologists, counsellors, and other clinicians support autistic people and those who use AAC part or full time.

There are many standard practices that work well for neurotypical people that can be challenging for autistic people, people with language disorders, or those with other communication impairments.

View all of Considerations for mental health professional who are seeing people with ASD, language challenges, and/or use AAC

I recently was asked to summarise some of my thinking in support of a project in Europe. Here is my letter of support in case it is of use to others:

My open letter arguing for expressive speech sythesis

To Whom It May Concern;

As an AAC clinician and researcher, I am writing this letter of su...

View all of Making a case for expressive speech synthesis

Last year I submitted a written submission to the Education Select Committee.

Too many of my clients are falling through the cracks and the Education Update is a timely opportunity for the policymakers to get things right. We have a long way to go, but we also have some great things to build on.

Today I had the chance to do an oral submission. I am much more accustomed helping others speak, so I was rather nervous doing the speaking myself.

Hopefully they heard my 3 main points:

View all of Select Committe