Keynote & Featured Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Elizabeth Bonker
Non-speaking Autistic Advocate & ​Founder of Communication 4 ALL
Available for
ASHA CEUs
Elizabeth Bonker, BA, is affected by autism and cannot speak. She learned to type when she was six years old and was mainstreamed in first grade public school. Her Valedictorian Commencement Address from Rollins College went viral with 4 billion impressions worldwide propelling her mission: Communication 4 ALL. Google, Microsoft, Rotary International, and other organizations are now working with her to help the estimated 40% of those with autism who are minimal, unreliable, or non-speakers. Mentored by International Disability Rights Advocate Judy Heumann, Elizabeth seeks to change the way the world sees people like her: non-speaking does not equal non-thinking. She is the Executive Director of the nonprofit Communication 4 ALL and a member of Autism Society of America’s Council of Autistic Advisors. Elizabeth will use text-to-speech software to tell you about her journey, her album, and her plans to enable access to communication for ALL non-speakers.
Keynote Session:
Typers United: What Non-Speakers with Autism Are Desperate to Tell You
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Breakout Session:
C-01: Emotional Regulation: Challenges and Possibilities
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"Elizabeth's keynote was revolutionary. It has seriously altered my outlook."
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"Elizabeth Bonker is brilliant and inspirational."
