Anne: The Advocacy Legacy of an AAC Pioneer

Anne McDonald was a powerful voice for people without speech.  Her achievements in freeing herself from an oppressive Australian institution, gaining a university degree, and writing a bestseller gave her standing to defend the rights of non-speakers around the world, and she made good use of her unique position.

Anne's work highlighted a number of issues vitally important for the AAC community, including

• The need for continuing agitation to maintain public awareness of communication issues;

• The power of legal remedies to secure human rights against communication-based discrimination;

• The complexity of the support systems needed

• to allow AAC users to communicate freely

• through their successive life stages;

• The importance of involving AAC users in the development of AAC methodologies;

• The right of AAC users to have their communication accepted.

Go to Anne’s Institutionalisation