Restore NY’s Assembly-passed ‘Communication Bill of Rights’ to Protect Ability of Non-speakers to Communicate Effectively

Changes made to a bill in the New York legislature, S7792(B), that would protect the ability of non-verbal individuals to communicate in the manner that works best for them, have negated the original intent of the legislation. On April 29, the Assembly will have the opportunity to re-approve its original version of the bill that aligns with the needs of the growing community of nonverbal individuals – and we ask for the Assembly to vote to do so.

After being passed unanimously by the Assembly and sponsored by a majority of the Senate, Senator Fahy made amendments to the “Communication Bill of Rights” that would legally restrict which communication methods qualify for protection, effectively outlawing the primary communication methods of thousands of non-speakers.

The amended version of the bill, S7792(C), contains additional language that in essence guts the communication protection provided in S7792(B). A growing number of people who are unable to speak, many of whom have autism, are having life changing experiences from using typing/spelling systems that work for them. For the first time, they are able to express opinions, answer questions, and share with others what they are thinking and feeling.

The amendments that have been added – specifically the requirements that communication be “autonomous” and “validated” –  stand to prevent thousands of non-speaking individuals across New York state from communicating effectively with others. Here is what those words mean in practice:

• “Autonomous” – Requiring autonomy before access to services is allowed is nonsensical as individuals who cannot speak – by definition – need assistance in communicating with others.
• “Validated” – This word hands veto power to professional organizations that cannot be the decision-makers on what “counts” as communication when often these organizations have financial interests in maintaining the status quo.

Use the form below to contact your representatives in the New York legislature today and urge them to restore the “Communication Bill of Rights” to its original intent of protecting the rights of people with disabilities who cannot speak. We recommend that you personalize the messages to the legislators by slightly editing the subject line and text. That way, it won’t appear that they are receiving spam emails with the same message over and over.

URGENT: Please also contact Assembly Speaker Heastie separately and ask him to ensure A7363C is voted on again on April 29 during the Assembly’s Legislative Disability Advocacy Day. Call 518-455-3791 and/or email [email protected].