An inspiring speech at a college in Florida that doesn’t talk to autism

A Rawlins College graduate with nonverbal autism delivered a speech in Winter Park, Florida, on May 8 using a computer program to convert text to speech. Rollins College released a video with a speech by Elizabeth Bonker, who said she typed the address with one finger while the communications partner held the keyboard. Bonker said she is one of the few people with nonverbal autism who has been taught to type. “This one critical intervention ripped my mind out of his quiet cage, allowing me to socialize and be educated like my hero Helen Keller,” she said. She told her classmates: “Personally, I have struggled all my life not to be heard and accepted. An article on the front page of our local newspaper reported that the principal of my high school told an employee, “G **** can’t be glorifying.” The graduate received a diploma in social innovation. She recently created a non-profit organization called Communication 4 ALL, which promotes access to communication for millions of people with non-speaking autism around the world. Credit: Rollins College through Storyful