The dialogue around autism was, for decades, almost entirely dominated by parents of autistic children. More and more autistic people have become prominent speaking about themselves and their own experiences, but most are White, male and highly verbal. Jordyn Zimmerman, 31, breaks that mold. 

For the first 18 years of Zimmerman’s life, professionals assumed she was too intellectually disabled to meaningfully communicate. Access to augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC, opened the world to her. Now, she pushes to get people like her access to different forms of communication so they can speak for themselves too. 

One way Zimmerman breaks barriers is by showing up “where nonspeakers are usually talked about on the menu, rather than included at the table,” she told The 19th. She served as a member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities under the Biden administration and has met with members of the current administration to discuss communication rights. 

“I am always ready and willing to work with anyone open to moving things forward,” Zimmerman said. 

Zimmerman works with educators through The Nora Project, which aims to help schools provide more empathetic and inclusive disability education. 

“When educators understand that nonspeaking students are often underestimated as a result of how the system is set up, it pushes them to rethink the yardstick we use to measure knowledge and the changes they can make in their classroom,” she said, emphasizing the importance of this work in light of proposals to dismantle the Department of Education and of weakened federal oversight over special education. 

Zimmerman is reluctant to count “wins” for communication access, but is optimistic about the future of her community. She is particularly pleased by the increased inclusion of nonspeakers in communication technology development and policy.  

“Ultimately, the people designing things today are deciding who gets access tomorrow,” she said. Zimmerman intends to be there every step of the way, and to make space for others like her to follow in her footsteps.