A scrap of paper he carried with him read, Life is for service.
The students at his alma mater, Rollins College in Florida, have long valued this legacy.
Bonkerwho is nonspeaking autisticaddressed the class on the importance of communication and service through a text-to-voice gadget.
As Bonker noted in her address, there are millions of nonspeaking autistic people around the world.
In fact, it isestimated2530% of children with autism spectrum disorder are nonspeaking or minimally speaking.
This can make it very hard for individuals to communicate their needs.
Bonker credits using a keyboard as key to her freedom of expression.
I am one of the lucky few nonspeaking autistics who have been taught to bang out.
Certainly, Bonker’s resilience and impressive academic accomplishments are in keeping with Keller’s legacy.
Autism spectrum disorderis a neurodevelopmental condition, not an intellectual disability.
Her own academic success is surely a testament.
Bonker hopes toadvocatefor more opportunities for nonspeaking individuals such as herself.
It should be noted that there are very contentious debates among medical professionals over such means of communication.
In the 1990s, a series of studies largely debunked a technique known asfacilitated communication.
Similar techniques are often cited aslacking scientific data.
