Reach Every Voice

17/06/2026

It's summertime and we're all dreaming about vacations that get us out of the east coast heatwave!

Nick has some tips for you when planning travel with your autistic loved ones.

Here they are...

Nick's Tips: Advice from a Nonspeaking Autistic Guy
4 Tips for Better Trips (considerations for travel)

1: Include me in planning.
When we travel and things have to change from my day to day schedule, I value knowing what's on tap.

2: Give me the chance to try new things.
You never know if you'll like new foods or activities if you're never given the opportunities. Encourage me but never force me.

3: A meltdown doesn't necessarily mean I'm having a bad time.
Maybe I am overtired.
Or overstimulated.
Or hangry.

4: Take chances.
I have so many friends who have never been on an airplane because their parents think they can't handle it.

But what if they can?
You miss every shot you never take.

[id: 6 melon-colored slides that include the four tips shared above as well as a cover that reads, "Nick's Tips: Advice from a Nonspeaking Autistic Guy. 4 Tips for Better Trips (considerations for travel)" and a closing slide reminding folks to engage with this post to increase the reach of Nick's words.]

17/06/2026

16/06/2026

Our founder Lisa Mihalich Quinn is speaking at MCIE's Summer Institute in Baltimore next week.

Her session asks a question every educator should sit with: why do the words we use for students shape the instruction we're willing to give them?

But it doesn't stop at the question. Attendees will see real models of adapted grade-level instruction for nonspeaking and partially speaking learners, and leave able to audit their own practices and commit to one concrete change.

If you work with learners who communicate in ways that aren't typical, this one's for you. June 23 and 24.

Link to register in comments.

Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education

16/06/2026

Apraxia and dyspraxia make teaching tricky. So many times, the actions we see don't necessarily reflect a student's true intentions.

Even though what we see can look so convincing, it's important to remember that the brain-body disconnect often makes it so hard to discern which movements are automatic and which are purposeful.

The lists below are intended to guide your thinking as you work with apraxic students, but they don't serve as a rule for every student. Each student will be different from the next, and learning what is automatic and what is purposeful will take time and practice with each student.

ID: a light blue background with two light teal boxes side by side. The header reads "Automatic vs. Purposeful Movement." In the box on the left (automatic) are the words, "tends to be fast / repeated; attention might be focused on YOU / adult instead of instructional materials; might be accompanied by high levels of disinterest; tend to be more frequent when anxiety is high." In the box on the right (purposeful) are the words, "tend to be slower; may seem like student is thinking about where and how to move; more likely when material is engaging; happens when regulation / arousal level is "just right."" At the bottom is the Reach Every Voice logo.

13/06/2026

Trevor shares this powerful message asking everyone to be self-reflective in their "AMPLIFY" acrostic poem.

Ask if you learn from nonspeakers
Make it a
Point to seek out our voices.
Listen and change and apologize for what you got wrong.
If you're not willing to
Fix past disrespect
You can cause more harm.

[id: a photograph of Trevor, wearing red and black headphones, seated at a table pointing to letters on a transparent letterboard held by Lisa. The words from Trevor's acrostic are printed on the image in red and white text designed to make the word "AMPLIFY" stand out.]

11/06/2026

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10/06/2026

Schools routinely use practices that are not evidence-based, yet push back against providing support to letterboard users using the same reasoning.

Get access to our list over 50 everyday, widely accepted school practices that persist despite lacking strong evidence or even contradicting research in child development, learning science, or inclusive education.

👇 Check the comments for a link to our list!

[id: a series of 7 slides featuring the same photograph of Lisa (standing, a person with curly shoulder-length red hair and a green shirt holding a letterboard) and Trevor (seated, a person with short red hair and a beard wearing black ear defenders pointing to letters on the board). Text over images reads:

1:When your school says that using a letterboard to communicate can’t be supported there because “it’s not evidence-based...“

2: ...why not take a moment to point out to them all the other things actively going on in schools that don’t meet the criteria of being
evidence based?

3: Can't think of any? We have a list with 60+ things, but we’ll share a few to get you started.

4: In districts in Maryland near REV, elementary school students start their days later than high school students. Research *strongly* supports the opposite.

5: Schools assign and grade individual students on group projects without teaching collaboration skills first.

6: Teachers assign homework in elementary schools despite a lack of evidence that there is academic benefit for younger students.

7: Want our list? Check the link in the comments Let's keep the list growing in the comments. Share something your child's school does that's not an evidence based practice.

10/06/2026

Inclusion is not a seat in the room. We have watched too many children placed in general education on paper while the adults around them never truly believed they belonged there.

Access means being wanted, taught to, and presumed competent, not simply being present while a school waits for you to prove you deserve to stay.

In her latest blog, Lisa reflects on a hard reality of this work: you can advocate fiercely, win the decision, and still not get what your child needs when the team was never truly on board. Securing the right to a meaningful education, it turns out, isn't the same as actually being welcomed into one.

09/06/2026

Inclusion is not a seat in the room. We have watched too many children placed in general education on paper while the adults around them never truly believed they belonged there.

Access means being wanted, taught to, and presumed competent, not simply being present while a school waits for you to prove you deserve to stay.

In her latest blog, Lisa reflects on a hard reality of this work: you can advocate fiercely, win the decision, and still not get what your child needs when the team was never truly on board.

Presuming competence was never meant to be conditional. Yet some approaches in our field are quietly recreating the same barriers we set out to dismantle. Families and educators are being told “not yet” when students seek new tools or pathways. This piece calls us back to our foundation: access ...

09/06/2026

They see a diagnosis. We see a person.

In Ethan's powerful words, we're reminded of the vast difference between fixing, training, and dismissing versus truly seeing, supporting, and empowering.

At REV, we've spent 11 years rejecting the deficit model. We don't try to make nonspeaking autistic individuals fit into neurotypical boxes. Instead, we create environments where autonomy thrives alongside necessary support.

This dual commitment—honoring independence while providing robust assistance—is at the heart of everything we do. Because presuming competence isn't just a philosophy; it's the foundation for meaningful connection.

Want to learn how we create spaces where students like Ethan feel truly seen? Reach out today.

"MDs see me as someone to cure. BCBAs see me as someone to train to fit a neurotypical world. SLPs see me as someone incapable of real communication. But my REV teachers see me as someone capable of having so much autonomy thought I definitely need a lot of support."

Ethan Tucker



[ID: A blue and white graphic featuring a quote from Ethan Tucker contrasting how different professionals view him versus REV teachers. The right side shows Ethan, a young man with short dark hair wearing a black shirt, leaning up against a window.]

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