Human Rights Panel 2: Communication as a Human Right

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Communication as a Human Right

Moderator: Shannon De Roche Rosa

Objectives:

• Understand the significance of communication as a human right
• Explore various communication options available to neurodiverse individuals
• Explain the barriers to communication faced by neurodiverse individuals with language disabilities

Matteo Musso, Student, Speller!

Matteo Musso’s Biography With 192,000 hours of practical autism experience under his belt, Matteo Musso calls himself an ”autism expert.” “Well, I’m the best expert on ME, that is.” After 11 ½years of silence,at least as far as expressive speech is concerned, Matteo has found his voice and for the past 10 years, has been “shouting from his mountaintop” about what it’s been like living as an autistic person with extremely limited expressive communication available to him…until now. Communicating by pointing to one letter at a time on a simple lucite alphabet board, Matteo shares his insights with the world through his YouTube vlog, Monday’s with Matteo, five books that he has authored (available on Amazon), poetry, art, and live presentations. To date, Matteo has given over 78 presentations and spoken to over 9000 presentation attendees in the United States. Matteo hopes to change the public's misperceptions about autism, especially for those living as non or minimal-speakers, while calling for societal inclusion for all neuro-diverse persons. He also loves playing the piano, hiking and is proud to be the first non-speaking Eagle Scout in the country.

Grant Blasko, Undergraduate Student /Advisory Council, CommunicationFIRST

Grant Blasko is a nonspeaking autistic advocate and undergraduate student at the University of Washington, majoring in Integrated Social Sciences with a minor in Disability Studies. He communicates using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and has championed communication access and disability rights for over 14 years. In 2024, he received UW’s Trailblazer Award for advocacy leadership. Grant serves on the CommunicationFIRST Advisory Council, TASH’s National Communication Access Workgroup, and CAST’s Young Adult Advisory Board. His recent contributions include serving as a co-discussant on the INSAR 2025 panel on neurodivergence-affirming research practices for autistic people with high support needs, participating in the NIDCD’s Minimally Verbal/Non-Speaking Individuals With Autism workshop (2023), and contributing to the RERC’s Future of AAC Summit (2024). He also collaborates with AASPIRE on neurodiversity-focused research. Through both lived experience and academic inquiry, Grant continues to advocate for systemic change to improve the lives and educational access of disabled individuals—especially those impacted by autism and communication challenges. His work has been featured in the film LISTEN and the book Leaders Around Me (2019).

Vikram Jaswal, PhD, Professor, University of Virginia

Vikram Jaswal is a developmental psychologist at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on communication and social interaction in nonspeaking autistic people.

Lucien Gonzalez, Poet and Advocate, Student, Open Mind School

Lucien Gonzalez is an 18-year-old high school senior at Menlo Park’s Open Mind School. He loves traveling to new places, listening to electronic music, writing poetry, and advocating for fellow nonspeakers.  His poetry has appeared in the online multicultural literary magazine “Skipping Stones”. His work was produced as a radio feature on the NPR program “Crosscurrents”, and he is an awardee in the Bay Area Creative Foundations’s 2025 Creative Youth Awards for his piece entitled “Nonspeaking, Not Stupid”.

Zachary Duncan, Speller, Advocate, and generally awesome dude

Zachary Duncan is a 25-year-old autistic man from Livermore, California. He is already regretting his decision to speak publicly, but bravery is his best trait. Zachary enjoys many hobbies, including archery, photography, and making his mother crazy. He feels passionate about helping all autistic people be seen and heard for the full human beings that they are.