WEBVTT

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My name is Cathy Samuelson, and I am the Executive Director of North Yorkers for

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Disabled Persons.  I support people who have significant speech disabilities,

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and who use communication displays and devices.  There is a risk that

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consumers can be discriminated against, simply because of how they communicate.

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Judgments can be made about their capacity simply because of the way they communicate.

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I recently supported a man that was applying for personal support services at home.

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He was fully capable of living independently with services,

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and just required me to interpret his speech and what he was communicating on his device.

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The interviewer determined he was ineligible for no apparent reason, except for what I think was

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the interviewer's inability to see beyond how he communicates.  This can result

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in not only a violation of rights, but people that can't access the services they need to lead

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the life they want.  I think this resource is valuable, as it will lead to an awareness

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that people can communicate in ways other than speech, and be fully capable of making their decisions

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and managing their lives, and not be discriminated against, solely

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on the basis of how they communicate