Jordyn Zimmerman. PHOTO: LORI SAPIO
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For the first 18 years of her life, Jordyn Zimmerman, who is nonspeaking and has autism, says she was treated as "subhuman" in the classroom and was controlled by others who assumed she was incapable of meaningful communication. But since receiving access to effective augmentative communication, she had the tools she needed to challenge the educational status quo.
"I was in a perpetual state of being frustrated, as not only did I have a huge human need to be with other people, but worse — because I could not effectively communicate with speech, there were many assumptions made regarding what I needed," the 28-year-old education advocate tells PEOPLE.
She adds, "I had so much language (different than speech) built up inside of me with things I wanted to share and ways I wanted to contribute, and yet, I couldn't make those thoughts clear. This all led to minimal connections, segregation, trauma, and limited learning opportunities."
It wasn't until Zimmerman began using technology that her world opened up.
"I use an iPad mini with a text-based communication app (Proloquo4Text) where I type letter by letter, creating words and phrases, which are then shared aloud," she says.
Now, Zimmerman has received undergraduate and master's degrees, become a keynote speaker, joined numerous boards, was appointed to serve on the President Biden's committee for people with intellectual disabilities, and has starred in the documentary This Is Not About Me.
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