Stephen Hawking was one of the most prominent people in history to use a high-tech communication aid known as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
His death comes in the year of the 70th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. Over the course of his adult life, Hawking came to represent the epitome of what effective communication with AAC systems really means: gaining access to the human right of communication enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Today, many Australians who need AAC still lack access to the technology and the support they need to use it. It’s time for that to change.