Elizabeth Bonker: Empowering Nonspeakers with Communication and Education

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Show Notes

About the Guest(s): 

Elizabeth Bonker is a passionate advocate and spokesperson for non-speaking individuals. Known for her work in promoting typing as a communication method for non-speakers, she has authored the book and album “I Am in Here.” Elizabeth gained widespread attention with her viral commencement speech as valedictorian at Rollins College in 2022. Her advocacy has taken her to prestigious venues such as Stanford Medical School’s Neurodiversity Summit and the India Inclusion Summit. Through her nonprofit organization, Communication for All, Elizabeth is dedicated to offering free resources to teach non-speakers how to type.

Episode Summary: 

In this compelling episode of Think Inclusive, host Tim Villegas engages in an enlightening conversation with Elizabeth Bonker, a prominent advocate for non-speaking individuals. Elizabeth shares her inspiring journey of becoming a voice for non-speakers through typing. Despite the communication barriers she faced, Elizabeth emerged as a powerful force in advocating for inclusivity in education and society.

Elizabeth discusses the challenges non-speaking students encounter in schools, particularly the prevalent resistance to recognize typing as a legitimate communication method. She compares typing to Braille for the blind or sign language for the deaf, advocating for its integration into educational settings as a civil rights issue. The episode delves into Elizabeth’s personal experiences, emphasizing the significant impact of presuming competence. She underscores the necessity of educational reform to facilitate access to typing for non-speakers, advocating for a shift in perception that acknowledges their potential.

Read the transcript (auto-generated and edited with the help from AI)

Tim Villegas: Hello Inclusionists. Welcome back to Think Inclusive, the podcast that brings you conversations with people doing the work of inclusion in the real world. I’m your host, Tim Villegas. Today’s episode is one that I’ve been looking forward to sharing with you for a long time. My guest is Elizabeth Bonker.

She’s been an advocate for non-speakers with autism for more than a decade. You may know her from her book and album, I Am in Here, or maybe you saw her viral commencement speech when she graduated as valedictorian from Rollins College in 2022. That speech reached over 4 billion people around the world. Yes, billion with a “b.”

Elizabeth has given keynote addresses at places like Stanford Medical School’s Neurodiversity Summit, Neurodiversity in Business in London, and the India Inclusion Summit in Bangalore. She’s an absolute force, and she’s also a non-speaker who communicates by typing.

Now I want to pause here and share something with you. I used to be skeptical of spelling or typing to communicate, and I know some of you listening or watching may still be wary—and that’s totally fine. I get it. But as you listen to this conversation, I want to invite you to presume competence. Elizabeth pre-typed out all of her responses to my main questions and typed live responses for my follow-up questions during our interview. I’ve seen her do it in person. She’s fully capable of expressing herself this way, and while I did edit her responses slightly just to keep the episode tight, what you’ll hear is her voice, her thoughts, and her truth.

In our conversation, we talk about the barriers non-speaking students face in schools—especially the denial of access to typing, which Elizabeth calls a civil rights issue. She shares her personal journey and the mission of her nonprofit, Communication for All, which offers free resources to teach non-speakers how to type.

We also get into the challenges of dyspraxia, dysregulation, and the urgent need for educational reform. And through it all, Elizabeth reminds us that love and compassion must be at the center of this work.

Before we get into my conversation with Elizabeth, I want to tell you about our sponsor for this season: IXL.

IXL is a fantastic all-in-one platform designed for K–12 education. It helps boost student achievement, empowers teachers, and tracks progress seamlessly. Imagine having a tool that simplifies what usually requires dozens of different resources. Well, that’s IXL. As students practice, IXL adapts to their individual needs, ensuring they’re both supported and challenged. Plus, each learner receives a personalized learning plan to effectively address any knowledge gaps. Learn more at ixl.com/inclusive.

Alright, it’s time to think inclusive. I am trying out that tagline—let me know what you think. Here’s my conversation with Elizabeth Bonker.

Tim Villegas: Elizabeth Bonker, welcome to the Think Inclusive Podcast. Elizabeth and I met at the COPAA Conference two times ago, I believe it was in Atlanta, and that’s when I asked you to come on the podcast. So I’m glad we have gotten this scheduled.

Elizabeth is a non-speaker who types to communicate. How we’ve set up this interview is I’ve shared some questions with you and you’ve pre-typed those answers into your computer. So I’ll ask those questions and then you’ll answer them, and I will also have some follow-up questions.

Why don’t we start off with our first question: Elizabeth, what are some barriers for students who type or spell to communicate to utilize this kind of communication method in school?

Elizabeth Bonker: Non-speaking students like me are routinely denied access to typing in schools. This barrier is a clear violation of our civil rights as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Despite the lack of access in K–12 schools, there are now thousands of typers around the world and dozens of graduates from colleges, including Harvard, Columbia, UCLA, and Rollins.

We need to remove the barriers so all non-speaking students can be educated in public school. Blind students use braille and deaf students use sign language. Now is the time for non-speakers to type in school.

Tim Villegas: So what I’m hearing is that there are a lot more non-speakers that are typing in school. Now we need to remove barriers so all non-speaking students can be educated in public school. Elizabeth, what do you think is the biggest barrier right now for non-speakers?

Elizabeth Bonker: Schools need to change the way they see non-speakers. We can type and be educated in mainstream classes. The biggest barrier is old thinking. We need to change that.

Tim Villegas: So, Elizabeth, you were educated in mainstream or inclusive classrooms. Is that correct?

Elizabeth Bonker: I was mainstreamed in first grade 22 years ago. To my knowledge, no other non-speaker has been given that same opportunity. It is so sad. Communication for All is working to change that and give all non-speakers the opportunity I had.

Tim Villegas: And Communication for All is your nonprofit organization that provides training and resources to educators, parents, and non-speakers to access this kind of communication? Is that right?

Elizabeth Bonker: That is correct. Everything is on our website free of charge.

Tim Villegas: Fantastic. And we’ll make sure to put all of that information in the show notes to this episode.

Let’s get to the second question. We have a lot of listeners who are educators working in schools, and I know they’d be wondering: Are there any schools who are supporting learners who spell or type to communicate right now, especially in public schools?

Elizabeth Bonker: There are a handful of schools that are quietly educating older typers, but they stay quiet because the forces against typing will attack them for supporting us.

Who are these forces denying non-speakers communication and education? They are the billion-dollar businesses that control autism education. They make money by keeping us disabled.

Tim Villegas: That’s a powerful statement, Elizabeth. I wonder, from your perspective, how are organizations making money by keeping you or other non-speakers disabled?

Elizabeth Bonker: I had thousands of hours of speech therapy and still cannot speak. They would’ve kept giving me more and more.

Tim Villegas: So what you’re saying is these organizations or companies that provide therapy for either communication or “treatment” for autism—what you really needed was access to this kind of communication. And the longer people gave you therapy to verbally speak instead of providing access to your mode of communication, that was wasted time. They are benefiting by spending all of this time providing therapy when many students would benefit from access to typing. Am I understanding what you’re saying?

Elizabeth Bonker: Yes. They’re actively opposing typing for non-speakers in schools. We are working with families across the country where their non-speaker is denied access to their effective communication.

Tim Villegas: That’s a definite barrier and problem for families who are looking to support their children with this mode of communication.

I’m wondering—what was life like for you before you had access to spelling and typing? What was your journey to this kind of communication?

Elizabeth Bonker: My life before typing was filled with anger and frustration. I understood everything going on around me but was treated like I had an intellectual disability by the so-called experts. My parents knew I was in here and unlocked my silent cage.

Thanks to 60 Minutes, my grandmother saw a courageous woman named Soma teaching her own non-speaking son how to communicate by pointing to letters. We were on the next flight to Texas. I was five years old. My life went from hopeless to hopeful.

Can I play a clip from my song “Silent Cage” to give you a sense of how it feels for non-speakers before they can communicate?

Tim Villegas: Absolutely.

[Clip from “Silent Cage” plays.]

Tim Villegas: That’s Tom Morello, right? I remember hearing this at the conference. That’s Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine. That is quite a cameo on your music. We’ll make sure to include that and a couple more clips in the show notes so people can listen. That’s amazing music—totally up my alley as a rock and roll fan.

[Transcript continues in next message due to length.] Tim Villegas: Now, I know you can’t see your communication partner right now off-screen, but I do know that you have one. Can we talk a little bit about that? Why does your communication partner have to hold a keyboard for you?

Elizabeth Bonker: Communication partners have different roles for different typers. Some typers can hold their own keyboard or have it on a table stand. Typing this way takes tremendous motor control and it is exhausting.

Most non-speakers with autism need a communication partner to hold the keyboard for two reasons: we have dyspraxia and dysregulation.

Dyspraxia is a disorder of planned motor movements. It prevents us from speaking and from moving our bodies reliably on demand. We learned to type from a communication partner coaching us, and a lot of practice.

A communication partner’s calm presence helps us with our dysregulation. As researcher Stephen Porges writes, “All regulation is co-regulation.” We are using his polyvagal theory in our strategic initiative, Regulation for All.

We are partnered with Dr. Elizabeth Torres, the founder of the Sensory Motor Integration Lab at Rutgers University, to create an app to help monitor and improve regulation for anyone, including non-speakers. For more information, check out our website: communicationforall.org.

Tim Villegas: Elizabeth, as a follow-up question, would you mind if I ask you some questions about autism from your perspective?

Elizabeth Bonker: Go ahead.

Tim Villegas: In your response, you talked about dyspraxia and dysregulation. You touched on dyspraxia being a disorder of planned motor movements, but for our audience—especially educators—dyspraxia may be an unfamiliar concept. Can you explain dyspraxia a little more and how it affects your daily life?

Elizabeth Bonker: It is a brain-body disconnect. When I was in ABA sessions, they would ask me to touch the dog, and I knew which one was the dog, but I could not reliably get my body to touch it. That is why we need to be taught to type. It takes a lot of coaching and practice to overcome our dyspraxia.

Tim Villegas: That makes a lot of sense. Elizabeth, I don’t know if you know much about my background, but I was a special education teacher for a long time. I taught in segregated self-contained classrooms for students with autism and even did behavioral therapy way back when I first started. I did discrete trial training, which I’m sure you know.

So many times I would be working with a student, having them point to objects or pictures, and seeing them get frustrated. I knew the student knew what the picture was, but somehow I needed them to show me in a particular way so I could score something on their assignment. I can imagine how frustrating that is—to know something and not be able to express it in the way someone wants you to. What a relief it must be to have a mode of communication that truly allows you to express yourself.

Let’s talk about your communication method. What is something you want educators to know about it?

Elizabeth Bonker: Thank you, Tim. My communication method is typing. There is no mystery—just hard work. Learning how to control our bodies and touch the letters.

Think about Stephen Hawking. Learning to type isn’t easy, but it is so important for us to connect with other human beings. Non-speakers around the world are learning to type with C4A Academy, our internet-based program of instructional videos, written lessons, and support.

Communication for All is a nonprofit. We offer everything you need to get started, including the stencils, free of charge. I just returned from Calcutta, India, where I presented at the PARIVAAR National Autism Conference and met with seven organizations that serve children and adults with autism. They’re excited to partner with Communication for All to teach their non-speakers to type.

Tim Villegas: That’s really exciting—that you have all of these resources at your website, communicationforall.org, and it’s completely free. Anyone can jump in and start learning how to give access to their children and students. Thank you for what you do and for providing this resource and service to the thousands of non-speakers out in the world. It may even be more than thousands—I may be underestimating.

What do you think needs to change for more learners who type or spell to communicate to get access in public schools?

Elizabeth Bonker: Schools need to change the way they see non-speakers. We have a motor disorder, not a cognitive one. We need to educate school boards and administrators, teachers, and therapists about the latest science, including how to overcome our dyspraxia and dysregulation to learn to type.

Non-speakers around the world are showing how capable we are, and it starts with being taught to type so we can be educated. Communication for All works with innovative public and private schools to start typing programs for non-speakers. Please contact us. Your school can be a beacon for non-speakers in the educational community.

I would like to end with an anthem I wrote that unites our community: I Am in Here.

Tim Villegas: Yeah, absolutely. Let’s play it.

[Clip from “I Am in Here” plays.]

Tim Villegas: That’s such a good song, Elizabeth. I know you wrote the words. Do you like rock music? Is that why you chose to express yourself in this particular way?

Elizabeth Bonker: Music opens the heart so the head can listen. We are changing hearts and minds for communication equality. Thank you, Tim, for joining the mission.

Tim Villegas: Absolutely. It’s my pleasure to have you on the podcast and to talk about your nonprofit, your experiences, and your journey with typing to communicate.

I have one more question about autism, if that’s okay. It’s about dysregulation. We talked about dyspraxia, and I want to ask you a question about dysregulation.

Most often when educators are learning about autism, they learn about the symptoms or characteristics—speech delay, social interaction challenges, repetitive or restricted interests, and sensory difficulties. These are diagnostic terms, not mine.

I find it hard when we start out with such a deficit-based way of thinking about autism. It’s hard to talk to educators about how to support learners on the autism spectrum.

Can you help? If you were to talk to educators, what helps you with regulation and helps you feel safe and comfortable enough to talk to me and have a conversation and type to communicate?

Elizabeth Bonker: Regulation is a big challenge for many on the spectrum. I worked with a scientist for two years to go from fight-or-flight to safe mode.

Communication for All has a strategic initiative called Regulation for All to build an app that will help families monitor and improve regulation. You can only have a great quality of life with communication and regulation.

Tim Villegas: I like the emphasis you’re putting on not only communication but regulation. That’s something for educators to consider as they set up inclusive classrooms to support learners on the autism spectrum.

Thank you again for everything you’re doing to help bring communication to all through your nonprofit.

I have one more question. It’s called the mystery question. My daughter, who is 11, wrote out a number of questions for me to ask our guests at the end of each episode. I pick a random question from the card deck and then we both answer it.

Here we go. Mystery question: If you could travel back in time, when and what would you do?

I think the first thing that comes to mind—I don’t know why—is I would’ve loved to see 18th-century London, the time of Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I love Doctor Who, the British TV show. The Doctor travels in his TARDIS, a little blue police box, all around time. I imagine getting into a TARDIS and going back to meet Sir Arthur Conan Doyle when he was writing the Sherlock Holmes novels.

What about you?

Elizabeth Bonker: I would go back in time and meet Jesus. He had so much wisdom about love and compassion. I think the world could do with more of that, and I hope our mission to help non-speakers is always rooted in love and compassion.

Tim Villegas: That is a great answer. I love that. Wonderful.

Elizabeth Bonker, thank you so much for being on the Think Inclusive Podcast. This was a fascinating conversation and I really appreciate your time.

Elizabeth Bonker: Bye!

That was Elizabeth Bonker. I’ve been thinking a lot about what Elizabeth said about how denying access to communication is a civil rights issue. It’s something that should stop all of us in our tracks because if we truly believe in inclusion, then we have to believe in the right to be heard—and not just heard, understood.

Elizabeth’s story is a reminder that inclusion isn’t just theoretical. It’s personal. It is urgent. And it’s possible.

That’s all the time we have for this episode of Think Inclusive. And with that, we are wrapping up Season 12. Can you believe it? We’ve completed 40 episodes this season, not including bonus ones, and we’re so grateful that you’ve been along for the ride.

We’ll be taking the month of August off to rest, reflect, and plan. But don’t worry—we’re not going anywhere. Toward the end of August, keep an ear out for the trailer for Season 13. The new season officially drops on Thursday, September 4th, 2025, with fresh episodes coming into your feed every Thursday throughout the school year.

Now let’s roll the credits.

Think Inclusive is brought to you by me, Tim Villegas. I handle the writing, editing, design, mixing, and mastering. This podcast is a proud production of the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education. Our original music is by Miles K. Reich, with additional tunes by Melody.

A big shout-out to our sponsor for this season, IXL. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it. Make sure to check them out at ixl.com/inclusive.

We truly appreciate each and every one of you who tunes in, and we’d love to hear how you are using these episodes. Are they part of your teaching toolkit? Are you sharing them with school administrators? Drop me a line at tvillegasmcie.org and let me know.

And hey, if you are still with us this far into the episode, it probably means that you love Think Inclusive and the work MCIE is doing. Can I ask a small favor? Help us keep the momentum going by donating at our website, mcie.org. Just click the button at the top of the site and chip in five, ten, twenty dollars. It would mean the world to us and to the children in the schools and districts we partner with.

Thanks for your time and attention. And remember: inclusion always works. From MCIE.


Key Takeaways:

  • Civil Rights Issue: Elizabeth frames the denial of access to communication methods such as typing for non-speakers as a civil rights issue, aligning it with the rights provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  • Transformation Through Typing: The transition from a life of frustration to one of expression came with access to typing, as Elizabeth describes her transformation and the broader implications for non-speaking individuals.
  • Breaking Barriers in Education: The conversation addresses the critical need for schools to adopt modern perceptions of autism, focusing on the importance of including typing alongside other communication aids in educational systems.
  • Empowering Non-Speakers Globally: Elizabeth’s nonprofit, Communication for All, provides free resources and training to enable non-speakers worldwide to access communication, advocating for global partnerships.
  • Vision for the Future: Elizabeth envisions a world where non-speaking individuals are presumed competent, live enriched lives, and contribute meaningfully, underscoring her advocacy with a message of love and compassion.

Resources: 

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