In the two hundred years since adoption of the First Amendment, freedom of expression has become widely recognized, not only as a fundamental right but also as a prerequisite to the full enjoyment of all civil and human rights. An estimated 750,000 to 1.5 million Americans of all ages have severely limited speech which cannot be easily understood. Approximately 30 percent of persons with cerebral palsy are in this group, and 85 to 90 percent of all individuals with cerebral palsy have a speech disability of one kind or another.
Freedom of expression is both a necessity and a highly prized right in our country.
In its absence Americans with significant speech disabilities routinely experience isolation, discrimination, segregation, illiteracy, institutionalization, unemployment, poverty and despair. Increasing access to alternative and augmentative means of communication and related assistive technology can and should provide expanded opportunities for individual choice and control. Prevailing governmental policies, practices and ingrained societal prejudices combine to limit and prevent Americans with severe speech disabilities from obtaining appropriate technology and exercising their right to free expression. Individual access to alternative and augmentative communication technology and the exercise of free speech, more often than not, continue to be treated as a luxury rather than a right. In determining what type of auxiliary aid is necessary, an entity shall give primary consideration to the requests of the individual with disabilities.