When my father died I became the primary caregiver of a family member with Alzheimer's. It opened my world to a set of problems I'd never imagined. I learned a lot on my three-year journey with Alzheimer's and began advocating for those who have disabilities to have more of a voice. I refer to these topics as "Designing for the Fringe."
I've worked at agencies and start-ups for most of my 17-year-career. These types of companies are always encouraging you to think about your "target audience," but in my experience the target audience is often defined too narrowly. Innovation comes when we attack a set of problems from a different perspective. By expanding your typical target audience to include those who are on the fringe, you are able to get to innovation faster.
These articles highlight people who are looking beyond the typical target audience to develop solutions that will help us all. After all, we'll all join the fringe at some point.
AAC devices allow those with complex communication needs to communicate with the people important to them.