ASAN commends the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) on their decision to implement Color Communication Badges at this year’s National Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Conference.
Color Communication Badges are an accommodation to support social interaction for people with a variety of disabilities and communication needs. Color communication badges were first developed by Autism Network International, and popularized by the Autistic community in Autistic spaces and conferences.
The Color Communication Badge system offers those who make use of it an opportunity to communicate explicitly the degree to which they want to participate in new social interactions and with who. They offer a universally designed way of making a conference, university, event or other space more accessible to those who may not find typical nonverbal social cues accessible. Many non-disabled people report that this system also benefits them too.
This year’s National HCBS Conference is the largest to date, with over 1,200 people attending. ASAN applauds the NASUAD for introducing this important accessibility feature to their event, and we hope to see an increasing number of events implementing Color Communication Badges in the coming years.
You can read more about Color Communication Badges and download our technical assistance document describing their use here. If you have any questions about the Color Communication Badge system, please contact ASAN by email at info@autisticadvocacy.org.