Rollins College valedictorian with nonspeaking autism gives text-to-speech address
One of the valedictorians for Rollins College’s graduating class of 2022 cannot speak. That didn’t stop her from using the tools available to share her voice with her classmates.
Using text-to-speech software, Elizabeth Bonker, who has nonspeaking autism and types out what she needs to communicate, stood behind the lectern at the Winter Park campus Monday to encourage others to use their voices as they go out into the world.
“My neuromotor issues also prevent me from tying my shoes or buttoning a shirt without assistance,” she said. “I have typed this speech with one finger with a communication partner holding a keyboard. I am one of the lucky few nonspeaking autistics who have been taught to type. That one critical intervention unlocked my mind from its silent cage enabling me to communicate and be educated like my hero Helen Keller.”
The 24-year-old majored in social innovation with a minor in English. Bonker shared the valedictorian honors with four others, and thanked them for letting her make the valedictory address, and showed gratitude to the higher education institution founded in 1885 for giving her an opportunity.
“I want to publicly thank Rollins College for taking a chance on me, for caring about every student, for being a place where kindness lives,” she said. “Dear classmates, today we commence together, but from here we will choose our own ways. For me, I have a dream. Yes, just like Martin Luther King Jr. I have a dream: communication for all. There are 31 million nonspeakers with autism in the world who are locked in the silent cage. My life
will be dedicated to relieving them from suffering in silence and to giving them voices to choose their own way.”
To that end, she will continue to work for the nonprofit she founded, Communication 4 ALL. She has already published a book of poetry titled “I Am in Here” and recently collaborated with musicians for an album of the same name.
She asked her classmates what their dreams are, and challenged them to go forth with the quote of Rollins alumnus Fred Rogers: “Life is for Service.”
“God gave you a voice,” she said. “Use it, and know, the irony of a nonspeaking autistic encouraging you to use your voice is not lost on me, because if you can see the worth in me, then you can see the worth in everyone you meet.”