“As House floor speeches go, the subject of recent remarks by U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., was unremarkable — she proposed renaming a small-town Virginia post office. But the speech nevertheless marked a new era for people with disabilities: Wexton’s words came from an app, not her own voice.
Wexton, 55, was diagnosed with a rare neurodegenerative disease in September 2023, a condition she describes as “Parkinson’s on steroids.”
Progressive supranuclear palsy has affected the once-powerful voice she used as a trial attorney, state legislator and a candidate for the House. Now, her voice comes from a computer. Wexton, like other people who have difficulty speaking, uses an assistive app that converts written text into speech, known as augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC.”