This week ISAAC and AAIDD co-hosted a webinar on Social Media and People with Disabilities. Lisa Lehmann @littlebigwitch delivered a PowerPoint presentation with commentary, using her iPad and the communication app Proloquo2Go. The GoToWebinar platform enabled Lisa to address 60 international participants from the comfort of her home in Queensland, Australia, while staff from ISAAC in Toronto and AAIDD in Washington, D.C., were also online to facilitate the webinar.

Lisa’s presentation covered topics unique to people who use AAC, such as symbol use in social media, and others – for example:

• how to get started in social media (it might be helpful for some to have a “communication buddy” to act as administrator);
• online safety (pay attention to privacy settings, build secure passwords, and learn how to block spam and cyberbullies);
• time management (tip: link your accounts so that one post will appear on other social media sites simultaneously).

It was a lot of ground to cover in one session, and we thank Lisa for doing a fabulous  job. In the coming months we’ll continue to explore this topic. This abstract, for example,  introduces the idea that “virtual worlds” have the potential to support people with lifelong disabilities (thanks to Bronwyn Hemsley @BronwynHemsley, ISAAC President-Elect and an avid Twitter user, for this link).

Do you feel like social media is taking the world by storm? Need proof? Check out Tweetping for a visual of Twitter activity in real time, on a global scale.

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Based on feedback from the webinar, we would love to hear from organizations that have leveraged social media to better support their community. We would also like to hear from anyone who is aware of ongoing research in this area. Please drop us a line at blog(at)isaac-online.org!

Click here for a recording of the ISAAC/AAIDD webinar, Social Media & People with Disabilities: Building Online Networks to Enhance Community Engagement and Create a Level Playing Field. Thanks to Danielle Webber, Manager of Educational Programs atAAIDD, for co-hosting this webinar.