Please note that the ISAAC Outstanding Consumer Lecture Award was allocated in 2020 and ISAAC will communicate with recipients soon. If any additional awards become available for Conference Cancún we will publish them on this page. The following is information about this award. 

PURPOSE:
To provide a platform for a person who uses Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) to present a topic in which s/he has special expertise. ISAAC wishes to highlight the talents (such as storytelling, creative writing, humour), perspectives (on current events, relationships, etc.) or individual endeavours (scholarly, entrepreneurial, recreational, etc.) of an individual beyond AAC, reinforcing the point that a person who uses AAC is not defined by AAC.

AWARD:
Featured presentation speaker at Conference Cancún in México, July 24 – 27, 2023, and a cash award of $5,000 CAD.

ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES:

• Candidate must be an ISAAC member or applying for membership,
• Candidate must be a person who communicates using any speech generating communication system,
• Candidate must independently deliver the lecture at Conference Cancún in person using his/her speech generating communication system (no proxy presenter),
• Lecture must be presented in English (translations into English from other languages are accepted).

APPLICATION PROCESS:
Submit a 500-1,000 word essay addressing the proposed topic of presentation, presentation style, and method of delivery, including a detailed outline of the specific content of the lecture.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION:

• Lecture is a topic of general interest to a broad international audience.
• Lecture highlights the unique talents, perspectives, skills, accomplishments or endeavors of the individual beyond AAC.
• Lecture is not focused on AAC, how a person got their AAC system, “How AAC changed my life,” etc. Proposals that focus primarily on AAC issues WILL NOT be accepted. Ideally, the reader of the proposal would not even know the presenter uses AAC as the topic should not incorporate AAC!
• Previous lecture topics have included: The use of humor in social connectedness; adventure travel; feminism; writing and starring in a film; human rights, personal experience and perspective on living in different political environments; and family, intimacy as a human need, and motherhood.
• The winning lecture will be recorded and will become the property of ISAAC.

PLEASE INCLUDE WITH YOUR APPLICATION (in addition to the essay described above):

1. Pertinent personal background information (short curriculum vitae),
2. Two references supporting candidate’s application,
3. A statement of intent to attend the ISAAC conference and to independently present the lecture using your AAC device, if selected to receive the award,
4. A description of audio-visual and other technical support needed.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Please contact Franklin Smith, ISAAC Executive Director, franklin(at)isaac-online.org