News

 
 

In memoriam: Judith Heumann

March 14, 2023

Rehabilitation International Mourns the Passing of Judith Heumann, Disability Rights Activist.

“It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of Judith Heumann a champion for the rights of disabled people and widely known as “the mother” of disability rights.”

Read the condolence letter from Rehabilitation International President, Mme. Haidi.

 

 

Wisconsin AAC Network Winter Newsletter

 

“Please enjoy the Wisconsin AAC Network winter newsletter and forward this on to anyone that you think would enjoy reading it.” – The Wisconsin AAC Network Leadership Team

 

Wisconsin AAC Network Winter Newsletter

 
 
 
 

In memoriam: Dr. David Yoder

July 16, 1932 – February 2, 2023

 

From the UNC obituary:

“David Yoder, Chair Emeritus of the Department of Health Sciences, UNC, led a long and distinguished career as a servant leader in multiple fields including communication sciences and disorders, augmentative and alternative communication, allied health, and literacy….David was repeatedly recognized for his leadership throughout his career….He served as the first president of the United States Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication and the first journal editor for the journal, Augmentative and Alternative Communication….Dr. Yoder authored many professional articles and book chapters in the area of language disorders and literacy with special needs populations. He co-edited six books and presented more than 600 research papers, professional workshops and consultancies nationally and internationally.”

Read the full UNC obituary here. 

 

 

Communication Matters AAC Awards 2023 – Nominations Now Open

 

 

The AAC Awards Logo includes the Communication Matters logo. There are two heads facing each other inside a yellow jigsaw puzzle piece. This shows communication is a two-way process and the jigsaw piece represents AAC solving and supporting where barriers to communication exist. The logo includes the text: AAC Awards 2023.

 

Join Communication Matters for a special evening of celebration at the AAC Awards 2023. Hosted at the University of Leeds on the 24th of March 2023 the awards ceremony will include a drinks reception, dinner, as well as the announcement of the winners of the ten award categories.

Entertainment will include a set from Communication Matters Patron, Lost Voice Guy, and a live DJ. Tickets for the awards ceremony are available to purchase online. There are a limited number of subsidised places available for AAC users and their personal assistants.

Who do you know in your AAC community whose work or achievement should be shared and recognised? Communication Matters needs you to nominate them!

Do you know an AAC user who should be recognised for their contributions to the arts? A teacher, therapist or parent who deserves acknowledgment for their commitment to AAC? Do you attend a group or club that supports the use of AAC in a unique way? Someone who has created an innovative AAC solution? Do you know an AAC user who has been a trailblazer for others?

To nominate an individual, group, team, setting, or organisation, please complete the online form.  Supporting statements can be submitted in written, video, photograph, or audio format. If you need help completing your nomination, please contact: admin@communicationmatters.org.uk

Nominations close on the 31st of January 2023. The team at Communication Matters looks forward to hearing from you!

 

 

Season’s Greetings from the ISAAC Executive Board and staff

On behalf of the ISAAC Executive Board (EB) and ISAAC International staff, we wish you, your family, and all of our members and friends around the world the very best for the holiday season! 

Watch the video here.

 
isaac logo for conference cancun with a play arrow
 
 
 

 

Christmas Letter from ISAAC Past President Meredith Allan

My 2022 started on December 16th last year when I was appointed to the National Disability Insurance Agency board. I had been nominated when I was in hospital in June. Luckily these things take time, vetting and getting all State and Territory ministers to approve the nomination. The appointment started January 1st and it has not stopped. I have travelled to Sydney, Perth and Brisbane but thankfully most meetings are online or in Melbourne. There have been two meetings in Geelong but they were a joy as I stayed with Linley and Barry.

Mum had another birthday party this year in a local restaurant again. We encouraged it because it was family and we all get to see each other. My cousin’s husband (Peter) asked me sarcastically “What’s wrong with you now?” I answered “shingles” and burst out laughing! I had shingles but luckily I was not as bad as I remember when Glenn had them at 18!!!! I will definitely have the shingles vaccine in five months time.

Other than that my health has improved. I have put on five more kilograms and go to physio every fortnight. I am eating breakfast (cereal) and lunch (usually soup) orally and have my PEG feed at night. I am making the PEG work for me instead of the other way around. Saves cooking dinner and the time it takes planning it. I can eat more things than this time last year. I have graduated to eating some sweet biscuits which is helping with the weight gain.

In October I made the front cover of Crosslight, Uniting Church Vic/Tas magazine. The lead article was on Spirituality and Disability and a book I helped launch (I did not contribute to the book though). In November I was at Government House with Mum and two friends for the Victorian nomination of the 2023 Australian of the Year award. No, I did not win the nomination and was relieved not to win the Victorian nomination.

I am planning on going to Cancun, Mexico, in July for the ISAAC conference (deferred twice). My niece, Adara, has volunteered to go with me – that has made me more confident in travelling. We are thinking about what else to see while in the USA. Adara was with me in New York last time- I cannot beat that!

After re-reading last year’s Christmas letter I realise how far I have come in the past 12 months and even though I am a year older, life is good and God is looking after me. I hope next year’s letter is less about me and more interesting…

Have a blessed Christmas with those you love.

Meredith Allan

 

 

New research project:

The participation of people who rely on AAC in the pre-service preparation of communication, education, and medical professionals

Funded by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (RERC AAC)

We are interested in learning more about the experiences of people who rely on AAC, and who are helping to prepare the next generation of communication, education, and medical professionals. The results of this research will be discussed at the AAC Consumer and Technology Forum at ATIA 2023, and will be used to improve participation and support AAC technology development for persons who rely on AAC.

Learn about and sign up to participate in the research study here.

 

 

ECHO AAC webinar

Providing Culturally-Responsive Practice for Children who Rely on AAC: Evaluation of an Online Module for Pre-Service Educators. 

December 14, 2022

 

Join the next ECHO AAC session on Wednesday, December 14th from 3:30-5:00pm CST. The session will be presented by Dr. David McNaughton and Kasie Galley of Penn State University. This session will be on Providing Culturally-Responsive Practice for Children who Rely on AAC: Evaluation of an Online Module for Pre-Service Educators.

As always, the presentation with be followed with a collaborative case study. The case study at this session will focus on bilingual feature matching. 

Attending Live? If you have not done so already, please RSVP here: https://go.wisc.edu/pzy0qj

Zoom Link: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/91225193018

Can’t Attend Live?  You can view the recording of this presentation (and past presentations) in our archive folder here: https://uwmadison.box.com/v/ECHOrecordings

If you are new to Zoom, you can find frequently asked questions here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206175806-Frequently-Asked-Questions 

Lastly, if you’re looking to problem solve with our ECHO community about a specific student or client that you are working with, please email echoaac@waisman.wisc.edu to inquire about sharing a case study.

Please let us know if you have any questions.  We are very excited for this session of ECHO AAC and hope to have you join us! 

See the EHCO AAC flyer here. 

 

 

Introducing the new ISAAC Executive Board President Tracy Shepherd

 

ISAAC International is pleased to introduce the new President of the Executive Board, Tracy Shepherd.

a woman crouches near a child who is sitting

Tracy is a speech language pathologist who started practicing clinically in AAC in 1991. She was Clinical Coordinator at the Augmentative Communication Service at Thames Valley Children’s Centre in London, Ontario, Canada until recently. Tracy is now Director of the Centralized Equipment Pool for Augmentative and Alternative Communication in Ontario, Canada (operated by Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital) and also has a role as Clinical Education Coordinator.

Tracy has been a member of ISAAC since 1990 and is a Past President of ISAAC-Canada (2009 – 2013). She held the position of VP without portfolio for the ISAAC International Executive Board from 2014 – 2018, she was President-Elect from 2020-2022 and she co-chaired ISAAC’s 17th Biennial Conference in Toronto, Canada.

“We have ambitious plans for the next two years at ISAAC! First and foremost, I’m looking forward to resuming ISAAC International conferences which have been postponed during the pandemic. There’s nothing like the energy and joy we feel when we get together in person, and the connections we make that move AAC forward. We’re very excited for Conference Cancun in 2023 and Conference Roma in 2024. We’re also in the middle of building a new website, which is a big project!” 

I’d like to welcome new board member and President-Elect, Yonit Hagoel-Karnieli from Israel. I also offer my deepest thanks and appreciation to all of ISAAC’s past presidents who have helped to move the organization forward over the years. As President-Elect, I worked closely with outgoing President Juan Bornman who was a pillar of strength and kindness for ISAAC over the last two very difficult years. Juan held us up and worked alongside all of us as we accomplished some hard things, such as the ISAAC Connect virtual conference last year. We always felt appreciated by Juan as she shared her positivity and inspirational South African proverbs. She will have a lasting impact on the Executive Board and on ISAAC. So thank you Juan!” – Tracy Shepherd

See the full Executive Board here.

 

 

screen shot of words and a woman's headshot, smiling

Read the article on the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital website.

 

 

logo for ISAAC Rome conference showing a graphic illustration of historic buildings in green and red and the words Roma ISAAC 2023

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
ISAAC 2024 BIENNIAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Rome, Italy

ISAAC has developed a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) for the purpose of assisting the organization to identify and select an appropriate Conference Management Company / Professional Conference Organizer (“PCO”). This RFP is intended to provide specific information to individual PCO bidders, including background data and scope of work required.

Read the RFP here. 

 

 

REUNION DE MIEMBROS ISAAC ESPAÑOL

 

30 de septiembre del 2022 / September 30, 2022

12:00 hrs, Hora del Este / 12 pm ET

Les hacemos una cordial invitación a la reunión de miembros, la cual tiene como finalidad hacer comunidad, conocernos y apoyarnos en la práctica profesional y/o en la experiencia familiar de la CAA.

We would like to invite you to a Spanish Speaking members reunion. The goals for this meeting are to strengthen our community and create links that promote collaboration among  professional practice  and the family experience around AAC. This meeting will be held primarily in Spanish. 

Registre aquí / Register here

Les pedimos su participación entrando al siguiente enlace o código QR.

https://padlet.com/MARMANCAM/ook4h58pci2r4ica

 

 

Instrucciones

  • Entraran a una página en dónde hay un mapa. 
  • En la esquina superior derecha encontraran un círculo rosa, hay que darle click y aparece un lápiz y se abre una pestaña para colocar el nombre de su país.
  • Al seleccionar el país puede agregar una nota escrita, una fotografía o un enlace de internet.
  • Les pedimos coloquen su nombre y una foto que muestre su relación con la CAA, si desea puede poner una breve explicación.

 


26th Annual Edwin and Esther Prentke
AAC Distinguished Lecture

Prentke AAC Distinguished Lecture Call for Nominations is now Open!

Nominations for The 2023 Prentke AAC Distinguished Lecture are now open and will close on October 15, 2022! Make sure you don’t miss your chance to submit your nomination!

The lecture will be held at the ATIA 2023 Conference in Orlando on Friday, February 2, 2023, from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm EST.

pcr saltillo logo

The winner of this award will receive a $2,000 honorarium and up to an additional $3,000 to cover travel expenses for the recipient to present in person at the conference in Orlando, provided by PRC-Saltillo. The recipient and two guests receive complimentary registrations to ATIA 2023 provided by ATIA. 

Nominators, or sponsors, may nominate anyone who they feel meets the following criteria: 

  • Be a person who uses any AAC device
  • Have public speaking experience and the ability to engage in an interactive question-and-answer session with the audience
  • Have made a unique contribution to the field of AAC or had a unique experience as a person who uses AAC

ATIA is honored to host this exciting presentation by a person who communicates using an AAC device at ATIA 2023 in Orlando, Florida. Nominate yourself, a colleague, or friend today!

Prentke AAC Distinguished Lecture Registration Form

 

 

Announcing the 5th International Assistive Technology and AAC conference 

 

     group of people sitting at a conference

 

The ATAAC conference will be hosted in Zagreb, Croatia, 29-30 September 2022

The conference can be attended in person or watched online.

www.ataac.eu

Leading AT and AAC experts and manufactures will be presenting information, research and products, sharing experiences and valuable advice on working with children and persons with communication support needs . 

Watch online access lasts for 2 weeks, from the first day of the conference ensuring you have enough time to focus on each and every lecture.

All lectures in other languages will be simultaneously translated into English.

More information can be found on the ATAAC 2022  website.

ISAAC is a partner of ATAAC and supports the growth of AAC community in Southern and Eastern Europe.

ATAAC Zagreb is organised by by E-Glas, Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka and Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, University of Zagreb.

 


In memoriam: Rick Creech

With sadness, we share the passing of Rick Creech. 

Rick Creech was an educational consultant with the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), received the 2004 Edwin and Esther Prentke AAC Distinguished Lecture award given by the American Speech-Hearing Association (ASHA), and was an AAC user.

He is remembered for his eloquent advocacy to empower those who, while they may need physical assistance, are capable of becoming productive members of society.  

“Rick was one of the first people I know who wrote about his lived experience as an AAC user, and one of the first to be a full-time, competitively employed user. He used his voice for advocacy for others, locally and nationally, for example in the testimony he provided to the Senate Committee on Aging  Making A Difference For Others – AAC & Speech Devices from PRC (prentrom.com).”  – Amy Goldman, President, USSAAC

“Rick Creech was a man of resilience and many accomplishments: author, poet, teacher, advocate, husband, father, son. His words, demeanor, insights, humor and determination tell the story…watch him in action when he testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging in 2017.” – Sarah Blackstone, Past-President, USSAAC

 
 

 
 


Participate in a research study on the Experiences of AAC Technology Users

What is this study about? 

Researcher Caroline Bollen of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands is looking for participants in a study on ethical aspects of AAC technologies. They are interested in how AAC technologies can promote self-expression and empathy but perhaps also stigmatization. They would like to hear about daily life experiences with AAC and receive possible suggestions for improvement of AAC technologies and their role in today’s society.

 

Who can be involved? 

Eligible for participation are AAC technology users above 18 years old.

 

What would I be asked to do?

The study entails individual written interviews that will be conducted digitally and asymmetrically. Answers  to the interview questions can be submitted either via SURFdrive or email. 

 

Who has approved the research?

This study has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

 

Watch this 5 minute animated video for a more detailed explanation of what you could expect from participation: 

 

For more information, see: 

Information about the project

Letter of approval

Consent form

 

Contact:

If you have questions or are interested in participating, contact Caroline Bollen (c.j.m.bollen@tudelft.nl).

 


Presentation to UNCRPD committee

Jacob Matthew (Australia) and Beth Moulam (UK) are presenting to the UNCRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) committee to raise awareness of communication rights.

Monday 15th August

10am – Central European Time

Anyone can watch this session using this link: https://media.un.org/en/webtv

This presentation aims to raise awareness to the CRPD committee of the need for countries to develop standards and guidelines to uphold communication rights for all. Key items from the Call to Action will be shared.

For more background see ICRA (International Communication Rights Alliance) documents:

ICRA Policy Statement 

ICRA Call to Action 

 


Ralf Schlosser, Editor-in-Chief of the AAC Journal, to receive the highest award given by ASHA – the Honors of the Association.

 

We are pleased to announce that Ralf Schlosser has been recommended by the Committee on Honors and affirmed by the Board of Directors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to receive the Honors of the Association. The Honors of the Association is the highest award given by ASHA and is public recognition of his distinguished and exceptional contributions to the field of speech, language, and hearing.  Ralf Schlosser will be formally recognized with a presentation at the Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 18, 2022, at the ASHA Convention in New Orleans, LA.

 


In memoriam: Jane Odom

It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Jane Odom, an AAC legend, colleague, and friend to so many the world over. Her excitement around AAC communicators and the teams who support them was unmatched in the field. 

Do you have a great memory of Jane?

Share your stories and pictures on social media using the hashtag #SeeJaneSmile. Let’s flood social media with stories of how she made us laugh, encouraged our creativity, and pushed for equal voices for AAC communicators.

Her legacy will live on through all of us.

 


ISAAC-TAIWAN online seminar

Chung Shan Medical University and ISAAC-Taiwan will co-host a half-day online seminar “Voice in My Heart.”

Speaker: Tan Xuet Ying, President of ISAAC Singapore 

Topic 1: AAC on people with stroke

Topic 2: AAC on people with muscular atrophy

Date: 2022/7/16 8:30-12:00

http://twsaac.blogspot.com/ 

Learn more: https://isaac-online.org/wp-content/uploads/刻在心底的聲音_ISAAC.jpg

 


REUNION DE MIEMBROS ISAAC ESPAÑOL

Estimado miembro de ISAAC:

Les hacemos una cordial invitación a la reunión de miembros, la cual tiene como finalidad hacer comunidad, conocernos y apoyarnos en la práctica profesional y/o en la experiencia familiar de la CAA.

REUNION DE MIEMBROS ISAAC ESPAÑOL

2 de septiembre del 2022

12:00 hrs, Hora del Este

Registre aquí

Les pedimos su participación entrando al siguiente enlace o código QR.

https://padlet.com/MARMANCAM/ook4h58pci2r4ica

 

Instrucciones

  • Entraran a una página en dónde hay un mapa. 
  • En la esquina superior derecha encontraran un círculo rosa, hay que darle click y aparece un lápiz y se abre una pestaña para colocar el nombre de su país.
  • Al seleccionar el país puede agregar una nota escrita, una fotografía o un enlace de internet.
  • Les pedimos coloquen su nombre y una foto que muestre su relación con la CAA, si desea puede poner una breve explicación.

Gracias y esperamos verlos!!

Flyer Reunioin ISAAC Español

 

The ISAAC Story

ISAAC supports the use of AAC around the world through the sharing of ideas and information. Events such as International AAC Awareness Month, our biennial conference, The ISAAC Communicator (formerly ISAAC E-News) and regular email alerts, keep ISAAC international members well-informed about our organization and activities worldwide.

A blast from the past … ISAAC Story 2008 was created by the Friends of ISAAC in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of ISAAC:

 

 

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