AAC Institute Update!
*** The AAC Institute is a 501c3 not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to the most effective communication for people who rely on AAC (augmentative and alternative communication). One service of the AAC Institute is to provide periodic announcements of interest to those involved in the field of AAC. Approximate average frequency of messages is one per one to two months. If you wish to be removed from the AAC Institute announcement list, simply reply with a message to that effect. ***
This update has seven (7) items. Please forward to others with an interest in AAC. Others can register for email updates at the AAC Institute web site.
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1) Third Annual International Symposium
on AAC Evidence-Based Practice
The Third annual Symposium on AAC Evidence-Based
Practice will be held Thursday August 4, 2005. The theme is Honoring the Values
of Families and People who use AAC. The venue is the School of Health and Rehabilitation
Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. For more information, visit the Symposium
page (http://www.aacinstitute.org/Resources/Symposium/2005/symposiumannouncement.html
) on the AAC Institute web site.
A limited number
of scholarships still are available for individuals who use AAC. Please, contact
Carol Yankovich, Symposium Coordinator at symposium@aacinstitute.org.
The Symposium immediately precedes the 2005 Pittsburgh Employment Conference
(PEC) (see next item). This activity is offered for 0.6 ASHA CEUs and CEUs are
provided without cost.*
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2) Pittsburgh Employment Conference
for Augmented Communicators (PEC)
The Pittsburgh Employment Conference, considered by some to
be the most significant event in the field of AAC, is the largest gathering
of people who use AAC in the world. PEC will be August 5-7, 2005 at the Sheraton
Station Square in Pittsburgh.
A special reduced
family registration fee for PEC has been arranged for families attending the
AACI Symposium. Families may simply indicate this special fee when completing
a registration for PEC. Please, visit the Symposium information at the AACI
web site at http://www.aacinstitute.org/
to find out more information. For additional information, go to http://www.sciconics.com.
ASHA CEUs will be offered without cost.*
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3) AAC Performance Report Self-Study
Course
The Self-Study Program area of the AAC Institute web site now includes an additional
course that is offered for ASHA CEUs. The course covers the AAC Performance
Report, a set of 17 quantitative summary measures of communication performance.
Module 4 is devoted to instruction on the use of PeRT (Performance Report Tool),
software to facilitate the generation of the AAC Performance Report. This course
is offered for 0.4 ASHA CEUs, which are provided without cost.*
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4) Converting Dynavox logfiles for PeRT
Analysis
The AAC Institute web site now offers instructions
for preparing Dynavox logfiles for PeRT analysis. http://www.aacinstitute.org/Resources/ProductsandServices/PeRT/PreparingDynavoxFiles.html
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5) AAC Keys Update
Many people who rely on AAC also use their AAC systems for computer access.
AAC Keys is software that runs in a PC to allow keyboard and mouse emulation
from a serial port input, as can be generated by an AAC system. Version 1.3
offers enhancements over the previous version. For additional information, visit
the AAC Institute web site. Under Products, click on AAC Keys. A Macintosh version
is soon to be released. Those interested in beta testing should contact: support@aacinstitute.org.
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6) AAC by the Bay
The Bridge School invites participants to register for this conference which
will be held September 29 - October 1, 2005 at San Francisco State University.
Additional information is available at the Bridge School web site: www.bridgeschool.org.
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7) 2005 Corporate Sponsors
Many organizations, including AAC manufacturers and publishers, are providing
support to the AAC Institute. Gold level sponsors include Prentke Romich Company
and Semantic Compaction Systems. Silver level sponsors include The ALS Association,
Elsevier, and Mayer-Johnson, Inc. For a complete list of corporate sponsors,
including links to their web sites, click on the "Corporate Sponsors"
link on the AAC Institute home page.
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* An annual ASHA CE Registry fee is required to register ASHA CEUs. ASHA CE
Registry fees are paid by the participant directly to the ASHA National Office.
The annual ASHA CE Registry fee allows registration of an unlimited number of
ASHA CEUs for the calendar year. Contact the ASHA CE staff at 800-498-2071 ext.
4219 for CE Registry fee subscription information.
