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) Compass - for computer
access and AAC evaluations
Compass has been added to the AAC Institute
product line. Compass software is a tool for clinical professionals who perform
computer access and augmentative communication evaluations. The software measures
user performance in skills needed for computer interaction, such as keyboard
and mouse use, navigating through menus, and switch use. Compass is the product
of years of NIH and other grant supported research. For additional information
on Compass, visit the AAC Institute home page and under Products and Services
click on Compass. Compass complements the other performance measurement tools
available from AAC Institute.
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2) AAC Institute at the CSUN Conference
Stop by the AAC Institute booth #161 in the Hilton main exhibit area. Meet Robin
Hurd, author of the monthly Parents'
Corner column at the AAC Institute web site. Heidi Koester, developer
of Compass (above) will be there as well. Come to our session on "AAC Service
Delivery Software and Resources" demonstrating free and low cost software
and resources offered by the AAC Institute: Wednesday at 9:20 AM in Hilton Newport
C. A session titled "Compass: Software for Computer Skills Assessment"
we be held on Friday, March 24, at 8:00 AM in the Hilton Marina room.
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3) RESNA Conference
It’s not too early to make plans for attending the annual RESNA conference
in Atlanta, Georgia on June 22-26. RESNA has many sessions on assistive technology
and augmentative communication. The conference program includes workshops, technical
sessions, and poster session tracks on research, practice, and policy. Check
out the RESNA Annual Conference information at http://www.resna.org.
ASHA CEUs are available to attendees through the AAC Institute at no cost.*
Please, stop by our booth in the RESNA exhibit hall to obtain your ASHA CEU
packet.
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4) Fourth International Symposium on
AAC Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)
This Fourth Symposium will be held on September 15 & 16, 2006 and hosted
by the University of Pittsburgh. This year’s theme is on AAC Preferred
Practice Patterns and EBP. Presentations and concurrent sessions have been arranged
for families and consumers, clinical practitioners, researchers, and university
faculty teaching AAC courses. ASHA CEUs are available to attendees through the
AAC Institute at no cost.* Click
here for more information.
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5) 2006 ASHA AAC Student Paper Awards
reminder
Now is the time to consider submitting a paper for the ASHA AAC Student Scientific
Paper competition. Selection of recipients is made by a committee of the ASHA
Division on Augmentative Communication. Information on the awards program is
available at http://www.aacinstitute.org/Resources/ASHAStudentAwards/ashastudentawards.html.
The awards are sponsored by AAC Institute.
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6) Call for Focus Group Participation
The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Workplace Accommodations at
the Georgia Institute of Technology is interested in consumer perspectives on
workplace accommodations.
The Work RERC will be conducting a focus group at the CSUN Conference with individuals who have worked or are working and who have speech/language impairments. We invite participation in a group discussion on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 at the Hilton from 7pm-9pm during the Conference in Los Angeles, CA.
The group will be asked to share experiences about workplaces, employment status and history, workplace accommodations, and the barriers and facilitators to obtaining and maintaining employment. This information will help with the development of technology intended to increase accessibility in the workplace.
Participants will receive $50 for participating in the focus group. Space is limited. To organize participation or for more information, please contact Glenn Moscoso: glenn.moscoso@coa.gatech.edu
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7) 2006
Corporate Sponsors
Many organizations, including AAC manufacturers, advocacy organizations 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, Madentec, 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.
