AAC Institute Update!
7 March 2008
*** 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 AAC Institute is to provide periodic announcements of interest to those involved in the field of AAC. Approximate average frequency of messages is one every two months. Archived past announcements can be found at the web site. If you wish to be removed from the AAC Institute announcement list, simply reply with a message to that effect. ***
This update has ten (10) 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) Over 8000 Subscribers and
Growing!
AAC Institute Updates are sent periodically to well over 8000 individuals
worldwide. Subscribers include stakeholders from all areas of the AAC community.
Announcements contain information on upcoming events, CEU opportunities, new
resources and much more. To become a subscriber, just send an email message
to info@aacinstitute.org
with your AAC role (SLP, OT, family, etc.) plus state, province, or country.
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2) Sixth International Symposium on AAC Evidence-Based
Practice (EBP): Literacy, Language and AAC
Don’t Forget: By popular request, a poster session has been added to
the Symposium agenda being held on June 13 & 14, 2008 at the Sheraton
Station Square in Pittsburgh, PA. The deadline for submission is April 1,
2008 and the Call for Posters instructions can be found at http://www.aacinstitute.org/Symposium/2008/PosterSession.html.
Any stakeholder is invited to submit a proposal that reflects applying external
(research-based) evidence, internal (clinical-based) evidence and/or personal
evidence related to literacy, language and AAC.
This announcement we are highlighting Gretchen Hanser one of our guest speakers at the Symposium. Gretchen is with the Center for Literacy & Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. She is completing her dissertation in the field of education with an emphasis on literacy instruction for children with complex communication needs and physical impairments.
The agenda and registration form can be found at http://www.aacinstitute.org/Symposium. CEUs are available to attendees through the AAC Institute at no cost.
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3) CSUN Conference
If you are attending the upcoming CSUN Conference on Technology & Persons
with Disabilities Conference, please stop by the AAC Institute stand in the
Marriott foyer in the conference registration area. AAC Institute will be
providing the CEUs without cost for any interested attendee for all sessions
at the conference on March 10-15, 2008 in Los Angeles, CA. Also, consider
attending the following sessions:
Matching Persons and Technology: Data-Driven AAC Assessments
Katya Hill, University of Pittsburgh; Marcia Scherer
How do teams document that AAC decisions are evidence-based? The evidence
and benefits of performance and outcomes measurement for matching persons
and technology are reviewed.
Thursday, 3:10 PM; Renaissance - International C
Demonstration of AAC Language Sample Collection and Analysis
Barry Romich, AAC Institute
The collection and analysis of AAC language samples can be easy, fast and
fun and it's the only path to the highest possible communication performance.
Saturday, 10:40 AM; Marriott – Houston
Additional information is available at http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf.
CSUN is a proud sponsor of the AAC Institute!
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4) Calling all AAC Researchers!
Plan ahead to submit your work to the Clinical AAC Research Conference. The deadline for the Call for Papers is May 1, 2008. This year’s Conference Program Chair is Dr. Jeffery Higginbotham. Please, contact Jeff at CAACAAC@gmail.com if you have any questions. Filip Loncke, Conference Chair is planning a warm welcome for participants to discuss their research efforts and challenges at the University of Virginia. Highlights include:
Keynote Speaker Christine Dollaghan opening the conference
with Evidence for Theory and Practice: It Takes All Kinds.
Student Scientific Paper Award with student recipients receiving a certificate
and a $400 honorarium for first place and $200 for second place.
Special student seminar coordinated by Lyle Lloyd at the Symposium. This is
an opportunity for students to interact informally on a variety of clinical
research topics with researchers in the field.
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5) RESNA 2008 - Join all the AAC Stakeholders!
The 2008 RESNA conference in Washington DC June 26-30 is offering an exciting AAC program with content reflective of RESNA’s mission. This year’s conference offers special sessions on the treatment of wounded soldiers and presentations by individuals who rely on AAC and families. This month we are featuring the Instructional Courses related to AAC content being offered on June 26 and 27. The entire program may be found at www.resna.org.
INSTRUCTIONAL COURSE ON THURSDAY, JUNE 26
IC-10: AT Interventions for Individuals with ALS and Other Progressive Conditions
Alisa Brownlee, ATP, Assistive Technology Specialist, ALS Association, Greater
Philadelphia Chapter and Susan Christie, PT, ATP, Supervisor, Assistive Technology
Center, Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital
INSTRUCTIONAL COURSE ON FRIDAY, JUNE 27
IC- 14: Treating the Wounded Soldier: Speech, Language and Cognitive-Communication
Rehabilitation after Traumatic Brain Injury Heidi Bassani MEd, CCC-SLP, Tara
Dean, MS, CCC-SLP, Amanda Gillespie, MS, CCC-SLP, and Danielle Katen, MS,
CCC-SLP, all from Speech-Language Pathology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center
and Pamela Harman, PhD, CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathology, Veterans Affairs
Medical Center
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6) i-CREATe 2008
The 2nd International Convention on Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive
Technology will be held in Bangkok, Thailand 13-15 May 2008. The conference
will feature Assistive Technology (AT) and Augmentative and Alternative Communication
(AAC) Fundamentals courses for the rapidly growing interest in technology
for people with disabilities in this region of the world. These workshops
will provide information for participants to develop a personal plan of study
to build clinical competence in these areas. Additional information can be
found at http://www.start-centre.com/i-create2008/index.php.
CEUs are available to attendees through the AAC Institute at no cost. Plan
to attend the Assistive Technology Fundamentals Course presented by Katya
Hill, PhD and Barry Romich, PE.
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7) Parents at Closing The Gap
Look for the AAC Family Out and About events at the Closing
The Gap Conference in October. A Friday night party, Saturday parent meet
and greet and childrens' activities and a scavenger hunt in the exhibit hall
are all part of the fun! Parents, consider submitting a proposal to present
at the conference. Proposals are due May 1st. Click
here to download a .pdf flyer with additional information.
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8) Consumer AACtion Point
Looking for a new AAC system? Ask your AAC evaluator to collect a language
sample from your current device, to use as a baseline comparison while you
consider a new device. A language sample can help you know how quickly you
are able to communicate, how often you rely on spelling versus other methods
of communicating, and other important measures to compare during the evaluation
process. Don’t compromise your communication performance and long-term
outcomes of achieving your life goals because your service provider isn’t
measuring, comparing and explaining your performance differences that will
exist among the different AAC systems you try. For more information, go to
http://www.aacinstitute.org/Resources/ConsumerResources/ConsumerChecklist.htm
and take a copy of the AAC Consumer Checklist with you to ensure a comprehensive
AAC assessment.
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9) Welcome to New Sponsors
Valued Sponsors help to support the various initiatives of AAC Institute.
Recent additions to the growing list of sponsors are: Indiana
Assistive Technology Act; National
Braille Association; and The
Alliance for Technology Access. For a complete list of sponsors,
including links to their web sites, click on the "Sponsors" link
on the AAC Institute home page.
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10) 2008 Sponsors
Twenty nine (29) organizations are now AAC Institute sponsors. They include
AAC manufacturers, continuing education activity organizers, publishers and
others. Gold level sponsors include Assistive Technology Industry Association
(ATIA), California State University – Northridge (CSUN), Closing The
Gap, Prentke Romich Company and Semantic Compaction Systems. Silver level
sponsors include Indiana Assistive Technology Act. For a complete list of
sponsors, including links to their web sites, click on the "Sponsors"
link on the AAC Institute home
page.
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