Tag Archive: ISAAC

ISAAC 2012, Day 3: Let the Games Begin!

July 31, 2012 by - 3 Comments

ISAAC 2012, Day 3: Let the Games Begin!

Today was the first day of the main conference and it did not disappoint.  The conference began with a plenary session that was moving beyond words. For me, the highlight was Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul, and Mary fame joined in song by conference co-chair Katya Hill, and Snoopi Botten, who sings using AAC. Hearing the three of them sing songs like Puff the Magic Dragon and others made popular in the civil rights area did much to reinforce the notion that communication is a basic human right. The ongoing struggle to make that right accessible to all was highlighted in a speech by ISAAC president, Erna Alant, of South Africa, who rekindled our commitment to this effort. Another wonderful aspect of the plenary was the parade of nations, AAC style. Snoopi sang as the flags of the ISAAC members’ countries were displayed, and there were rousing cheers for all... [Read More...]

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ISAAC 2012, Day 2: AAC Goes to Preschool

July 29, 2012 by - 23 Comments

ISAAC 2012, Day 2: AAC Goes to Preschool

It was another wonderful day here in Pittsburgh at the 15th Biennial ISAAC Conference. It was a special day for me because I had the opportunity to speak about a really fun topic, core vocabulary teaching for young children with AAC needs. It was certainly a group effort! A talented graduate student of ours, Tathiane Paiva, and I shared a framework for developing a curriculum to teach core language in preschool classrooms, and used the curriculum I developed with Lori Wise (special educator and literacy specialist with UM NSU CARD) as an example. The basic principles behind the approach we shared are listed below. – •Language and literacy learning happen all day long. •Children learning AAC need high-quality instruction to learn and use basic vocabulary. •Children learning AAC need frequent opportunities for learning and practice. They need dozens of carefully planned opportunities to use their new words each day. •The focus is on... [Read More...]

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Day 1 at ISAAC 2012: What You Should Know About AAC’s Expanding Role in Health Care

July 29, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

Day 1 at ISAAC 2012: What You Should Know About AAC’s Expanding Role in Health Care

Welcome to ISAAC, 2012! — It’s the first day of the ISAAC pre-conference and the focus of the workshop I attended was on healthcare. It was quite an honor to learn from such a stellar group of AAC professionals, including Sarah Blackstone, John Costello, Kathryn Garrett, Richard Hurtig from the US and Cristina Cerantola, Elisabeth Cataix Negre, several others from around the world, who came together to talk about effective patient-provider communication. As we well know, the AAC community is one of several communication vulnerable populations that require special supports when accessing health care. This presentation was highly interactive and covered best practices, strategies, and technologies that we should be putting into place for people with AAC needs as they interact with medical personnel. – There was a wealth of resources shared during the workshop, mostly of very prAACtical resources. We have permission to share many of them here. Watch... [Read More...]

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PrAACtically There: ISAAC 2012

July 27, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

ISAAC, 2012: PrAACtically There

It’s not every month that I get a chance to go to an international conference, let alone one focused specifically on AAC. Join me as I head to the ISAAC 2012 conference at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. While I’m here, I’ll try to post some of the highlights. – ISAAC 2012 has a camp for people who use AAC (July 27-28), a pre-conference (July 28-29), a main conference (July 30-Aug 2), and a post-conference research symposium (Aug 3-4). There are also lots of social events and plenty of time to network, make new friends, and visit with old ones. You can view the program here, visit them on Facebook, and follow along with their Twitter feed, too. There will probably be quite a few bloggers sharing their ISAAC experiences, so if you can’t make it to Pittsburgh, you can appreciate it from afar. – I am excited... [Read More...]

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PrAACtical Alert: The World’s AAC Conference Comes to You (Well, a little bit of it)

July 25, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Alert: The World’s AAC Conference Comes to You (Well, a little bit of it)

I am so very lucky to be able to go to Pittsburgh this weekend for the biennial conference of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC). You can check back here for some comments and highlights on the conference. Also, for those of you who use Twitter (or were looking for an excuse to dive in), you can get updates from a group of ISAAC Twitter Delegates and others throughout the entire conference. Follow #ISAAC2012, if you want a peek into what is going on. –

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