Here are postings on Facebook for October 2010 AAC Awareness Month, for anyone who may have missed them there. Thanks to Michael McSheehan (first four postings on the list), Terry Gibson, Veronica Montanaro and many others who posted or supported and passed along these postings. If you have other links and resources you like, please send them along to judybailey@aol.com. Thanks!!
October is augmentative communication month! Lots of people communicate in different ways. Lots of people are presumed incompetent - when, in actuality, they just don't have a way to communicate. I'll be posting several of my most frequently used AAC links this month. ENJOY!! http://www.isaac-online.org/en/home.shtml
AAC Link #2: Frequently Asked Questions addressed by the National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities. They hit some common myths. http://www.asha.org/NJC/faqs-njc.htm
Continuing with augmentative communication awareness month: Check out the AAC Institute. http://www.aacinstitute.org/ It offers a FREE self-study program to learn about various aspects of AAC that support the goal of the most effective communication possible for the individual. Courses are organized by modules, and provide a Certificate of Completion.
AAC Awareness Month Link #4: http://aac-rerc.psu.edu/ The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Consortium on Communication Enhancement. Don't let the name scare you off! There's some great (understandable) info here! FREE Webcast Topics including: Funding, Individuals with Minimal Movement, Literacy, Social and Technological Issues, User Perspectives, Language Development, Seating and Positioning.
Texting, emailing, chatting, typing, pointing, signing are all Alternative forms of communication. Some people have to rely on these forms to communicate. Today is International AAC Awareness Day. Help us create more awareness by pasting this into your status.
Chandima Rajapatirana in Sharing Our Wisdom: "The day my mother put me at my brother's computer and asked me to type my name was my true birthday. I lived in an abyss till then. Greatest day of my life was that day." Top of Form
To learn more about augmentative communication (AAC) methods, you might want to visit Justin Berger's website for AAC resource links and links to 40 (!) videos about AAC, many showing AAC in action. http://aacmonth.webs.com/
Quote from Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer in the book I Raise My Eyes to Say Yes: "As long as these people considered my brain useless and my facial expressions and sounds meaningless, I was doomed to remain "voiceless." http://www.iraisemyeyes.com/ This is the autobiography of Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer, a woman trapped in a body made functionally useless by cerebral palsy. It is a story of purpose and triumph over her severe disability.
Quote from a new book by writer and artist Roy Bedward, entitled Communication Makes or Breaks a Life: This Boy's Life-Saving Typing: "Before I could type, no one knew how much love was in my heart." Lovely collection of prose, poetry, painting. http://www.roybedwardenterprises.com/
There is much to learn by reading the writings of people who use other methods besides speech to communicate (AAC). The Everyone Communicates website has links to writings by over 100 people who use AAC to communicate (Personal Stories / AAC Users). We invite you to read and learn and enjoy. www.everyonecommunicates.org
To chat with others who know about AAC (including people who use AAC, families, professionals, device company reps), you may wish to join a listserv:
ACOLUG acolug@listserv.temple.edu
AGOSCI http://www.agosci.org.au/list.htm
Disability is Natural Newsletter from Kathy Snow, October 13, 2010: “Improved Communication = Improved Outcomes. We may need to work very hard to find the most effective communication method for the person, but the pay-off will be worth the effort!”
http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/newsletters/430-imp-comm
Facilitated Communication (FC) enables non-verbal people on autism spectrum to communicate by typing, Mike Frandsen, Autism Examiner. www.examiner.com "FC has been a godsend for many people with autism who were formerly considered unintelligent, and even retarded, and later proved to be not only keenly aware of what is going on, but also smart, articulate, and eloquent in their communication."
Everyone Communicates has set up a site with information on the AAC Visibility and Awareness Webcam Project. Take a look to see a summary of the project, lists of webcams arranged by state, and event ideas to have fun and promote access to AAC for people who have difficulty with speech. http://aacvisibilityandawareness.blogspot.com/
The first issue of the FaCE Newsletter, Let's FaCE it! Facilitating Communication for Everybody, is available. Check it for information on AAC, the Language Stealers animation, Language Givers campaign, AAC Campaign 2010, the FaCE team and much more.
Congratulations Andrew, Gemma, Michael, Jake, and Robert. Well done! Thanks for all the information on your groundbreaking work over the past three years and for the updates on your current projects.
Check out the AAC Awareness Campaign 2010 video to learn about this year's campaign and activities in 2008 and 2009. Join the global celebration this October!! Writing and video collection, inclusive singing videos, 24-Hour Read-a-Thon, and more!
Communication Bill of Rights: Each person has the right to...receive intervention to improve communication skills,...have access to AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) and other AT (assistive technology) services and devices at all times (more at link) http://www.asha.org/NJC/bill_of_rights.htm
The story of Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer reminds us that the least dangerous assumption about someone who cannot speak is that the person has many things to say with the right support and access to technology to say it. Excerpts from I Raise My Eyes to Say Yes, by Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer and Steven B. Kaplan: With a broad grin on my face, I looked at her squarely. Then I raised my eyes up to the ceiling again in such an exaggerated way that I thought my eyes would pop up through the top of my head.
Wessie knew that she was onto something, but she wasn't sure just what. She pondered it for a few more seconds . . . then it clicked! A silent conversation flashed between us as loud and clear as any spoken words. Even before she asked me a dozen times over, and before I exuberantly answered a dozen times with my eyes raised skyward, Wessie knew. And I knew that she knew. I was raising my eyes to say yes. www.iraisemyeyes.com
Another excerpt from I Raise My Eyes to Say Yes, by Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer and Steven B. Kaplan: "None of the staff at Belchertown had noticed my yes-and-no signals until that day, when Wessie discovered them. For more than three years I hadn't been able to communicate any of my thoughts or feelings to the people on whom I depended for my survival. Back when my parents first brought me to Belchertown, they made a point of telling Dr. Soong and others about my facial signals, but no one paid any attention to what they said. Everyone just assumed that I was a helpless cripple, and with the constant turnover of staff, the very suggestion that I could communicate was soon lost. or my survival. Back when my parents first brought me to Belchertown, they made a point of telling Dr. Soong and others about my facial signals, but no one paid any attention to what they said. Everyone just assumed that I was a helpless cripple, and with the constant turnover of staff, the very suggestion that I could communicate was s
Helen Keller (before Anne Sullivan): "The few signs I used became less and less adequate, and my failures to make myself understood were invariably followed by outbursts of passion....After awhile the need of some means of communication became so urgent that these outbursts occurred daily, sometimes hourly." Excerpt from Helen Keller: The Story of My Life.
New video for the International AAC Month online collection from AHRC NYC: Finding a Voice Through Technology. Congratulations to Adil Sanai and all who were involved in producing this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPnhSF9fBew
Have you ever wondered how many people have a severe communication impairment that requires AAC? According to research reported by the American Speech and Hearing Association, it's 8-12 people per 1000. On average, that's 1 person per 100.
Using figures from the 2009 Census on people per square mile in the USA, I calculated the number of people who use or need to use AAC per square mile: approximately 1 person per square mile across the USA. In highly populated areas like Arlington, Virginia, that's potentially 72 people per sq. mile who have severe communication impairment requiring AAC.
Justin Berger has set up a website with links to AAC organizations and over 40 AAC videos. Check it out! http://aacmonth.webs.com/
Why building AAC awareness among the public is important: "Despite the proven efficacy of AAC as a treatment approach for individuals with complex communication needs, an individual's access to AAC services typically depends upon (1) where they happen to live, (2) what their doctor already knows about AAC and (3) how aggressively they, or their family members, seek help from professionals who provide AAC services. Even today there are speech-language pathologists in hospitals, healthcare agencies and private practices who actually turn people away, saying, 'We don't do AAC.'" Sarah W. Blackstone, Ph.D. CCC-SLP, Augmentative Communication News, Feb. 2007
AAC and football . . . Here's an example of AAC in Action showing a young member of a football team who communicates using an eye gaze system to call plays. Bryan’s Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82ToBId24js
How much can you say with a 40 core word vocabulary? You can say more than you might realize! Find out using the Language Mates 40 PowerPoint slide with speech output from Michael Brian Reed and friends, who are campaigning in the UK for access to core vocabulary for all. Nouns just aren't enough for true communication. Look under United Kingdom for the link in the online collection. Then try the Language Mate 60 and other links with larger vocabularies for comparison. Due to memory issues, the larger the vocabulary in this PowerPoint format, the slower the voice production.
October is also Rett Syndrome Awareness Month. Here's a link to information about Rett Syndrome and AAC. http://www.rettsyndrome.org/for-families/communication/augmentative-and-alternative.html According to article author Cathy Gaines, CCC-SLP, “Everyone uses AAC through written language, body language and facial expression. These avenues may be difficult for the girl with RS, so she may need to use eyegaze, head pointing, communication boards, switches and voice output communication devices.”
Looking for an AAC Awareness activity for your organization? How about an AAC Quiz or Morning Tea (or Coffee Break) with a Difference? Check our AAC Resources (Click on "Morning Tea..." for more info and links to materials there.) http://www.aacawareness.org/AACResources.html
Dear Abby and AAC: Six people who use AAC wrote a letter with 7 ideas on how to interact with and understand people who use speech generating devices. What a brilliant idea to send this to Dear Abby! Thanks to Camille, Heather, Joel, John, Nat and Nicole for sharing this! Scroll down to the letter after "Leaving College". http://www.uexpress.com/printable/print.html?uc_full_date=20100827&uc_comic=da New article: 10-year-old wins award for poetry written by blinks. Adam Bojelian “writes by a process of blinking to choose words and syllables.”
Jenna Lumbard types to communicate, to write poetry, and to write the first of a series of books about Worried Wendy. Jenna Lumbard may be autistic and not speak, but she freely communicates and is an author.
The Language Stealers: Creative video animation about a true life story, showing resistance of educators to providing communication supports, including access to core words, role models and mentors, training on AAC for teachers, etc. Thanks to Michael Reed and friends for this video and their campaign for AAC and literacy in the UK and everywhere. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vib2__BDCXc
Me and God Hoping to Beat Autism Soon. Emma Cladis types to communicate and is learning to speak: "Kind of good that you open your heart to me just a little so my story will change the way you look at us autistic people especially ones that don’t talk."
Quote by Andrew Bloomfield, who types to communicate: "Connecting is my purpose in life, / It is why we are here ..." A link to this article and many other treasures await you in the Personal Stories on the Everyone Communicates website. www.everyonecommunicates.org (click on Personal Stories and then on AAC Users)
Anyone might develop the need to use alternative communication (AAC) methods at some point in their life (intubation in the hospital, stroke, illness, etc.). Learn about these methods now so you may advocate for them if you or family, friends, or colleagues need AAC in the future.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication methods come in many forms and are used by people all over the world to connect with others. That connection and the importance of relationships are essential. It's about connection and relationships--not just equipment and technology.
Darlene McLean Hanson is thinking if you use AAC you might want to write or record a short message to that person(s) who authorizes the use or purchase of equipment in your life. Remind them how important YOUR voice is.
