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!!
http://www.isaac-online.org/en/home.shtml
http://www.asha.org/NJC/faqs-njc.htm
http://www.aacinstitute.org/
http://aac-rerc.psu.edu/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/International-AAC-Month/183909075620?ref=ts
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."
Here is a link to a video of Chandima recently. He has come a long way since that first day at the computer. Way to go Chandi! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euz8g7d_q24
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:
PACT (Promoting Augmentative Communication Together) pact@yahoogroups.com
ACOLUG acolug@listserv.temple.edu
AGOSCI http://www.agosci.org.au/list.htm
"A Voice of Her Own": very good article on poet Sydney Edmond, who has published a book of poetry, The Purple Tree and Other Poems, and who types to communicate. http://aweinautism.org/index.php/gallery/poetry/158-poet-sydney-edmond
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
http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/newsletters/430-imp-comm
Story of Max – an autistic child who’s been successful with LAMP and AAC. Another AAC in Action video, courtesy of the Center for AAC and Autism: Max's Story. http://www.aacandautism.com/real-communication-stories/max
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/
Here's a song for celebrating the 20th anniversary of the ADA and advocating for AAC. "I'm a Yankee Doodle Advocate" Time to campaign for AAC! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v6SnVBKAw4
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!
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.
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.
"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
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.
http://www.rettsyndrome.org/for-families/communication/augmentative-and-alternative.htmlAccording 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.”
Great story about using technology to communicate: "Although the Schaumleffels have only had the iPad for a few weeks, they say it is already showing them that Coleman knows a lot more than they ever realized." I-Pad unlocks new world for people with autism. WTHI-TV.com Terre Haute Indiana News. http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/news/local/I-Pad-unlocks-new-world-for-people-with-autism
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
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.
http://www.csamuel.org/2010/10/25/rip-anne-mcdonald-1961-2010 Her web page is here: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dealcc/Anne2.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.