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State of the Science in AAC

ACN Volume 13 #6 and 14 #1, September, 2001

On August 2-4, 2001, the AAC-RERC held its State of the Science Conference (SOSC) on Communication Enhancement, in conjunction with the 2001 USSAAC Conference in St. Paul, MN. The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), which funds the AAC-RERC, requires each RERC to conduct a State of the Science Conference during the third year of funding. In the area of AAC, this was the first time such an event was conducted since the 1990 Visions conference.

The AAC-RERC partners invited members of multiple stakeholder groups to participate for three days of presentations and discussions on various topic areas regarding AAC and AAC technologies. A diverse group of consumers and family members, manufacturers, researchers, service providers, educators and other AAC experts arrived in St. Paul from the U.S. and Canada. AAC-RERC partners and their collaborators prepared and presented “white papers” on various topics. Several papers received input from experts in Europe. In addition, the SOSC highlighted a presentation by consumer researchers who shared preliminary results from the AAC-RERC sponsored, consumer-led research project, Tech 2010.

The main purpose of the presentations was to provide a “foundational base” about the current state of the science in AAC technology, and about potential future directions in AAC technology.

All participants played active roles in the process. Each morning, two papers were presented as part of the USSAAC scientific program. This made it possible for the 200 plus USSAAC participants, as well as the 53 invited SOSC attendees, to hear the papers and comment. After the morning presentations, the invited SOSC participants reconvened for discussions and brainstorming in an effort to come to consensus about the issues in the field related to the topic areas, which are listed below:

• Future AAC Technology Needs. Consumer Perspectives.
  Sarah Blackstone, Michael B. Williams and Mick Joyce
  
• Improving AAC Technologies for Young Children.
  Janice Light and Kathryn Drager
  
• Improving AAC Technologies for Adults with Acquired Disabilities.
  David Beukelman and Laura Ball
  
• AAC Performance and Usability Issues: The Effect of AAC Technology on the Communicative Process.
  Jeffery Higginbotham and Kevin Caves
  
• Improving Connections Between AAC Technologies and the World.
  Kevin Caves, Howard Shane and Frank DeRuyter
  
• Enhancing Participation in Employment though AAC Technologies.
  David McNaughton, Diane Bryen and Solomon Rakhman
  
• Enhancing Literacy Development Through AAC Technologies.
  Janet Sturm and David Yoder
  
• Tech 2010: How do people learn to use an AAC device?
  Tracy Rackensperger, Michael B. Williams, Carole Krezman and David McNaughton

Following the conference, the papers were posted on the AAC-RERC website for additional comments. The Journal of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) will publish the revised, peer-reviewed versions of these white papers in the September 2002 and January 2003 issues. This will serve as the official publication of the conference outcomes.

For more information, go to: www.aac-rerc.com or contact Kevin Caves, Director, AAC-RERC, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3888, Durham, NC 27710. 919-681-9983. kevin.caves@duke.edu

This article appears in Augmentative Communication News, Volume 13, #6.

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