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Greetings
Hello from the RERC on Communication Enhancement! Communication is all about exchanging information. With this first issue of our eNewsletter, we are embarking on a new avenue for exchanging information. We hope that you will make this avenue a two-way street by providing feedback….let us know what you’d like to hear about, events that we can publicize, or if you have any questions or comments about our projects.
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The 5-Year Plan
by Tracy Rackensperger
Recently, the AAC-RERC established activities to be conducted within the next five years regarding access. These activities fall into five major themes: improving the availability of AAC to a more diverse population, meeting the demands of users in today’s society, enhancing AAC usability and performance, improving access methods to AAC technology, and promoting better compatibility of AAC and common technologies.
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Specialized AAC Vocabulary
by Johana Swartz
In order to be successful in adult roles, such as work or marriage, people need tobe able to “talk the talk.” That is, they need to know how to use words that apply to specific contexts. In marriage and other personal relationships, certain words inevitably come up in conversation: date, single, fiancée, partner, sex, pregnancy, intimacy, privacy, birth control. Adults who communicate with devices that contain stored vocabulary will want such words available in their devices for easy access, so that they, too, can “talk the talk.”
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Updates to the Medicare Funding Section of our Website
Did you know that Medicare will pay for AAC devices and services? If you are interested in learning more about the guidelines for Medicare funding of AAC technologies, visit the updated Medicare section of our website.
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Announcing.....
Want to know what's new in our world? Check out what we've recently published, posted, produced, and participated in.
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What's happening?
There’s always something going on in the fields of communication disorders and assistive technology. Check out some of the upcoming events. If you know of others, please let us know so that we can help spread the word.
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On the road again
AAC-RERC partners and staff are gearing up for a busy October as they prepare to lead numerous sessions at ISAAC 2004. The Center’s activities will be presented through instructional courses, research symposiums, mini-seminars, videotapes, traditional presentation, and poster sessions. The 2004 international conference is scheduled for October 4 – 12 in Natal–RN, Brazil.
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Tracy's Story
by David McNaughton
Tracy Rackensperger is a determined young woman with a bachelor's degree in radio-television and a master's degree in communication. She also has cerebral palsy, which significantly impairs her motor skills and speech intelligibility. Tracy uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to interact with other people. While her disability has at times made completing her academic activities and her search for employment more challenging, Tracy has always been interested in using her knowledge of disability resources and strategies to assist others.
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2004: A CSUN Odyssey
by Johana Swartz
Disneyland faced stiff competition when 4000 people from all over the world journeyed to Los Angeles for the March 2004 California State University-Northridge “Technology and Persons with Disabilities” Conference (CSUN 2004). The record number of attendees found six days bustling with excitement at the Los Angeles International Airport Hilton and Marriott. Like Disneyland, CSUN 2004 offers a dazzling array of attractions that kept all stakeholders busy, no matter whether their involvement in assistive technology is as people who rely on it, develop it, provide technological service and support, or anything else.
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From the editor
Just wanted to introduce myself as the eNews editor and let you know that if you have any comments, suggestion, or items that you’d like to see in eNews, please feel free to send them to me. --Mitzi
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