Want to know what’s new in our world?  Check out what we've recently published, posted, produced, and participated in.

Publications Hot Off the Press

The partners and staff of the AAC-RERC have been busy spreading the word through journal and newsletter articles.  Here’s a list of some of our recent publications.  Check the Pubs & Presentations section our website for a complete bibliography.

•  AAC and Cell Phone Use: One Off-the-Shelf Solution and Some Policy Considerations (Bryen, D.N. & P. Pecunas, Assistive Technologyä, 16(1), 11-17)
• AAC-RERC Writers Brigade Fired Up.  (Schwartz, J., The ConnSENSE Bulletin, 6:1, May 23, 2004)
• An Update on Employment in AAC: How're We Doing? (Blackstone, S. Augmentative Communication News, October 2004)
• Autism and AAC (reviews and demonstrates the use of AAC techniques and technologies with people with autism – Williams, M., Augmentative Communication News)
• Backup plans create havoc for disabled. (Hemphill, J. FresnoBee.com. August 28, 2004.)
• Family acceptance of supplemented speech strategies used by survivors of TBI. (Hanson, E. Beukelman, D., Fager, S., & Ullman, C., The ASHA Leader, 205)
• Love and Marriage (raises issues and discusses the realities of maintaining intimate relationships – Williams, M., Alternatively Speaking)
• Networking Towards Employment (Carey, A., Potts, A. & Bryen, D.N., TASH Journal, 29 (1), 40-52.)
• Speech Supplementation Techniques for Dysarthria:  A Systematic Review (Hanson, E., Yorkston, K. & Beukelman, D., Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology. 12, ix-xxix)
• The Political Process (Williams, M., Alternatively Speaking, October 2004)
• Visual Scene Displays (highlights AAC-RERC partner work using visual scenes instead of traditional grid displays as an AAC interface with beginning communicators, people with aphasia and children with autism – Blackstone, S., Augmentative Communication News)

Augmentative Communication Inc.(ACI), a partner of the AAC-RERC, publishes and distributes Augmentative Communication News (ACN) and Alternatively Speaking (AS). These print newsletters provide the latest information on hot topics in the field, discussion of vital issues for AAC stakeholders and news from the AAC community.  For more information about these publications, visit ACI on the web.


New Products on our Website

Our website is constantly changing.  Visit often to see what’s new.

• We’ve updated the Medicare Funding of AAC Devices section with the most recent guidelines and information.

• Our brochure has been translated into Spanish and Portuguese.  The English, Spanish, and Portuguese versions are available for download from our website.

• We’ve recently updated our Pubs & Presentations section with a running bibliography.
• Clinical Pathway for Communication Changes with ALS .  The most recent PDF version of the "Patient's Clinical Pathway for Communication Changes with ALS" and the "Speech Pathologist's Clinical Pathway for Communication Changes with ALS" can be downloaded from the AAC-RERC website.
• New White Paper on Web Accessibility.  The Institute on Disabilities, a partner of the AAC-RERC, is proud to announce a new white paper and repair tool on Web Accessibility for People who Rely on AAC.

Postings from ACOLUG

What features should communication devices provide you to make better use of cell phones?

What areas of adult life do you feel people who use augmentative communication are denied access to?

What barriers do you face when trying to communicate as individuals with autism or ASD?

Have you ever thought about these questions?  Felt like discussing them?  Through the Augmentative Communication On-Line Users Group (ACOLUG), you can.

ACOLUG is a LISTSERV created to exchange ideas, information, and experiences on augmentative communication by people from all over the world. By using e-mail, people who use augmentative communication and their friends and families discuss issues related to augmentative communication, such as equipment, funding, learning techniques, and supports.  Recently, ACOLUG discussions revolved around: