AAC Learning Center

Educational resources for AAC

How ableism impacts people who use AAC (McLeod, 2024)

by

Lateef McLeod

Dr. Lateef McLeod is building his career as a writer and a scholar. He has earned a BA in English from UC Berkeley and an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. He recently earned his doctorate in Anthropology and Social Change at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He has published three books of poetry and is currently writing a novel. He was in the 2007 and 2016 annual theater performances of Sins Invalid and also in their artist-in-residence performance in 2011 entitled Residence Alien. In 2019 he started a podcast entitled Black Disabled Men Talk. In 2022 he was an award recipient of the Wynn Newhouse Award for his long career as a disabled artist.

Webcast Description

Lateef describes the impact of ableism on his communication and life experiences. This presentation was first made at the Future of AAC Research Summit on May 13, 2024.

Cite as
McLeod, L. (2024, May 13). How ableism impacts people who need and use AAC [Video recording]. Future of AAC Research Summit, Arlington, VA. https://tinyurl.com/AAC-McLeod-2024

(Transcript as pdf)

Video production by Kelsey Steffen (Penn State University)

Additional Resources

Lateef McLeod: Ability Magazine

McLeod, L. (2024) See us – Hear us. [YouTube video]

McLeod, L. (2020) “Why Are You Scared of Me?” from Zoeglossia: Poem of the Week, Aug. 6, 2020

Literacy and AAC

by

Bob Williams

Bob Williams is the Policy Director of CommunicationFIRST, and has advanced the rights and opportunities of children, working age persons and older adults with disabilities for over 40 years by creating community living services, helping to pass the ADA, and administering the federally funded developmental disabilities and independent living networks.

Webcast Description

Bob describes barriers to literacy for people who need and use AAC, and needed actions to address “a nationwide disgrace”.

This presentation was first made at the Future of AAC Research Summit on May 14, 2024.

Please cite as
Williams, B. (2024, May 14). Literacy and AAC. [Webinar]. Future of AAC Research Summit, Arlington, VA. https://tinyurl.com/AAC-Williams-literacy-2024

(Transcript as PDF)

Video production by Dana Patenaude (Penn State University)

Additional Resources

Williams, B. (2024). See us – Hear us. [YouTube video].

Williams, B. (2021). Spelling it out: The ADA and the right to community. [Blogpost]

Williams, B. (2023). Unjustly isolated, silenced, and deprived of literacy and freedom of expression… Remarks to the Office for Civil Rights, US Department of Education by CommunicationFIRST Policy Director Bob Williams.

How ableism impacts people who need and use AAC (Wong, 2024)

by

Alice Wong

Alice Wong (she/her) is a disabled activist, writer, media maker, and consultant. She is a relatively new AAC user and nonspeaking person. Alice is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture. Alice is the editor of Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century, an anthology of essays by disabled people and Disability Visibility: 17 First-Person Stories for Today, an adapted version for young adults. Her debut memoir, Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life, is available now from Vintage Books. Her most recent anthology,  Disability Intimacy, has now been published. Twitter: @SFdirewolf.

Webcast Description

Alice describes the impact of ableism on her communication and life experiences. This presentation was first made at the Future of AAC Research Summit on May 13, 2024.
(Transcript as pdf)

Cite as
Wong, A. (2024, May 13). How ableism impacts people who need and use AAC [Video recording]. https://tinyurl.com/AAC-Wong-2024

Additional Resources

Samuels, E. (2017). Six ways of looking at crip time. Disability Studies Quarterly, 37(3).

Wong, A. (May 20, 2024). Augmentative and alternative communication: How becoming a user changed my relationships. Teen Vogue

Wong, A. (November, 2019) Speech for ASAN Gala

Registering for the AAC Learning Center Moodle

by

 

Registration for the AAC Learning Center Moodle is a 3-step process.

  1. At the home page for the AAC Learning Center Moodle, select the option to register a new account.

A screen capture image of the Home page for AAC Learning Center Moodle

 

2) On the Registration page, provide the requested information. If you register with a non-school email account (e.g., Gmail), you can retain access to your Learning Center account after you graduate.

 

A screen capture image of the Registration page for the AAC Learning Center Moodle

 

3) Check your email for the Registration Confirmation, and click on the link.

A screen capture image of the email message that registrants will receive to confirm registration

Troubleshooting

  • If you do not see the email in your InBox, please check your Spam filter for this message.
    • The message will be from  Admin User (via AAC Learning Center Moodle) noreply@rerconaac-2025.vmhost.psu.edu
  • Also, if the message appears to be “blank”, please use a different email browser. We have been informed that the use of the Apple email client can result in difficulties.

Four key goals of adult life: The role of AAC in supporting self-determination

by


Anthony Arnold (Prentke-Romich Company, RERC on AAC)

Courtney Dobrzynski & David McNaughton (Penn State University)

Webcast Description

This session will describe Anthony’s use of AAC to pursue 4 key goals of adult life

  • have a safe place to live
  • participate in meaningful activities
  • access needed services
  • enjoy friendships and relationships

Additional Resources

 

 

The contents of this website are a joint offering of Penn State University and the RERC on AAC. They were developed, in part, under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90REGE0014) to the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (RERC on AAC). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this website do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
Skip to toolbar