2013 ISAAC Israel Annual Conference for AAC — Presentations

Dr. Kathy Drager lead several sessions at the ISAAC Israel Annual Conference which focused on AAC for young children and beginning communicators (July 8 – 10th, 2013).  [Program]
The International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) works to improve the lives of children and adults who use AAC. ISAAC’s vision is that AAC will be recognized, valued and used throughout the world. ISAAC’s mission is to promote the best possible communication for people with complex communication needs.
Dr. Drager’s presentations included:
> “Considering the Design of AAC Systems for Young Children“:    First, the appeal of current AAC systems was discussed, along with ideas for improving the appeal of systems for young children. Second, a model intended to help guide clinicians, manufacturers, and researchers in the design of aided AAC systems was presented.
> “AAC to Improve Social Interaction and Language Development for Beginning Communicators“:  Aided AAC applications and an interactive intervention strategy was discussed for children and older individuals with developmental disabilities. An intervention utilizing recommended design features for beginning communicators within interactive play and meaningful activities was outlined and presented.
> “Children’s Representations of Early Language Concepts“:  In this session, the results of a research study that investigated young children’s graphic representations of early emerging language concepts was presented. The implications for AAC symbols that better meet the developmental needs of young children with complex communication needs was discussed.