ISAAC

🐣 Don’t miss out on Early Bird Pricing! Learn more and register at: conference.isaac-online.org/forum/ #ISAACInternationalForum #AAC #AugComm #AugmentativeAndAlternativeCommunication #CommunicationTools

Leading experts in the field of AAC, including John Costello, Kathryn Drager, Karen Erickson, Lori Geist, and Janice Light are confirmed with more speakers and sessions to be added soon! 👀

🎉 Registration is NOW OPEN for ISAAC's first in-person ISAAC International Forum! 💬 This two-day pre-conference held in collaboration with ATAAC, will take place October 19–20, just before the ATAAC Conference in Zagreb, Croatia.

Learn more and register at ataac.eu #AAC #AugComm #AugmentativeAndAlternativeCommunication #CommunicationTools #AACSLP

Attend both the ISAAC International Forum AND the Assistive Technology and Communication (ATAAC) Conference in Zagreb, Croatia this October! ATAAC 2026 introduces a new format with two parallel events within one conference - the ATAAC Professional and the Scientific Conference.

Share your AAC story! ISAAC invites people who use AAC to meet online for informal chats.  The next PWUAAC Online Chat is on Monday, May 18 at 2PM EDT. This chat will discuss summer activities and ice cream flavours! Join the chat here: isaac-online.org/english/news/p… #AAC #AugComm

Submissions for abstracts are now open. For more information about theme and content areas, guidelines, and dates, visit: isaac-online.org/english/news/i… #AAC #AugComm #AugmentativeAndAlternativeCommunication #CommunicationTools #AACSLP

We are pleased to announce the ISAAC Virtual Conference 2026 taking place on November 10-11, 2026! 🚀✨ This year’s conference theme, “AAC in Everyday Life: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond,” will explore practical and forward-looking approaches to advancing the field of AAC.

Learn more and register here: isaac-online.org/english/webina… #AAC #USSAAC #AugComm #AugmentativeAndAlternativeCommunication #CommunicationTools

Join us on May 27 from 7-8PM EDT for the USSAAC webinar “Using Picture Books to Enhance Communication Skills for Students who use AAC” presented by Jane L. Gebers and Betsy Corporale. Please note: Only the first 150 attendees to log into the webinar will be guaranteed spots.

Please note: Only the first 150 attendees to log into the webinar will be guaranteed spots.  Learn more and register here: isaac-online.org/english/webina… #AAC #AugComm #AugmentativeAndAlternativeCommunication #CommunicationTools #AACWebinar

Join us on May 26 at 12:00 pm EDT for a webinar on “Creating Empowering Environments: Safeguarding children, youth, and adults who need AAC from victimization in institutional settings” presented by Dr. Juan Bornman, Dr. Ingeborg Thummel and Dr. Kathy Look Howery.

CommunicationFIRST Program Associate Ren Koloni shares their experience in graduate school as a multiply #disabled #AACUser. Ren discusses #access for our community and their research on #ableism in medical settings: lnk.to/RenGrad. [Image: Headshot of Ren Koloni accompanied by a quote. It says, “We are bursting with curiosity, opinions, thoughts, ideas, and wisdom. We enrich the exchange of knowledge. Without us, the conversation will always be missing something crucial.” Ren’s name and the CommunicationFIRST logo are below their quote.]

We attended the National Federation of the Blind’s tenBroek Disability Law Symposium. Our Director of Policy & Legal Advocacy Sam Crane presented on #SupportedDecisionMaking alongside #AACUser and SDM advocate Otto Lana, DREDF’s Ayesha Elaine Lewis, and the ACLU’s Britt Belwine. [Image: At the tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, Sam Crane, Ayesha Elaine Lewis, and Britt Belwine stand by fellow presenter Otto Lana who is seated at a conference table with his AAC device in front of him.]

In our series about AAC users in higher ed, Ren Koloni discusses their work on #disability & racial justice, Glenda Watson Hyatt discusses her thesis on employment discrimination of AAC users, & Lateef McLeod shares about his dissertation on peer supports. lnk.to/aachred [Image: Graphic with a quote attributed to Ren Koloni: “It’s not a feature that makes a program more or less accessible. It’s an attitude.” The CommunicationFIRST logo appears under Ren’s name.]

People with speech-related disabilities are a diverse community with a lot to say. We communicate with #AAC, including low-tech and high-tech tools and with support people like revoicers. Learn from us in our own words: watch All Our Voices. lnk.to/allvces [Video: First wearing a sweatshirt that says, “Cal,” and then wearing a suit, Lateef McLeod types. He uses his speech generating device (SGD) to say, “I want people to know that how I communicate is not strange, weird, or outlandish, but it is very straightforward. I communicate typing into an AAC app that is on my laptop, iPad, and iPhone, and then the app speaks for me.”]

The next chat is on Monday, April 20 @ 2PM! Join at isaac-online.org/english/news/p…

Janice Light, Ph.D., is Professor and Hintz Family Endowed Chair Emerita at Penn State University. She is currently the Principal Investigator of The RERC on AAC.

Janice Light will be presenting at the ISAAC International Forum taking place October 19–20 in Zagreb, Croatia before the ATAAC Conference. Dr. Light’s presentation is titled “Building language and communication skills with children who need or use AAC.”

Join us on April 22 from 7-8PM EDT for the USSAAC webinar “Amplifying Voices: Caregiver Strategies for Supporting AAC Users” presented by Tracy Rackensperger, David McNaughton, Lance McLemore and Hannah Springfield. Register at: isaac-online.org/english/webina…