Open day

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Open day
Martin Pistorius and Alecia Samuels 30 March 2006
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What Is Augmentative And Alternative
Communication?

• The use of less frequently used means or modes
  of communication to facilitate the functioning of
  people with little or no functional speech in
  society

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Who Can Benefit From AAC?

• Persons with little or no speech e.g.
• severe mental or physical disabilities
• multiple disabilities

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Who Can Benefit From AAC?

• Persons with little or no speech e.g.
• severe mental or physical disabilities
• congenital disorders e.g. CP, Syndromes
• acquired disorders e.g. stroke, Parkinson's
  disease and motor neuron disease.

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Who Can Benefit From AAC?

• Persons with little or no speech e.g.
• severe mental or physical disabilities
• multiple disabilities
• congenital disorders e.g. CP, Syndromes
• acquired disorders e.g. stroke, Parkinson's
  disease and motor neuron disease.

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Why AAC?

• Communication is a human right
• THAT a person communicates is more important than
  HOW he communicates
• AAC provides a person with a means to communicate
  and can also facilitate speech development
• AAC can facilitate entrance in to literacy
• AAC facilitates interactions and greater
  independence
• AAC provides access to different communication
  contexts and partners

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AAC Classification
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Unaided Systems
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AIDED SYSTEMS

• Symbols used on aided systems are perceptually
  graded
• Real objects Least
  Difficult
• Miniatures
• Parts of objects / associated objects
• Photographs
• Pictures
• Line drawings
• Traditional Orthography Most
  Difficult

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Technology
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Non Dedicated Devices
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Accessing AAC systems
Direct selection
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Alternative - Direct selection
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CAAC ACTIVITIES
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Our mission

• We impact on the lives of individuals and
  families by multi-professional training and
  research in
• AAC and severe disabilities
• Early childhood intervention
• Technologies for communication
• - Policy implementation

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Core Focus Areas
Assistive Technology
Research
Multi-professional team
Informal Training
Consultations
Formal Training
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Contact us!!! ?
www.caac.up.ac.za
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
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Crushing the personalities of speechless
individuals is very easy just make it
impossible for them to communicate
freely Crossley McDonald, 1984, p.142