Please join us for a presentation on Video Augmentative & Alternative Communication technologies.

Date:  Thursday, May 5th at 7:00pm

Location: Zoom--link sent after registering

Individuals with disabilities may benefit from support to communicate and participate during daily activities and social interactions. This presentation will discuss video augmentative & alternative communication (AAC) technology (videos with integrated speech output) developed at Penn State University* and the research completed and currently underway to evaluate this technology. Video AAC technology can be used to support communication and participation for students with disabilities in a variety of different contexts, such as:

• Playing with peers (younger students)
• Spending time with peers during leisure/free time (adolescents/young adults)
• Riding public transportation
• Participating in volunteer activities (e.g., stocking shelves at the library)

*The contents of this presentation were developed under grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant numbers 90RE5017 and 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 presentation do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Emily Laubscher is a speech-language pathologist and researcher whose work aims to support children and adults who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), with a particular focus on individuals on the autism spectrum and individuals who are beginning communicators. Emily worked as a speech-language pathologist in the Boston area for eight years prior to returning to school to pursue a Ph.D. at Penn State in 2017. She currently works as the AAC Research and Outreach Coordinator for the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on AAC (RERC on AAC) at Penn State, where she is involved in several research projects aimed at developing and evaluating AAC technologies and interventions for individuals with developmental disabilities. Emily lives in the Boston area with her husband, son, and dog.