RERC on AAC

Development

The development projects of the RERC on AAC  will develop innovative engineering solutions to address the communication barriers faced by individuals with complex communication needs. These new AAC interventions and technologies will reduce physical, cognitive, and linguistic burdens, and increase participation in education, employment, healthcare, and community living.

D1: Access Assistant Software to Improve Alternative Access Services

  • Team Leaders: Heidi Koester, Susan Fager
  • AAC Consumer Team: Wiley, Cuttlers, Rogge

D2: Smart Select: a new switch access method

  • Team Leaders: John Brumberg, Susan Fager, Heidi Koester,
  • AAC Consumer Team: Cuttlers, Rogge

D3: mTraining in AAC for Communication Partners

  • Team Leaders: Janice Light, David McNaughton, Susan Fager, Jessica Gormley
  • AAC Consumer Team: Klein, Nazareth, Larson

Recent Publications and Presentation

The first word in accessibility is “access” (Regan, 2025)

Patrick Regan (2025) is President-Elect of USSAAC, and he also plays leadership roles in ISAAC, and in outreach programs for the Bridge School. Patrick experiences Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and has used a wide variety of AAC to communicate. In this paper, he describes “access challenges that I have experienced as someone who uses AAC, how my team and I have resolved them, and what challenges I face now.”

Now free at the AAC journal
https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2025.2513912

Other recent activity

Conferences

Recent

ASHA (2024) handouts and virtual posters

ATIA (2025) handouts

Upcoming

ASHA 2025

 

 

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The contents of this website were developed 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.