United Kingdom

Patrick Poon 

The United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. A group of disabled young people who have severe communication impairments have come up with their Top Tips on how to make sure they are listened to and consulted with. The teenagers, who use alternative ways of communicating, worked closely with a team of facilitators to write the lyrics to what is a cool musical DVD. 'LISTEN TO ME' - 1Voice Communicating Together Teenage Project can be viewed on You Tube. Copies of the DVD are available from 1Voice for a small donation to cover postage costs.   

UK: Terry Gibson and Michael Reed 

Terry Gibson and her son Michael Reed organized several workshops during October where they and others created AAC materials. Michael Reed, a person who uses AAC, was interviewed by the local media.

UK: Debbie Bissaker 

The Holbrook School created a display to promote communication awareness. Students who rely on AAC used their devices around school.

Cyprus: Eliada Pampoulou 

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and celebrated ISAAC’s International AAC Awareness month with a classroom event. The students discussed AAC and created a PowerPoint presentation of their impressions.

Finland: Kimmo Topi 

Finland was voted the world’s 6^th happiest and 6^th most peaceful country. ISAAC Suomi Finland had two events on October 6^th, in Helsinki and in Tampere. Both events involved approximately 30 people. The Helsinki event was the main event including a 30 year Anniversary Jubilee of Bliss language. The Tampere event was more like arena for partners who work at AAC field.

Argentina: Elena Dal Bo

Argentina, home of the tango and mate tea, boasts a literacy rate of 97%. About 93% of Argentinians are Roman Catholic so it’s not surprising that AAC Awareness events were organized in several schools and in a Church.  Nearly 200 students were involved in school-based activities. Several hundred people attended a Mass and followed with a visual schedule board.

India: Reena Sen 

With an estimated population of 1.12 billion, India is the world’s largest democracy. In Kolkata, International AAC Month was celebrated by Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP) from October 1-8. IICP and ISAAC have had a long and close, two-decade partnership and Dr. Sudha Kaul is President, ISAAC. The events took place in several well reputed educational institutions and included a group of young men and woman who use AAC conducting interactive activities with students.

Sweden: Kerstin Lorstrom 

Sweden ranks in the top five countries with low infant mortality and it ranks very high in regard to life expectancy. In Sweden, an AAC awareness event was held in an 8^th grade classroom where the students learned general information about AAC including a short introduction to Blissymbols. The students used communication displays to ask one another questions and discuss the season of fall. There was a visit from the local newspaper reporter, who wrote an article on the event and took pictures.

United States of America: Tom Reed 

The United States of America has a wide range of geographic features and nearly every type of climate. The USA committee selected five states to hold school-based AAC Awareness Events: Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. USSAAC provided funding for t-shirts and a small stipend for each participating classroom.  The committee compiled resources for the USSAAC website which included a video, list of 10 activities for celebrating AAC Awareness, a .PDF formatted for business cards that share AAC information, as well as a suggested curriculum for classrooms.

Canada: Shelley Deegan 

Canada is a vast country comprised of ten provinces and three territories. In British Columbia, the Premier of the province made an official proclamation announcing Oct. 4^th as “International Awareness Day for Augmentative and Alternative Communication.  Canadian AAC leaders, created a PowerPoint slide show and graphic displays to share with the country’s schools and treatment centers. Articles ran newsletters and local newspapers.

France: Elisabeth Negre and Mary Ann Glicksman

France is the most visited country in the world, welcoming nearly 80 million tourists a year. On October 4^th, the ISAAC Francophone chapter held a day-long regional conference in Paris entitled, “Construire un projet de communication avec signes ET picots”. (Building Communication Supports Using Signs and Pictures) More than 100 people attended who provide services for children and adults who have communication difficulties. Five parents attended, and three of these presented sessions. 

South Africa: Margaret Lilienfeld 

When Archbishop Desmond Tutu called South Africa the “Rainbow Nation,” he could have been referring to the country’s multicultural diversity. On October 1^st, South Africa kicked off ISAAC’s AAC Awareness month with an event involving Communication Pathology students and primary school students. The future Communication Pathology teachers used video and a PowerPoint presentation of a young adult who uses AAC. The primary school learners were introduced to finger spelling and practiced designing a picture symbol communication board.