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BUILD AAC
ISAAC BUILD Project
Chair: Erna Alant, ISAAC President-elect
An estimated 10% of the world’s population experiences some form of disability. This means 650 million people – of whom 200 million are children (WHO, 2009) – are living with a disability. According to the United Nations (2009) almost 80% of all persons with disability live in rural areas in developing countries. The need for AAC around the world is overwhelming.
The BUILD Project supports ISAAC members or interested parties who work in isolated areas as they promote the use of AAC, to ensure communication for those who have complex communication needs. The BUILD mission is to promote the use of AAC in emerging countries and to focus on developing countries, as well as those not classified as “developing” in fiscal terms but with very limited or no infrastructure for AAC intervention.
BUILD’s activities are divided among sub-committees focusing on Membership, Supporting AAC Intervention in Specific Regions and AAC Resources on the Website. A folder for each one (see below), features information related to that sub-committee’s specific objectives and current activities.
The following outline of the broad variety of BUILD activities reflects the active involvement of many ISAAC members. We sincerely appreciate your time and effort!
Sub-committee on Membership – Juan Bornman, (South Africa), Chair
The goal of this sub-committee is to help all ISAAC members, whether they come from developing or developed countries, to promote the use of AAC and to encourage people to become members of ISAAC. This can be accomplished through such ISAAC programs as Sponsored Membership and the Five & Five Program. For more information, click here.
Sub-committee on Supporting AAC Intervention in Specific Regions – Usha Dalvi, (India), Chair.
The objectives of this sub-committee are to provide support for AAC groups in specific regions by increasing awareness of AAC, creating a directory of national and international AAC service providers, and supporting centres and individuals in their local endeavours (conferences, etc.).
Sub-committee on AAC Resources on the Website – Sarah Yong,
(Singapore), Chair
The goal of this sub-committee is to develop resources for the AAC community that are easily accessible through the ISAAC website, to encourage mutual sharing of information between individuals who are interested in AAC, and to encourage the development of links and networking within the AAC community.
How can you help?
We would like you to become involved in this project – in any way you can! You are welcome to contact Erna Alant, Juan Bornman, Usha Dalvi, or Sarah Yong to share your ideas and become involved. We look forward to your emails!
Be part of ISAACEM!
The ISAACEM mailing list server is the communication means through which those involved in the project are able to communicate and support each other. Please ensure you are part of ISAACEM to facilitate your participation in this project. Anyone can join. Once you have signed up, you can send emails to the list's address and they will be automatically distributed to all the people on the list. You will receive replies and other discussion topics that others send by email through ISAACEM.
To join ISAACEM:
Send an email with your first and last name as well as your email address to Liza Siefe. If it's a general email address for an organization rather than a personal email address, please use the organization's name. You will then be added to the ISAACEM list and you will receive a “welcome” email.
