Proposals appropriate for this topic area include those that focus on AAC across the lifespan, and are inclusive of individuals who have complex communication needs secondary to a wide range of developmental and acquired conditions. Sessions in the AAC topic area include ways in which existing and emerging technologies, strategies, and techniques are used to enhance the language development, quality of life, and independence of individuals with significant communication challenges across service delivery settings.

Proposals describing clinical advances, professional issues, practice barriers and solutions, assessment and intervention research, theoretical models, and effective collaboration, are encouraged. Interprofessional education, practice, and/or research that addresses the implementation of interprofessional competencies within curricular or practice models or the evaluation of collaborative care outcomes specific to AAC should be included in this topic area.  

Research

• Dissemination of AAC research, including issues such as paywall-free publication and use of plain language
• Issues related to consent and assent by people who use AAC
• Mentoring and support for new AAC researchers
• Models and programs for training AAC researchers
• Role of people with complex communication needs in identifying research priorities and guiding the development of research studies
• Strengthening the research base in AAC
• Support for and experiences with research collaborations and open data sets
• Translational, applied, or implementation research related to AAC

Professional Education

• AAC assessment models, strategies, and tools
• Issues related to consent and assent by people who use AAC
• Training, mentoring, and support for AAC service providers and researchers
• Implementation science and AAC
• AAC and multilingualism and multiculturalism
• Equity, diversity, and inclusivity as they relate to AAC 
• Funding, administrative, and regulatory issues related to AAC
• Emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, and resilience as they relate to AAC 
• Employment-related issues for people who use AAC
• Ethical issues related to AAC, including privacy and confidentiality
• AAC system features (e.g.,modalities, output, access methods, language representation, voice)
• Language representation (graphic symbols, manual signs, etc.)
• Language and literacy development related to AAC
• Palliative care issues, including end of life decision making 
• Partner training, coaching, and setting strategies that promote AAC competence
• Providing AAC services in telehealth and telepractice
• Quality of life and psychosocial factors for people with AAC needs
• Technology (development, devices/software) related to AAC

Related Topics

Proposals that include but do not focus on AAC should be submitted to the primary topic area. See the following examples:

• Proposals focusing on the use of telepractice that include technology-based approaches and outcomes at the system level should be submitted to the Telepractice topic area unless they focus specifically on the application of this information to AAC.
• Proposals focusing on cultural considerations, health disparities, and access to services should be submitted to the Equity and Cultural–Linguistic Diversity topic area unless they focus specifically on the application of this information to AAC.
• Proposals with aims/goals/research questions related to autism/autistic people that happen to use AAC should be submitted to Considerations for Autistic Populations. Proposals about AAC with (some/all) participants who happen to be autistic should be submitted to AAC.