The Reach of my Voice: Towards Autonomy
AGOSCI Online Workshop Number 1
Presented By:
Dr Kathy Howery
This event registration gives you access to Webinar #1 Only
Webinar Series Overview
Every person has an individual voice. Every voice is authentic and an expression of our being. This is true for those of us who speak with the voices out of our mouths and for those of us who speak with AAC.
Today, AAC enables communication for people who are unintelligible with their “natural” voice – for children and adults who are “speechless”. AAC enables the ordinary by giving everyone something most humans take utterly for granted – the power of speech. But speech is not taken for granted by AAC users. Their experience of having a voice, a voice that is theirs, a voice that enables (but not quite) the ability to participate in the flow of human conversation is different.
Workshop 1: The Meaning and Reach of Voice
This webinar will draw upon the lived experience of young people who use SGD devices in their daily lives, as well as current research to explore these questions of voice. We will explore what these moments can tell us about how the reach/or not of one’s voice impacts their experience of togetherness, belonging, and in some instance of even being seen. We will explore what we know from the field of AAC, with a strong emphasis on what we have learned from those who know AAC best.
Participants will learn practical strategies for extending the reach of every individual’s voice – ensuring their authentic voice is heard whether they are sitting side by side, across the room, or across the spans of the digital world.
Registrations
This event is available LIVE with interactive Q&A in a workshop style format.
Live and recorded access is via payment only. Paid access for the live event will grant access automatically to the recording, when the recording becomes available (please bear with us as we finalise the editing following the live events).
Please note your Australian timezone for this event:
WA: 9am -11am
QLD/NSW/VIC/TAS: 11am-1pm
NT/SA: 10:30am-12:30pm
Not available for the live event? No problem, an option to register and pay for a recording will become available after these events. Due to editing requirements for privacy/confidentiality, the recording may not be immediately available, but we'll notify when it's ready! You do not need to be registered for the live event, to access the recording.
Learning Outcomes
Drawing upon Kathy's own research into the lived experience of speaking through Speech Generating device and current research in the field of AAC, participants will:
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Explore the meaning of voice in the lives of aided communicators (Howery, 2017; 2018), focusing on how current research can empower practitioners, parents, and aided communicators with practical strategies to extend the reach of every individual’s voice towards autonomy.
Target Audience
This 2 hour online workshop is for everyone who wants every individual with complex communication needs to be heard. This workshop will be relevant and beneficial for people with complex communication needs, teachers, family members, support workers, educators, leadership teams and therapists who work with people with complex communication support needs.
About the Presenter
Dr Kathy Howery received her PhD in Special Education from the University of Alberta in 2017. She is currently an educational consultant and a sessional lecturer at several Universities in Alberta. Her doctoral research drew upon hermeneutic phenomenology to seek to understand what is it like for young people with complex communication needs (CCN) to speak with (or is it with) speech generating devices.
Kathy has presented at scores of educational conferences at both the national and international level including the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) Conference, the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Conference, and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Conference. Kathy has also presented her research in the area of CCN, and in the area of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), at numerous conferences in Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec.
Registration and Cancellation Policy
Registration is only confirmed upon full payment of fee. To access discounted rate for members you must be logged into your AGOSCI member account prior to registration.
Cancellations: Please note, even if you can't attend this event live, your payment will allow you access to the recording online. No cancellation fee will be charged if you're unable to attend the live event but we strongly encourage attendance to receive the full benefit of the live event.
Full refund (minus the 3% non-refundable paypal fee) until 60 days before event. 50% refund between 8-59 days before event. No refunds within 0-7 days of event start date.
