The reach of my voice

The Reach of my Voice: Towards Autonomy

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Presented By: Dr Kathy Howery

This event registration gives you access to both Webinars 1 and 2 in this series

 

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. 

What can we learn from the lived experiences of those who use AAC? How can their experiences, words and knowledge inform our AAC practice and teaching?

You will leave with greater understanding and practical strategies to extend the reach of every individual’s voice towards autonomy – so come along and join us!

Registrations

This live event was held in July 2020. Recorded access is now available via payment only. If you paid for the live event, you will be granted access to the recording automatically. 

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:

  1. 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.
  2. Gain an understanding of the impact of time and timing on AAC users (Howery, 2017; Higginbotham & Wilkins, 1999), with a focus on how to address these issues in ways that are both realistic and practical.

Target Audience

This webinar series recording 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.