Managing Crumbs and Chaos: AAC, Emotion and Connection

Presented by Georgia Cranko

Webinar overview 

AAC Awareness Month is celebrated around the world each October. The goal is to raise awareness of AAC and the different ways in which people communicate. ISAAC AAC Awareness Month 2026 theme is AAC in Everyday Life: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond. 

This webinar explores being nonverbal, emotional literacy, and what happens to communication and connection when emotions become challening to manage.

Georgia is a firm believer in talking things through to create shared understanding. One of the things they are beginning to understand is that this is not always possible in the moment. Strong emotions can leave little capacity to find words, construct a message, and engage with another person. At other times, the effort of communicating can leave little room to work out what is actually being felt. There are rare moments when things slow down enough for both to happen together. Recognising when that is possible, and when it is not, is critical. Sometimes that gets messy. Someone might shut down, lash out, or have what looks like a tantrum. Despite everyone's best intentions, it can be easier to focus on the behaviour than recognise someone who may not yet be able to process what is happening and communicate it at the same time. Expecting an explanation before that processing has happened can make things harder.

For an AAC user, being given time to process, being believed, and having an emotional experience recognised are forms of validation. They can also nurture relationships where people become better at understanding themselves and each other. It is about learning how to understand each other, repair things when they go wrong, and maintain connection through difficult moments too. Drawing on Georgia's lived experience, relevant research (including aspects of neurology), and strategies they are still learning and developing, the webinar will also consider how medical and care settings can unintentionally make communication, emotional processing, and connection harder.

Target audience

AAC users, support workers, allied health professionals, families, teachers, education assistants. 

Webinar details 

• This is a LIVE 60-minute webinar, held online via Zoom
• If you have a question for Georgia, you can ask it in the registration form or during Q & A in the live session, if time permits 
• A recording will be available for all attendees. If you do not wish to have your audio or video recorded, please keep your camera off and microphone on mute

Webinar date

Monday 19 October 2026 

Webinar start times

VIC/NSW/ACT/TAS: 12pm 

QLD: 11am

SA: 11:30am

NT: 10:30am

WA: 9am 

Presenter

Georgia Cranko is a gender queer disabled artist, writer and activist. They are Sydney born and bred and live and work on the land of the Wurundjeri Woi wurrung people in Melbourne. They majored in Gender Studies as part of a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Sydney, graduating in 2018. They write articles alongside their artistic and political work, using cultural analysis and social theory to make sense of the world and shape their writing, politics, and sense of identity. Georgia communicates through finger spelling using an idiosyncratic alphabet and an array of rudimentary text to speech devices. They centre unashamed truth telling in everything they write and make, using narrative across art, journalism, and political work to expose ingrained prejudice and push back against prescriptive social ideologies, asserting meaning on their own terms in a world that often refuses to listen. They have run training, spoken publicly, worked on research projects, and collaborated across disability, media, and advocacy spaces. They work as a political researcher and assistant producer with ABC News (Aus). 

Disclosure

AGOSCI is grateful to Georgia for presenting this webinar and sharing their lived experience with the AGOSCI community. 

AGOSCI acknowledges that differing views and opinions may be discussed throughout this webinar and may not always align with AGOSCI philosophies.

AGOSCI is an independent body and does not endorse individual products or brands.

AGOSCI acknowledges the presence and contributions of all suppliers and resources available in the Australian and International AAC marketplace.

Registration and cancellation policy

Updated May 2025

Registration is only confirmed upon full payment of fee. Please note total ticket price will include an additional $0.69 + 0.7% per transaction service fee. To access the discounted rate for members you must be logged into your AGOSCI member account prior to registration. 

• 100% refund minus the service fee ($0.69 + 0.7% per transaction) until 60 days before event
• 50% refund minus the service fee ($0.69 + 0.7% per transaction) between 8-59 days before event
• No refunds within 0-7 days before event start date
• If the event is cancelled by AGOSCI you will receive 100% refund including the service fee ($0.69 + 0.7% per transaction)

Applications for registrations are subject to final approval by AGOSCI to ensure fair and equal access to events across organisations. Waitlist registrations will be taken upon all positions being filled.