ISAAC — Singapore chapter

On August 9, 2023, I headed to Botanical Gardens to meet the community at ISAAC — Singapore. The International Society for Alternative Augmentative Communication (ISAAC) was formed in 1983, an institutionalization of a field called “augmentative and alternative communication” that emerged to support individuals for whom “speech is intensely problematic”. Working with non-speaking autistic individuals has taught me that communication is on a hierarchy, with speech at the very top and everything else—gesture, non-speech vocalisations, music even—often not thought of as communication. Having been engaged with AAC research in the US, I was pleased to learn that Singapore had its very own ISAAC chapter. I got to meet everyone in this group which included AAC users, parents, speech therapists, teachers, students, and researchers. It was really wonderful to meet others who shared my interests in AAC, and to have insightful conversations with others involved in this field. I look forward to engaging more with this community!