David R. Beukelman, Ph.D is the Barkley Professor of Communication Disorders at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Director of Research and Education of the Communication Disorders Division, Munroe/Meyer Institute of Genetics and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, A research partner in the Rehabilitation Engineering and Research Center in Augmentative and Alternative Communication, and a senior researcher in the Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering at the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital. With Pat Mirenda, he co-authored the textbook, Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Management of Severe Communication Disorders in Children and Adults. He served as editor of the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Journal for four years.

Janice Light, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Communication Disorders at the Pennsylvania State University. She is actively involved in research, personnel preparation, and service delivery in the area of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Her primary interest has been furthering understanding of the development of communicative competence and self-determination by individuals who require AAC.

Dr. Light is the principal investigator on several federally-funded research grants to improve outcomes for individuals who have significant communication disabilities through the use of augmentative and alternative communication. She is one of the project directors in the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (AAC-RERC), a virtual research consortium funded by the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

In 1996, Dr. Light was recognized as the Don Johnston Distinguished Lecturer by the International Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication for her leadership in the AAC field. In 1999, she received the Dorothy Jones Barnes Outstanding Teaching Award at the Pennsylvania State University.

Laura J. Ball, Ph.D.,is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at East Carolina University. Dr. Ball completed her doctoral degree at the University of Nebraska with research interests in AAC and motor speech disorders. Dr. Ball has more than 25 years' clinical experience and is the author of numerous publications on topics related to AAC, dysarthria, and apraxia.

Dr. Fager is the Director of the Communication Center in the Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering. Dr. Fager specializes in assistive technology/augmentative communication for adults with acquired and degenerative neurologic conditions such as traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. Her research has focused on the evaluation of new and emerging assistive technologies for individuals with severe physical impairments.

Dr. Garrett is currently a full-time clinician and director of an Augmentative Communication pediatric evaluation center at The Children's Institute in Pittsburgh, PA, where she works with children and young adults who have complex communication needs. She previously had full-time academic appointments at Duquesne University and the University of Nebraska, where she conducted clinical, research, and teaching activities in the areas of aphasia, brain injury, and AAC.

Dr. Hanson earned her doctorate at the University of Nebraskaâ€"Lincoln and her MS at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research is in augmentative and alternative communication and motor speech disorders at the University of South Dakota. Her clinical practice, supervision, and service focus on providing AAC services for people with complex communication needs across the life span.

Julia M. King, Ph.D., Professor in the School of Communication Disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She has published articles and chapters on supporting communication and AAC intervention for adults with chronic aphasia and adults with primary progressive aphasia. Her research, clinical, and teaching interests are related to neurogenic communication impairments and AAC intervention.

Dr. Lasker has published numerous papers and chapters related to assessment and treatment of adults living with acquired neurogenic disorders who may benefit from AAC. Her research has explored issues pertaining to AAC assessment protocols, context-based intervention, partner training, and the acceptance of AAC approaches by adults with severe communication disorders and their communication partners. She has presented nationally and internationally on these topics.

David B. McNaughton, Ph.D., is a professor of education at The Pennsylvania State University. He teaches coursework in augmentative communication and assistive technology and collaboration skills for working with parents and educational team members. Dr. McNaughton's research interests include literacy instruction for individuals who use AAC and supports to employment for individuals with severe disabilities. He is a partner in the Rehabilitation Engineering and Research Center in Communication Enhancement (AAC-RERC), funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

Dr. Nordness is the Director of the Speech-Language Pathology Department at Munroe-Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Nordness earned her doctorate in communication disorders from the University of Nebraskaâ€' Lincoln. Her research and clinical interests involve motor speech disorders and AAC across the lifespan. She leads the speech-language pathology services for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

• Proposed Annotated Table of Contents
• DRAFT 7-17-17
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication
• 5th Edition
• PART I People who require Augmentative and Alternative Communication
• Overview of people with complex communication needs who benefit from AAC and their experiences, introduction to AAC systems, overview of AAC assessment and intervention
• People who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication
• Formerly Chapter 1 - updated and revised
• Provides an overview of individuals with complex communication needs and their experiences, including their needs, skills, disabilities, cultural and linguistic diversity, etc.; the purposes of communication; the breadth of communication modalities (including Internet, social media, as well as face to face and written communication); an overview of AAC systems including key terms; and the knowledge, judgment and skills required for communicative competence; importance of advocacy
• AAC Assessment
• Formerly Chapters 5 & 6 -combination of former chapters 5 & 6 updated and revised
• Provides an overview of the principles of assessment including assessment teams, approaches to assessment, assessment domains and tools, including the assessment of communication needs /participation patterns of the individual with CCN, his/her skills (seating and positioning, motor skills, vision and hearing, expressive communication, receptive language, symbol representation, literacy, cognitive /linguistic organization), partner and environmental supports, and opportunity barriers that limit communication of individuals with CCN; also discusses issues of diversity and culturally competent assessment.
• Case examples of AAC assessment with a child and an adult
• Overview of intervention to build communicative competence
• Formerly chapter 7 -updated and revised
• Provides an overview of AAC intervention with emphasis on a two-pronged approach to address the needs and skills of the individual with CCN (selection and customization of AAC systems, instruction in linguistic, operational, social, and strategic skills to build communicative competence) and the family / other communication partners (instruction in interaction strategies to support communication and in AAC systems). Includes discussion of goal setting and intervention approaches with case examples of a child and an adult with CCN to illustrate. Also discusses evaluation of intervention effectiveness and the importance of advocacy.
• Working with families and other communication partners
• New chapter Includes discussion of the importance of consumer / family centered services; professional skills required to deliver consumer / family centered services; approaches to fostering consumer and family involvement; and approaches to teaching families /partners to support the communication of individuals with CCN
• Case examples of a consumer /family centered services for a child and an adult with CCN to illustrate key principles
• PART II Augmentative and Alternative Communication Systems
• Importance of multimodal communication including unaided and aided systems; introduction to the components of AAC systems (i.e., vocabulary / messages, representation, organization and layout, selection /production techniques, output); selection, customization, and integration of AAC systems
• Vocabulary selection
• Message management
• Formerly Chapter 2 - updated and revised
• Discusses the importance of vocabulary selection as a key component of AAC intervention; factors that impact vocabulary needs; types of vocabulary; core vocabulary approaches (strengths and limitations); vocabulary selection tools; validation of vocabulary; and ongoing maintenance /update of vocabulary. Highlights the importance of cultural and linguistic considerations /diversity
• Case examples of vocabulary selection for a child and adult with CCN to illustrate key principles
• Representation of vocabulary /Organization and layout
• Formerly Chapter 3 & part of Chapter 4 -updated and revised
• Discusses components of AAC systems; includes an overview of unaided and aided symbols/ representations, organization of aided AAC systems, and layout of AAC displays (e.g., grid displays, visual scene displays, video VSDs) as well as word / message codes & prediction
• Selection /Production Techniques, Alternative Access, and Output
• Formerly Chapter 4 - updated and revised
• Provides an overview of selection /production techniques, alternative access, and the customization of these techniques to meet the needs of individuals with CCN (e.g., direct selection, scanning, multimodal); also provides an overview of output including synthesized and digitized speech, print output, multimedia output (photos, symbols, video), etc.
• Selection, customization, and integration of AAC systems
• New chapter
• Includes discussion of the importance of multimodal communication, framework for selecting and customizing AAC systems driven by the needs and skills of the individual and his /her partners, customization of AAC systems, AAC systems as tools and the need for skill instruction to support their use; highlights the importance of considering cultural /linguistic needs /diversity
• Case examples of the selection, customization, and integration of AAC systems for a child and adult with CCN to illustrate key principles
• PART III Augmentative and Alternative Communication Interventions for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
• Intervention for children and adults with developmental disabilities who require AAC including intervention to build language and communication skills with those who are preintentional, intentional but not symbolic, developing early symbolic skills, and developing more advanced language skills; intervention to build literacy skills; intervention to maximize participation in education, family life, community living, employment, and medical care.
• AAC Intervention for People with Developmental Disabilities
• Formerly Chapter 8 - updated and revised
• Provides an overview of a range of developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, intellectual /developmental disabilities; discusses special considerations for AAC intervention; discusses considerations across the life span as well as issues of cultural and linguistic diversity
• Case examples to illustrate key principles
• Intervention to supporting participation and communication for beginning communicators
• Formerly Chapter 9- updated and revised
• Defines beginning communicators and provides an overview of AAC intervention to support the participation of beginning communicators including developmentally appropriate AAC systems, targeted skills, and partner strategies.
• Case examples of beginning communicators (e.g., a young child and an adult with severe disabilities) to illustrate key principles
• Intervention to build more advanced language and communication skills
• Formerly Chapters 10 & 11 - updated and combined into one chapter
• Discusses the process of language development for individuals with developmental disabilities with CCN, including pragmatic, semantic, syntactic and morphological development; provides an overview of AAC interventions to build more advanced language and communication skills including appropriate AAC systems, skill development, and partner strategies /supports
• Case example to illustrate key principles
• Literacy Intervention for Individuals who require AAC
• Formerly Chapter 12 - updated and revised
• Provides an overview of the importance of literacy development; factors that impact literacy development; interventions to support the development of emergent literacy skills; interventions to support the development of conventional literacy skills (basic and advanced skills); assistive technologies to support literacy
• Case examples of a child at the early stages of literacy learning and of an adolescent /adult developing advanced literacy skills
• Participation in Education, Employment, and Community for Individuals who require AAC
• New chapter to replace former Chapter 13
• Discusses the WHO ICF /participation model; intervention to support the participation of individuals who have developmental disabilities and CCN in society including education, family, community, leisure, medical care, employment, and volunteer activities.
• PART IV Augmentative and Alternative Communication Interventions for Individuals with Acquired Disabilities
• Intervention for individuals with acquired disabilities who benefit from AAC, including those with acquired motor impairments, severe aphasia and apraxia of speech, degenerative cognitive and linguistic disorders, and traumatic brain injury as well as issues of patient-provider care in medical settings. Includes consideration of issues of cultural and linguistic diversity.
• Adults with Acquired Physical Conditions (with Laura Ball)
• Formerly Chapter 14 - updated and revised
• Provides an overview of a range of acquired physical disabilities, including ALS, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's; discusses special considerations for AAC intervention
• Case examples to illustrate key principles
• Adults with Severe Aphasia and Apraxia of Speech (Kathryn Garrett and Joanne Lasker)
• Formerly Chapter 15- updated and revised
• Provides an overview of AAC intervention for adults with severe aphasia including partner-dependent communicators, transitional communicators, and independent communicators as well as specific need communicators; discusses special considerations for AAC...