Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication

The Centre for AAC at the University of Pretoria aims to provide research and training to improve the lives of persons with severe communication disabilities and their families. The Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication was founded in 1990 by Prof Erna Alant in conjunction with Prof Lyle Lloyd from the USA. The impetus to start the Centre came from concerned parents requesting bett

er and more coordinated service delivery for their children with severe disabilities and little or no functional speech. The activities of the Centre quickly expanded from direct service delivery to training and education through degree and non-degree courses. Research was also added to provide evidence-based services appropriate to the South African context, and to mobilise support for persons with little or no functional speech by providing credible evidence of the challenges they face. Today the Centre functions as a postgraduate educational entity at the University of Pretoria, while also maintaining the status of a non-profit organisation, owing to various community projects and commitments. Most of the CAAC main activities are focussed on research, teaching and training is the fields of Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Early Childhood Intervention. The training are conducted in various settings including preschool, primary and secondary levels as well as other institutions and health care settings to support inclusion of children and adults with severe disabilities into the educational, health and employment context. Activities focus on training as well as material and technology development to support inclusion of children and adults with severe communication disabilities into communities. Training

In the over 30 years of the existence of the CAAC, staff has trained over 10 000 persons who use AAC, parents, teachers, and therapists in enhancing communication with individuals with severe disabilities. Follow-up visits to contexts confirmed that the CAAC has reached over eight thousand children, youth, and adults through training of families, community leaders and other professionals. Activities include training in communities as well as five post-graduate programs in the fields of early childhood intervention, severe disabilities and AAC. Leadership and advocacy

The CAAC recently embarked on a national project to assist youth with severe disabilities in getting access to communication and information technology, called the Fofa Project. This project assists young people to "speak for themselves" and facilitate their access to employment. Research

The CAAC staff and students are engaged on an ongoing basis in research in the fields of AAC, severe disabilities and early childhood intervention.