Hi everyone,

Here is the link to my blog comment:

http://hastac.org/blogs/merylalper/2013/02/14/connecting-disability-%E2%80%9Cconnected-learning%E2%80%9D#comment-21708

I think one may need a HASTAC account and be signed in to view comments, so I have included it below.

Thanks!

Haydee

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Thank you so much for your post.  It is an excellent point, that when considering access it is important to account for socioeconomic barriers in obtaining assistive technology: "The price range then for AAC can be mere cents or tens of thousands of dollars."  The advent of the iPad provided programs and parents with less economic resources a cheaper, more efficient, portable, and versatile device for non-verbal communicators.  I very much appreciate how this post framed the discussion around the difficulties faced by “non-dominant youth.”  The ending points on the importance of communities of practice addresses possible solutions to the isolation and lack of role-models issues encountered by “non-dominant youth.”  Access in this post accounts for the material and cultural effects of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices interfacing with or using the body.

The discussion around the panel "The Mentoring Program: Adult AAC Users Mentoring Child AAC Users,” is fascinating.  Considering the points of pairing based on the same AAC device and the “takeaway” of "perspective taking" provides a material dimension in considering the effectiveness of communication.  The nuance between two people using the same AAC device and engaging in perspective taking parallels the complexities of two people of differing subjectivities using the same verbal language.  For instance, the word "advocacy" may contain different connotations for a lawyer than an academic.

I find it extremely interesting and troubling that the language surrounding the goals of assistive technology emphasizes competition, contribution, functionality, and productivity.  All of these terms convey that the body worth technological intervention is the laboring body.  Thank you for engaging with the social aspects of educational and vocational uses of assistive technology.