Fundamentals of AAC: A Case-Based Approach to Enhancing Communication, Second Edition

Nerissa Hall, PhD, CCC-SLP is cofounder of Commūnicāre, LLC, and the Speech Language and Literacy Center at Tate Behavioral, Inc. Dr. Hall’s love for applied technology started as an undergraduate studying psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she was encouraged to apply for an internship with the speech-language pathologists working for the Department of Developmental Services (DDS). Her volunteer experience turned into a dual major (psychology and communication disorders) and a speech-language pathology assistant position with DDS, where she assumed responsibility for designing and developing lite-tech augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, as well as programming and implementing high-tech speech-generating devices for adults with complex communication needs. Dr. Hall went on to get her master’s and PhD degrees from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her clinical work and experiences, upbringing in Cape Town, South Africa, plus her desire to ensure access to high-quality AAC services irrespective of geographical locale, evolved into her clinical work and research interests focusing on AAC, tele-AAC (AAC service delivery online), and the innovative use and application of current and available technology to support access and enhancement of AAC for people with complex communication needs. During her doctoral program, Dr. Hall cofounded Commūnicāre, LLC (a private practice focusing on AAC), with her mentor and colleague, Hillary Jellison. Together they developed a specialty practice, pioneering innovative AAC assessment, intervention, and consultation work. They extended their reach by incorporating synchronous (real-time) and asynchronous (overtime) telepractice to diversify their methodology and application of clinical services through collaborative research and service delivery. Since graduating, Dr. Hall has continued to grow her practice, merging with behavioral health leaders at Tate Behavioral, where clinical practice is merged with rigorous data collection to systematically explore innovative technologies and refine service delivery outcomes for neurodivergent individuals with complex communication needs, benefiting from AAC. Dr. Hall has presented nationally regarding AAC, tele-AAC, and artificial intelligence (AI). She has served as a LEND Fellow, adjunct faculty at Elms, Cambridge College, and UMass-Amherst. Dr. Hall coedited Tele-AAC: Augmentative and Alternative Communication Through Telepractice and Fundamentals of AAC: A Case-Based Approach to Enhancing Communication, and is passionate about advancing the field to ensure meaningful outcomes for individuals with complex communication needs, those using AAC, and the teams and communities that support them.

Dr. Jenifer Juengling-Sudkamp is a speech-language pathologist who provides augmentative and alternative communication consultations, assessments, and interventions across multiple medical settings to adults with complex communication needs that are often a result of acquired neurodegenerative disorders and/or traumatic brain injury. She has a passion to improve people’s access to AAC consultative, evaluation, and/or interventions and joined a team of talented editors and authors to contribute to the resourceful clinical book, Tele-AAC: Augmentative and Alternative Communication Through Telepractice. Dr. Juengling-Sudkamp is a clinical instructor in the Department of Orthopaedics at Tulane University School of Medicine, where she teaches combined undergraduate and graduate courses in applied neuroscience that are specific to the clinical management of athletes with sport-related brain injuries. She also served as the program manager and a consultant for the Sport Concussion Clinic, the NFL Players Association’s Trust Brain and Body, and the Milestone Wellness Assessment programs at Tulane University. She has coauthored publications and copresented nationally and internationally on topics including AAC, tele-AAC, and the management of cognitive-communication deficit and dysphagia among adolescents and adults with acquired neurological disorders.

Dr. Michelle L. Gutmann is a clinical professor at Purdue University Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, where she teaches a variety of graduate courses including AAC, counseling in communication disorders, and motor speech disorders. After completing her doctoral studies and prior to coming to Purdue, she served as a clinical assistant professor and the speech-language pathologist for the ALS Clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Prior to returning to doctoral studies, she worked clinically for approximately a decade with both children and adults who needed AAC. She is part of the team that edited Tele-AAC: Augmentative and Alternative Communication Through Telepractice and is passionate about working with adults with acquired and/or neurodegenerative communication disorders who need AAC. Dr. Gutmann has served as the professional development manager for ASHA’s SIG 12 (AAC) since 2017. She is also active in both research and clinical endeavors related to the application and implementation of AAC for adults with acquired neurological disorders. Her interests include telepractice, interprofessional education, clinical education in speech-language pathology, implementation science, and health literacy. She has published and presented nationally and internationally.

Dr. Ellen R. Cohn is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Communication and Rhetoric in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and the College of General Studies at the University of Pittsburgh and is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus, where she teaches distance education health communication and a variety of other applied communication courses. She has held secondary appointments in Pitt’s School of Dental Medicine and in the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and as a Faculty Fellow, University Honors College, and an affiliated faculty member of Pitt’s University Center for International Studies. Dr. Cohn has coauthored books on the topics of videofluoroscopy/cleft palate; communication as culture; diversity across the curriculum in higher education; telerehabilitation; a casebook in communication science and disorders; tele-AAC; and two programs at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Law: Certificate Program in Disability Law, and the first MSL with a concentration in disability law. Dr. Cohn is a past investigator for the U.S. Department of Education National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telerehabilitation. She served as professor in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, associate dean for Instructional Development (2007–2015), assistant dean for Instructional Development (2002–2007), and director of Instructional Development (1999–2002), School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Cohn was designated a Diversity Champion, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2009), and was a Provost’s Office, Diversity Seminar Fellow (2005). Her interests span the areas of telerehabilitation/telehealth/telemedicine; interprofessional education; cleft palate, dentofacial, and craniofacial disorders; clinical training in speech-language pathology; and health-care communication. She is the founding editor (2008–present) of the International Journal of Telerehabilitation (a PubMed indexed electronic journal). In 2013, Dr. Cohn was named a fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. In 2006 she received the honors of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Speech-Language and Hearing Association. In 2020, she and coauthor Dr. Jana Cason received the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Editor’s Award for Ethical Considerations for Client-Centered Telepractice, Perspectives of the Special Interest Groups.