Abstract of K. Uys lecture

EMPOWERMENT OF YOUTH WITH CEREBRAL PALSY THROUGH

THE USE OF AAC

K. Uys, M. Harty

Center for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, University of Pretoria,

South Africa

The importance of empowerment as a valued outcome for

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) users is well

documented. AAC users participating in an empowerment programme

in South Africa, FOFA, are mostly diagnosed with cerebral palsy and

have severe communication needs. They came to the programme as

disempowered individuals, mostly due to reason that they were never

able to speak. FOFA is focusing on training the AAC users to use their

AAC system effectively and thereby facilitating empowerment.

Measurement tools used in the field to measure empowerment tend to

report on empowerment as an outcome instead of focusing on the

equally important process of developing empowerment. This

presentation addresses the process of becoming empowered and will

be substantiated through the use of case studies. We will demonstrate

the complex interplay between communication competence,

opportunities for social participation, the importance of support

systems and the development of empowerment.