Friday Announcements – 21 March 2025

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1. Explore TD Snap Motor Plan
2. ElevenLabs Voice Banking: Practical Skills Webinar
3. Ageing Well with Cerebral Palsy: Webinar
4. 1Voice Yorkshire & North East Fun Day

News from Communication Matters
5. Belfast AAC Information Day – Book Now!
6. Communication Matters International AAC Conference 2025 – Call for Papers
7. CM2025 International AAC Conference – Registration Now Open!
8. Peer Support Sharing Best Practice Day – Registration Closes on Monday
9. About Friday Announcements


1. Explore TD Snap Motor Plan

From Ishita Umanath, Tobii Dynavox Ltd:

Join us on 27th March at 13:00 for an in-depth look at TD Snap Motor Plan, a symbol-supported page set designed with thoughtful structure and efficient navigation. TD Snap empowers communicators of all ages, language levels, and literacy stages. In this webinar, we’ll dive into its unique features, explore language organisation, and provide software demonstrations to help you better understand its functionality.

Link to register: https://uk.tobiidynavox.com/blogs/live-training/explore-td-snap-motor-plan-2025-03-27

 

2. ElevenLabs Voice Banking: Practical Skills Webinar

From Richard Cave, University College London:

What: Step-by-step, from start to finish – how to voice bank with ElevenLabs.

Presenters: This will be a joint presentation with Bridging Voices and Richard Cave of University College London (UCL).

There are two sessions to take account of different time zones: https://bridgingvoice.org/training/

When: Wednesday 26th March 2025, at:
Session 1: 4.00pm UK (11.00am ET, 3.00am Australian Eastern Daylight Time; AEDT)
Session 2: 10.00pm UK (5:00pm ET, 9:00am Australian Eastern Daylight Time; AEDT)

Where: Online on Zoom
Registration:
Register for session 1 – 4.00pm UK Wed 26th March https://lnkd.in/edt_PRiS
Register for session 2 – 10.00pm UK Wed 26th March https://lnkd.in/eaBBSDNB

Any questions please email [email protected]

 

3. Ageing Well with Cerebral Palsy: Webinar

From Anna Hunter, Cerebral Palsy Scotland:

Online: Tuesday 25th March 19.00-20.00

Hosted by Kirsty Colquhoun, Consultant Geriatrician, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, this webinar takes place during Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. We will look at how cerebral palsy can impact on the ageing process, as well as societal barriers that can have a negative impact on how we age with cerebral palsy. But, it is not all doom and gloom, we will look at the positive steps we can take to age well and learn from case studies of older adults with cerebral palsy to show that it is never too old to improve!

Click here for more information and to register.

 

4. 1Voice Yorkshire & North East Fun Day

From Dominic Carroll, 1Voice:

Saturday 26th April 2025: Hollybank Trust, Mirfield, WF14 0DQ 10am – 5pm.

Join us for a day of accessible fun and activities. To celebrate our 25th Birthday 1Voice are holding parties to celebrate with AAC users around the country.

Enjoy a range of activities. Meet, hold and groom rabbits, guinea pigs and more. Join in with games, arts and crafts. Meet AAC role models and chat over refreshments and enjoy a disco party. Bring a picnic lunch (kitchen facilities available). We will finish with a party and cake to celebrate 1Voice’s 25th birthday.

Hollybank is a fully accessible venue with changing places facility, plenty of parking and space.

Tickets available here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/1voice. For more information, go to the 1Voice website: https://www.1voice.info/

(Volunteers will be on hand to support the activities but cannot be responsible for supervising attendees or providing any personal care or support for eating and drinking. Parents, carers and PAs are expected to supervise their young people.)

 

5. Belfast AAC Information Day – Book Now!

This AAC Information Day is a product demonstration day supported and presented by our Commercial Members from the UK’s leading suppliers of communication aids, equipment, software and symbol systems.

The day consists of five sessions which provide information and offer up-to-date knowledge on the range of AAC products available in the UK. There will also be an exhibition period where you can try out products.

Date: Thursday 12 June 2025

Venue: Girdwood Community Hub, 10 Girdwood Avenue, Belfast, Antrim, BT14 6E
Cost: FREE to attend! Lunch & refreshments are provided

To find out which suppliers are attending, please visit our website by clicking on the links below:

Registration now open!

 

6. Communication Matters International AAC Conference 2025 – Call for Papers

You are invited to contribute to the Communication Matters International AAC Conference 2025 (8-9 September, University of Leeds).

Presentations should be relevant to the field of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and where possible promote the positive role of AAC in the empowerment of the people who use it. This year’s theme for conference is ‘Identity’. We welcome abstract submissions covering any of the areas this theme encompasses. Topics to cover could include vocabulary, gender, cultural influences, person centred service delivery, self-advocacy, AI, neurodiversity or anything that links AAC to a user’s identity. We are open to presentations from all in the AAC community including professionals and supporters and we especially encourage contributions from AAC users and family members.

We have based our topic areas for the presentations on the three aspects of evidence-based practice which represent improved outcomes for all. These aspects are:

Best Research Evidence: Papers submitted under this heading are carried out by independent organisations such as education, social or health services and universities. Authors should pay particular attention to describing the methodology and results of the study.
Clinical and Professional Service Delivery: Papers submitted under this heading may include service development, audit or implementation projects, as well as practice reports. Typically, these papers will be presented by those providing a service for AAC users.
Personal Stories and Case Studies: Papers submitted under this heading would include personal experience stories, single case studies and examples of AAC in the wider community.

Papers can be submitted as either a Platform presentation (45-minutes), Workshop presentation (45-minutes), a Poster, or a Lightning Talk (6.25 minutes or 12.5 minutes for AAC users).

We are using an online submission programme called Aventri. You will be asked to create an account, login and submit a simple form with a title and an abstract (a short summary) about your talk (maximum 300 words).

The deadline for submissions is 16th April 2025. However, please submit your abstract as soon as possible to help with our planning.

Further information can be found on our website: https://eu.eventscloud.com/website/15994/callforpapers/.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the opportunity, please email [email protected].

 

7. CM2025 International AAC Conference – Registration Now Open!

Registration is now open, but we wanted to highlight some exciting changes and additions taking place this year.

One notable change is the conference being shortened to two days. We will open the main conference on Monday 8th September at 9AM and close at 4PM Tuesday the 9th. While this means a slightly shorter conference than previous years, we have worked hard to consolidate the programme to offer better value with events on either side. These include:

Pre-Conference Relaxed Exhibition: on the afternoon of 7th September, we will be providing a time for conference delegates and the community who need a quieter and less busy space to meet with suppliers. This is a free optional event for those who wish to add it to their delegate package. Tickets will also be available to people not attending conference.
AAC Awards: on the evening of 8th September, we will be hosting our biennial event celebrating all forms of communication, the people who use AAC, the professionals, families and suppliers that support them. Being held at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, we are certain the awards, dinner and dancing will prove to be a fun and exciting night for all! This event is included in the full delegate registration price. It can be added to one-day and exhibition-only delegates at an additional price. Tickets will also be available to people not attending conference.
Post-Conference Research Study Day: this additional day on 10th September is open to conference delegates and others who are interested in research focused strands delivered by an international cohort of researchers and academics. This event can be added to all delegate packages at an additional price. Tickets will also be available to people not attending conference.

Changes to accommodation

In another effort to offer choice and value, there are now options available for conference delegates to choose accommodation. When going through the registration process you can add on-campus accommodation at Storm Jameson, which will be added to the full conference delegate rate. You can also choose to opt-out and stay elsewhere. We have teamed up with Conference Leeds to offer delegates preferential rates at hotels within Leeds for your convenience.

Registration is now open!

Book early to take advantage of the Early Bird discount which expires on 11 July.

See prices and book online here.

 

8. Peer Support Sharing Best Practice Day – Registration Closes on Monday

Communication Matters are pleased to invite AAC users (mentors and those interested in mentoring/peer support), PAs, parents and others to our Peer Mentoring and Support Project, Sharing Best Practice Day on Tuesday 15th April, at 9.30am-3.15pm, at the University of Leeds.

The aim of the day is to share best practice with a focus on peer support and mentoring and to bring everyone together who has been involved in the project so far, including AAC mentors and those providing Communication Clubs, as well as anyone who would like to come along to find out more.

We are grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund England for providing the funding for this project and this event. The event is free to anyone who would like to attend (lunch and refreshments will be provided), but you will please need to register your place in advance. We have funding for travel and accommodation (if required) for AAC users too.

If you are unable to attend in person, we are also able to offer remote access to the morning presentations via Zoom.

Please visit our website to download the programme for the day and register for this event.

This event is now fully booked in-person – Please either register for remote access for the morning presentations via our website, or please email [email protected] to be added to our waiting list in case of any cancellations.

For more information, please contact the CM office on [email protected] or Verity Elliott on [email protected].

 

9. About Friday Announcements

These ‘Friday Announcements’ comprise weekly product updates, upcoming courses, and supplier news. Please email [email protected] with the item you want to be included by Thursday at 5pm – no more than 200 words (one entry per organisation per week) – and include contact email and/or link so readers can find out further information (no file attachments please).