Adriana Castillo and Gracie Williams, “The Experiences of BIPOC Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication” 
Mentor: Shelley Lund, Communication Sciences & Disorders 
Poster #30

Three million people in North America have complex communication disorders that limit their speaking ability. These individuals often utilize Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices. AAC devices can range from a board of pictures to a computer with a speech synthesizer.  The United States Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (USSAAC) is an organization that supports and advocates for individuals who use AAC. This study aims to describe the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) who use AAC. Our goal is to identify ways that the AAC field can better support BIPOC AAC users. We will use the data to examine how USSAAC, professionals, and AAC industries are representing and/or underrepresenting BIPOC AAC users. We recruited seven individuals who self-identify as BIPOC and use AAC to participate in this study. Two participants were selected as moderators to facilitate an asynchronous focus group conducted online. Each week, the participants were prompted to respond to questions and engage in discussion with other participants. The moderators encouraged participants to post at least twice a week for 8 weeks. The information was transcribed and coded qualitatively using an analysis software, Dedoose. The initial codes were organized into categories and themes. This poster will include sample quotes from the participants illustrating each theme.  These results illustrate how the field of AAC can better represent BIPOC who use AAC. By doing this, organizations, industries, USSAAC, and professionals can take steps to become better allies for this community. All the participants in this study were literate adults who used text based AAC systems.  We are continuing this line of research by interviewing family members of BIPOC who use AAC.