Episode 110: Alyssa Hillary Zisk: Experiences of a Part-Time AAC User Researching and Writing About AAC

This week, the TWT team is excited to share Rachel’s interview with Alyssa Hillary Zisk, an Autistic adult who is a “part-time AAC user” and a previous guest of the pod! Part-time AAC users have the ability to communicate verbally, but there are times when verbal speech is difficult and non-verbal communication is preferred.

Before the interview, Rachel shares about all of her new technology she purchased recently, and shares tips on using an Apple Pencil to become more organized and use less paper in therapy!

Key ideas this week:

🔑 Alyssa discusses their new article, “Am I the Curriculum?”. They discuss how and why being a part-time AAC user, taking an AAC course, and doing AAC research was “systemically awkward” because of many inconsistencies in the field, including our definitions of AAC and who uses AAC.

🔑 Parents may be resistant to AAC because want their child to use verbal speech, but we should empower individuals to use whatever communication method they find beneficial in that moment. 

🔑 Alyssa prefers identity-first language (Autistic adult) rather than people-first language (person with autism) when talking about their autism. This perspective is not always respected in the field of AAC - in fact, some AAC journals refuse to accept submissions with identity-first language, even when the author is talking about themselves.