Episode 79: Brian Whitmer: Supporting Open & Free AAC Symbols, Communication Boards, & More

Written By Talking With Tech

This week on TWT, Chris interviews Brian Whitmer, CEO of CoughDrop, about OpenAAC.org and the “open” movement supporting AAC users and their right to move communication boards from one system to another, access a free set of symbols, open 3rd party apps inside their AAC systems, and more!

Key ideas:

🔑Many AAC developers do not allow communication boards to be moved from one communication system to another system, especially if that system is not owned by the developer. This can lead to users being stuck on old, broken equipment when a system or device is no longer supported.

🔑Giving control back to the user can be good for developers as well as users! Building customer goodwill can be a powerful way to build customer loyalty.

🔑The Communication Workshop (https://www.coreworkshop.org) is a growing collection of free materials, videos, and prompts for teaching words and ideas to AAC users.

Talking With Tech
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Episode 80: Small Talks with Erin Sheldon, Kelly Fonner, Lance McLemore, & Mo Buti
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Episode 78: Alyssa Hillary Zisk: Adults With Autism Who Use AAC Part-Time