Imagining alternative futures with augmentative and alternative communication
A manifesto
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12692140 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Darryl Sellwood (0000-0002-9200-3676, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia), Lateef McLeod (California Institute of Integral Studies), Kathleen C Williams (0000-0002-9577-6762), Kevin Williams (0000-0001-5209-1395, Independent Researcher, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA), Katie Brown (0000-0001-7026-3445, University of Dundee), Graham Pullin (0000-0002-0841-8909, University of Dundee, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 620-623 |
| Publication date | 2024-10-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Medical Humanities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1468-215X • E-ISSN: 1473-4265 |
| Publisher | BMJ (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1136/medhum-2024-013022 |
| PMID | 39481863 |
| OpenAlex | W4403946253 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 11 |
This manifesto seeks to challenge dominant narratives about the future of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Current predictions are mainly driven by technological developments-technologies usually being developed for different markets-and are often based on ableist assumptions. In online conversations and a discussion panel at the 2023 International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication conference, we explored alternative futures by adopting different starting positions. Our case is presented under five headings: questioning the dominance of predictions that artificial intelligence and brain-computer interfaces will define the future of AAC; resisting disability being framed medically, as a problem to be solved, yet acknowledging both the pleasures and pains of being disabled; declaring that people who use AAC-as cyborgs of necessity rather than choice-should have choice and ownership of our technologies; challenging notions of independence as the necessary end goal for disabled bodies and considering interdependence as a human right; imagining alternative futures in which all people who use AAC are accepted and embraced for our communication and self-expression. This manifesto is an invitation for further discussion, and we welcome responses. While our focus is AAC, and three of the authors use AAC, we believe that our stance could be relevant to other disability communities in turn. This paper is about who gets to imagine disability futures and whose voices are left out. It is about how uncritical these futures can be, often presuming values that disabled people, in all their diversity, may not share
Aesthetics · Augmentative and alternative communication · Dominance (genetics · Economics · Futures contract · Linguistics · Manifesto · Narrative · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Law · Psychology · Technology Use by Older Adults
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |