People who use AAC are at a higher risk of Abuse which can have long-lastng effects on their health and well-being.

This increased risk is due to several factors:

Limited opportunities to develop the communication skills
social isolation, having few trusted communication partners
The offenders may believe that the victim has no one to disclose the abuse to.

This presentation will focus on creating supportive environments to protect children, youth and adults with Communication Disability from abuse in institutional settings.

The 3 levels of prevention (universal, selective and indicated) will be illustrated through a case study of Vldenburgalerie, a 12 year old girl who uses AAC.

Juan Bornman, Phd

Professor at the Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

Kathy Howery PhD

Professor at the Univesity of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada,

Ingeborg Thümmel Phd

Assoc. Professor at the University of Oldenburg, Germany