2011 Annual Report

In 2011 the Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication celebrated its 21st birthday! Reflection on the past befits the celebration of such a landmark event, not only to be inspired anew by past progress, but also to gain a fresh view on current issues and future perspectives – not unlike Janus, the two-faced god in the ancient Roman world who, by looking to the past and at the future, symbolised beginnings and transitions. The real story of the Centre for AAC started in 1981 with Prof. Lyle Lloyd (Purdue University, USA) presenting the first lecture on AAC in Pretoria.

In September 1984, Interface, the local association for people with severe communication disabilities, was established in Cape Town. Three years later, Ms Christine Koudstaal and Ms Cecile van Reenen established an Interface branch in Pretoria. They approached Prof. Erna Alant to discuss the establishment of a centre that would conduct research and provide a series of training opportunities in the community. In 1990 the University of Pretoria, in affiliation with Interface Pretoria, established the Centre for AAC with two staff members, no students and a vision to change the landscape for individuals with severe communication disorders in South Africa. By 2011 the Centre had outgrown its baby shoes with 11 staff members, one extra-ordinary professor and a post-doctoral fellow, 405 students in five different academic programmes and more than 2,500 individuals who benefited from the centre’s services through community engagement projects, tender training projects, conference presentations, AAC awareness programmes and consultations.