Brian Whitmer: Measuring Progress and Purpose in the AAC Community

About this episode

Chris interviews Brian Whitmer about his work in the AAC community and the initiatives of Open AAC.

This week, we share Chris's interview with Brian Whitmer! Brian is the founder of the AAC app CoughDrop and Open AAC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the AAC field through collaboration, transparency, and open data initiatives. Whitmer discusses his goal of fostering innovation, sharing community insights, and helping the AAC industry move toward more equitable and effective practices. Key ideas from This Episode: Open AAC’s mission is to improve the AAC field through collaboration and transparency: Whitmer described how Open AAC takes a “bird’s-eye view” of the AAC industry, collecting data from professionals, users, and families to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities for growth — all without being tied to any single product or company . The “State of AAC” survey highlights progress and persistent challenges: The annual Open AAC survey gathers open-ended responses about apps, vocabularies, and practices. Results show that while awareness and resources are growing, issues such as inconsistent education practices, limited partner training, and inequitable funding continue to hinder progress . The new “AAC GPA” aims to measure industry progress and…

People in this episode

Host: Chris Bugaj

Guest: Brian Whitmer

Topics covered

• AAC
• innovation
• collaboration
• education
• data initiatives
• community insights

Keywords

• AAC
• CoughDrop
• Open AAC
• education practices
• data collection
• community engagement
• equitable funding

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CoughDrop, Open AAC

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