Sarah Blackstone, Ph.D. is co-author of the Social Networks Inventory (2003/2012), Patient Provider Communication: A Role for Speech-Language Pathologists and Other Health Care Professionals (2015) and numerous articles and chapters related to AAC. She was President of Augmentative Communication, Inc. (1987-2012), which published Augmentative Communication News and Alternatively Speaking.. Her current interests/activities focus on patient provider communication, cortical visual impairment and children who use AAC, the development of emotional competence in children who rely on AAC, and emergency and disaster readiness for vulnerable populations. She is currently working on several exciting projects (having failed retirement.) Dr. Blackstone is past-president of USSAAC (United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication) and the International Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC), and its first Distinguished Service Award Recipient She is collaborating with USSAAC and Mexican co-chairs on ISAAC’s 2020 Biennial Conference in Cancun. A partner on the RERC on Communication Enhancement from 2002 to 2012, she recently completed a term as a member the National Institute of Health’s Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Council. Dr. Blackstone is a long-time Bridge School Board member and currently serves as the PI of The Bridge School’s CVI/AAC Outcomes Research project funded by Ability Central.
