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Diane McEachern’s research interests are in augmentative and alternative communication and the implications for social inclusion of young adults, particularly around informal social networks, and their importance to successful employment opportunities. She has 20 years of clinical experience as a speech-language pathologist working with preschool and school-aged children, as well as adults with complex communication needs. She does not take photos of herself without a dog!

Jillian Henderson graduated from the Biomechanical Engineering program at Queen’s University, where she is now completing a Master’s in Mechanical and Materials Engineering with a specialization in Collaborative Biomedical Engineering. The focus of her research is aiding in the creation of the standards for the Accessible Canada Act, primarily working with individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication devices. Alongside aiming to make assistive technology more accessible, she is working to understand the psychological effects caused by the subtle ostracism women face within engineering.

Tracy Shepherd, M.A., SLP – CCC, reg CASLPO

Tracy Shepherd is a speech language pathologist who has a longstanding passion for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). As a student she worked part time doing in-home support for a family who had 2 young girls who used AAC (a Touch Talk and a Light Talker). This sparked her interest and love of AAC that enables individuals the ability to communicate and connect with others. She has been practicing clinically in AAC since 1991.

Tracy works in the Augmentative Communication Service at Thames Valley Children’s Centre in London, Ontario, Canada and as a Clinical Education Coordinator at the Centralized Equipment Pool (operated by Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital) in Toronto.

In addition, Tracy is a member of the organizational committee for the Breaking the ICE conference (a consumer-focused conference for people who use AAC). In 2018 she traveled to Ethiopia to teach AAC at Addis Ababa University to the inaugural class of Speech Therapists in the country.

Her research interests span many areas including reliability of SGDs, abandonment of technology, outcome measurement as well as other areas of clinical interest (teamwork, listening and family impact).

Tracy was President of the Canadian Chapter of ISAAC (2009 to 2013), and was previously on the ISAAC Canada Execution Board (2006 to 2009). She has been a member of ISAAC in good standing since 1990.

Tracy has held the position of VP without portfolio for the ISAAC International Executive Board from 2014 – 2018, her major responsibility being supporting conferences. Tracy co-chaired the 17th Biennial conference in Toronto, Canada in 2016 “Bringing us Together”. Tracy became President of ISAAC during the Covid-19 Pandemic, a particularly difficult time in which we saw just how essential communication is across the world.

Glenda Watson Hyatt is an author, keynote speaker and a badass agitator. Motivated by her personal experiences and the continual flow of social injustices faced by others living with communication disabilities, Glenda is a formidable voice for this systemically overlooked and devalued segment of our society. Through various projects and committees, she aims to increase awareness, understanding and inclusion of people who use alternative means of communication. Currently, she is the Social Media Coordinator for the Canadian Chapter of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. She has worked with Communication Disabilities Access Canada on several projects, the current one relating to communication supports for people who have speech and language disabilities that affect how they make and communicate decisions in critical situations. She played a strong advocacy role for the inclusion of communication access in the newly enacted Accessible Canada Act; the first-time speech and language disabilities have been recognized in accessibility legislation.

Glenda is working on her Master of Applied Science in Mechanical and Materials Engineering. Her proposed thesis topic is "Developing a universal design strategy to ensure equity in employing people with communication disabilities".

I’m a current master’s student who will be working towards a PhD in biomedical engineering at Queen’s University. My research interests include brain-computer interface systems pertaining to motor skills and movement assistive devices. I am currently researching motor imagery device design and motor imagery training implementation for people with cerebral palsy. I’m working in the Building and Designing Assistive Technology (BDAT) lab and the Accessibility Standards Canada Augmentative and Alternative Communication Project with PI Dr. Claire Davies and Dr. Beata Batorowicz.

Seamus Burnham is a first year Master of Applied Science Candidate at Queen’s University specializing in collaborative biomedical engineering. He recently graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science in biomechanical engineering from Queen’s University in May 2021. Seamus is currently working as the lead author on a scoping review centered on conceptual models and frameworks used to guide clinical decision-making for aided Augmentative and Alternative communication (AAC) systems. Seamus has presented results related to this research at the Queen’s-McGill Rehabilitation Colloquium and the International Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) Connect conference. Although Seamus does not have a defined thesis project at this time, it will be in the field of AAC and likely revolve around eye-tracking input methods.

Steph Lackey is an occupational therapist who completed her Masters of Science degree in Occupational Therapy at Queen’s University in 2013. As an occupational therapist, Steph has worked in a range of settings, gaining experience serving diverse client populations including people impacted by neurodiversity, developmental disabilities, and serious mental illness. Her interest in AAC was inspired through her experience as an occupational therapist. Recognizing the value of AAC in the lives of many people for whom she provided service, she aspired to become better equipped in her practice to support use of AAC systems. Steph is working on her PhD in Rehabilitation Science at Queen’s University under supervision of Dr. Beata Batorowicz. Her doctoral work will focus on development of AAC accessibility guidelines.

My interest in biomedical engineering evolved while volunteering at Bloorview Children’s Hospital (now Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital). I realized that the technology available to these children did not allow them the same freedom as other children. I have since dedicated my research career to improving the lives of people with disabilities. My research is diverse covering three main areas: biomaterials, motion analysis and assistive technology.

My primary research goal focuses on increasing independence of people with disabilities. Understanding the perceptual and physical responses of all the senses, primarily vision, haptics and sound, has given me insight into how design of devices should be undertaken to create human-machine interfaces that are easily navigated and accepted. After spending several years designing to meet the needs of specific clients, I have realised the need for universal design. Universal design is becoming increasingly popular such that devices should be easy to use by all people without the need for adaptation.

I am currently a professor in Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Queen’s University with an honorary senior lecturer appointment in the Departments of Surgery and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Auckland. My lab is known as the . Most of my work is interdisciplinary and seeks to combine input from both clinicians and engineers in the design of medical technologies. Some of the student projects of which I am the primary supervisor include development of a system that will allow tailored reminiscence therapy for individuals with cognitive impairment, development of a boccia ramp for Paralympic athletes, development of an umbrella for individuals with muscular dystrophy, and methods to simplify computer tasks for youth with cerebral palsy.

I continue to expand my areas of research to establish more evidence based clinical evaluations of individuals with assistive technology.  Improvements to prosthetic and orthotic design will allow increased efficiency of human movement.  Increasing the universality of assistive technology will enable more effective use of devices.  Interface design that provides ease of use is essential to the acceptance by all individuals. My research projects allow engineering students to engage with clinicians and complete design projects that are clinically relevant. Expanding this research can increase the productiveness of all individuals and allow them to become more confident members of our society.