Beth Speaker-Christensen and her AAC Journey

Beth Speaker-Christensen is an SLP near Chicago who has been working in the field for over 25 years. Beth started her career working for a contract agency in a variety of schools and nursing homes, and was excited to begin working at Shriners Children's Hospital in Chicago.  Whilst working there, she found many gadgets and gizmos used as assistive technology (all collecting dust) and realized quickly she would have to figure out for what they were being used. She started inviting vendors, manufacturer representatives and other professionals to expand her knowledge of AT.  She continued to learn from others while moving to a job in a special education cooperative, a non-profit clinic, and now her own private practice, AAC Helper LLC, working with clients from 1-101. 

Beth holds a certificate in Assistive Technology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and became a member of RESNA - Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America - in 2007. She went on to chair some special interest groups and professional service groups and now is a member of the Professional Standards Board, helping to maintain and update the Assistive Technology Professional certificate and examination. Beth is the chair of the membership committee of USSAAC (United States Society of AAC- the US chapter of ISAAC-International Society of AAC) and is a Lamp Certified Professional.  She is part of the Minspeak Learning Community, and loves presenting at conferences to help others enjoy AAC as much as she does. 

She tells everyone that her grandfather taught voice lessons, her father taught electronics, and she teaches electronic voices.  And so What else do you do with the last name SPEAKER?

Contact Beth as [e-mail]