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Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 22nd January, 2025
This week our colleague Claire Harrison embarks on an exciting trip to the United States as a prestigious AT Scholar, representing the UK at the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Conference, which is the world’s largest AT event where the latest and greatest developments are showcased.
The AT Scholar program was created by Martin Littler in 2020. It
funds AT Scholars, talented UK professionals working in the field of Assistive Technology (ATech) and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), to experience the world’s top events in the field.
Since then, every year, the scheme has invited practitioners and researchers to apply for funding to attend the ATIA Conference.
We are pleased and proud that our colleague Claire Harrison was chosen to be a 2025 AT Scholar, alongside Fil McIntyre, and they are being sponsored to attend the ATIA conference next week. Claire is also taking the opportunity to visit and meet with leaders in the field in the US, and in the process raise awareness about assistive technology in the UK, and about CALL Scotland.
Claire's first stop is iHope Academy where she hopes to meet Gretchen Hanser, Director of Assistive Technology and Literacy Instruction, to find out about their curriculum, approach, and special projects like their Switch Adapted Toy Drive that is happening this week.
Then she heads down to Orlando on Tuesday 28th ahead of a day and a half of pre-conference sessions with Linda Burkhart.
The conference itself runs through to Saturday 1st February and there are over 400 sessions for Claire to choose from, plus of course the exhibition with suppliers from all round the world. There’s also an ‘un-conference’ on the Friday evening and a ‘Maker Day’ on the Saturday.
You can follow Claire as she travels on X, LinkedIn and Instagram using #ATScholar. Afterwards she'll be writing for the AT Scholar blog.
Good luck Claire and Fil, have a great time and we look forward to hearing about your adventures!
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