A journey through early augmentative communication and computer access.

When asked to write an account of the early days of augmentative communication and computer access, I first set out to create a documented history of all the early work and workers. I soon found that the task was beyond the time and resources I had available. For much of the very early work that I could remember, I soon realized I was unable to accurately date or document it, and the principals have died or are dispersed. After a couple of attempts I chose another approach, a personal narrative, which allowed me to both capture some important behind-the-scenes observations and to acknowledge some of those who were critical to this pioneer’s entry, survival, and credited accomplishments. This narrative consists of three parts, and each part tells a different dimension of the story. The first deals with my entry into the field and early support from others. Part 2 discusses the three different fields that converged to form the field of Augmentative Communication. Part 3 touches on some of the early aspects of Computer Access, particularly those that grew out of Augmentative Communication. Although the narrative does capture some of the early history in these areas, its primary purpose is to show the role of individual action or initiative. Although many advances came from organized programs over an extended period of time, much of what has happened is the result of decisions by individuals who in turn caused things to move forward or allowed others to move forward. Often progress has been a chain of such individual events. This narrative seeks to highlight the importance of such individual decisions and action, often by people outside of this field. Without those decisions, actions, or commitments— including those by people unrelated to the field—the field would not have progressed as rapidly, and in some cases would perhaps have developed quite differently.