The ISAAC International Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)  Awareness Month Task Force wishes to congratulate all the authors who submitted entries for the 2009 Writing Contest.   We were thrilled to receive many wonderful entries to tell the world about this year’s theme, Many Methods, One Goal:  To Communicate.  Each entry makes a unique and valuable contribution to our goal of teaching the world about AAC and literacy.  The 2009 Collection is available online at www.aacawareness.org.  The collection is arranged alphabetically by country and author, with a separate new section for videos. 
The 2009 Writing Collection is a wonderfully rich addition to the growing body of works by people who use augmentative and alternative communication.  We received forty-six stories, essays and poems in various formats and sixteen videos.  The ages of authors ranged this year from approximately 9 to 63 years. 
The entries include personal stories, creative writings, poems, rap, and essays.  Among the entries there are descriptions and photos of many different augmentative and alternative communication methods including gestures, facial expressions, body signals, low tech boards with symbols or words or letters, and high tech devices including voice output communication aids (VOCAs).  The result is a very rich collection that demonstrates the many ways in which people who use AAC communicate, write, and contribute to understanding in the world.  We are deeply honored to have received the many entries and to show them to the world to teach people everywhere about augmentative communication.
This year we received entries from people who use AAC in Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Cyprus, Dubai, France, India, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  Stories were presented in various formats:  text, text with photo illustrations, text with drawings, symbols with text, symbols with text and photos, slide shows, slide shows with voice, and videos.  Some of the entries are available in two languages, also.  There were many outstanding entries which made it difficult to choose winners.  We wish to announce the following as winners in the 2009 AAC Story Contest: 
Multimedia Winner:  “AAC Around the World” by Beth Moulam from the United Kingdom, Emma Green from Australia, and Morgan Liddle-Webb from Australia, a joint entry by three friends across the globe who tell about their friendship and their many methods of communicating in different situations and with different people.  Their PowerPoint movie features their writing and poetry, photos, their own voices and their voice output devices.    
Youth Writing Winner:  “A Girl and A Boy Get Hope” by Jacklyn Irwin from Australia, a story about misunderstanding, communication, and hope. 
Adult Writing Winner:  “The Voice” by Elsie Hudak from Canada, an essay about the voice that an AAC device can provide. 
We congratulate the authors on their work and their contribution to the education of others about AAC and the importance of literacy. 
We wish to thank the many people who have worked together to make this collection the treasure that it is, including the authors, families, speech therapists, teachers, communication partners and supporters, and the ISAAC members, organizations, and others around the world who helped promote the contest through websites, newsletters, e-mail lists, and personal communications and activities. 
We invite the world to explore and share the many stories from the 2009 Collection in the Writing Contest section of our AAC Awareness Month website.  www.aacawareness.org  There is much to learn from this rich and delightful collection.