Atypical Interaction Conference 2019 in Helsinki - a short report

A bit belated, but here is Claudia’s report on the Atypical Interaction Conference 2019. It was included in the British Aphasiology Society Summer newsletter 2019.

The Atypical Interaction Conference 2019 (AIC 2019) is an event for researchers interested in studying atypical interactions, for instance by using Conversation Analysis. The AIC 2019 took place in Helsinki, Finland from 17 to 19 June 2019. This year’s title of the conference was “Resources and Challenges in Participation”. Participants came from all over the world and presented on a variety of topics, including autism, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), classroom interaction, and aphasia and dementia research. Keynote speakers were Douglas W. Maynard (University of Madison-Wisconsin), talking about concrete competence to inform diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders, Charlotta Plejert (Linköping University), presenting on dementia assessment and care in relation to minority ethnic groups, and Mike Clarke (University College London), showing fascinating examples of interactions involving children with disabilities using AAC, and discussing asymmetry, timing and competence. The abstract booklet can be found here.

Thanks to the BAS Conference Support Fund, I was able to attend this conference, where I presented a poster (“I don’t know” as a resource for turn construction in aphasia) on day 2.

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