​Individuals interested in submitting a proposal are encouraged to read the following proposal process and guidelines completely before starting the submission process.  All submissions must be complete to be considered.  Complete submissions include all required documents and information outlined in the following sections of this document.  The proposal process and guidelines section outlines the submission process, defines terms, and provides explanations of information required to submit a proposal.

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Presenter Agreement & Disclosure Policy

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Before submitting your proposal to the Call for Papers, it is extremely important that you read, understand, and agree to follow the principles, guidelines, and procedures outlined in the Presenter Agreement and Disclosure Policy.

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Editorial Board & Peer Reviewers

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The AACcessible Editorial Board will review all proposals.  The Editorial Board includes the Professional Development Director,  two lead editors, and at least two peer reviewers.  This board invites presenters, reviews proposal submissions to the Call for Presenters, and helps select the most informative and evidence-based content to include in the AACES Conference program.  AACcessible’s acceptance of a proposal does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products, or clinical procedures.

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You can volunteer to be a peer reviewer!  Learn more here.

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Presenter Agreement

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By submitting a proposal to contribute a live webinar for the 2024 AAC Early Starts (AACES) Conference, you explicitly agree:

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• If accepted, to adhere to the deadlines as detailed in the acceptance notification regarding additional information that is required, such as webinar materials, media, etc.

• To provide appropriate evidence to support any claims related to efficacy, validity, or reliability of approaches to assessment, treatment, coaching, or instruction.

• To offer evidence-based content in a manner that does not ridicule, defame, or demoralize individuals or groups.

• To complete, by the stated deadline, the required disclosures that identify any financial or nonfinancial relationship that may create a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest, as defined in AACcessible’s guidelines concerning transparency and disclosure.

• To update your disclosure information and inform AACcessible if you develop or acquire a financial or nonfinancial interest related to the content of your presentation at any time before the “air” date of your webinar.

• Any research in which you participated and may be discussing in this presentation is in compliance with mandated national and institutional policies and procedures pertaining to animal and/or human subjects research.

• To comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA, to ensure the privacy of patients/clients/students/families by refraining from using names, photographs, or other patient/client identifiers in your webinar(s) without the patient's/client's/student’s/family’s knowledge and written authorization.

• To follow the guidelines for crediting authorship for research presentations as outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).

• No part of the Webinar or Materials (e.g. Powerpoint, handouts) infringe upon any copyright or other intellectual property right of any third party.

• If any part of my Webinar or Materials involves the performance or reproduction of any pre-existing work, I am the owner of the copyright or have obtained permission.

• That the Webinar and Materials will contain nothing libelous, injurious or untrue; AACcessible may host the webinar(s) and any related materials solely in connection with the AACES Conference, The AAC Academy by AACcessible, and AACcessible and its promotion.

• I grant to AACcessible and The AAC Academy by AACcessible a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive royalty-free license for AACcessible and The AAC Academy to use and host the Webinar(s) and Materials, solely in relation with The AAC Academy by AACcessible and the AACES Conference.

• That I have full power and authority, free of any rights of any nature whatsoever by any person, to enter into this Agreement and to grant the license to AACcessible in this Agreement.

• That I shall indemnify and hold harmless AACcessible and its agents, board members, employees, affiliates, successors, assignees and licensees from and against any claim, damage, liability, expense or loss, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs associated therewith, or with the enforcement of this indemnity, arising from any claim asserted against AACcessible by any person or entity, arising from my actual or alleged breach of any of their representations and warranties in this Agreement or arising from the Webinar or Materials.

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Please note that your presenter agreement outlines that all live webinars will be recorded for on-demand distribution within The AAC Academy by AACcessible for the timelines outlined in your agreement.  Likewise, all pre-recorded webinars will be retained and used for on-demand distribution within The AAC Academy by AACcessible for the timelines outlined in your agreement.

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Disclosure Policy

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All presenters submitting a proposal for a webinar or webinar series are required to complete a disclosure form indicating any financial or nonfinancial relationship related to the content of the proposed webinar. This disclosure form is provided in the last section of the Call for Papers Submission form.   The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)  requires full disclosure of financial and non-financial relationships for professionals seeking certification maintenance through ASHA continuing education units (CEU’s).  Full disclosure details and requirements are outlined below, adapted directly from ASHA.  

Completion of the disclosure form is necessary for all ASHA continuing education providers to meet the ASHA Continuing Education Board’s Requirement 3: Transparency in Course Planning, Delivery, and Marketing. This requirement promotes transparency in the design, development, and presentation of courses offered for ASHA CEUs, and aligns ASHA practices with current practices among other professions, particularly in the continuing medical education arena.

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ASHA's Continuing Education Board defines a conflict of interest as any financial or nonfinancial consideration or relationship relevant to course content that compromises or has the potential to compromise professional judgment. Providers of events offered for ASHA CEUs must identify and disclose to participants any such interest on the part of any speaker or instructor. 

Examples of relevant and disclosable financial relationships may include:

• Being an employee of, or a paid consultant to, an organization whose product or service you discuss in your presentation

• Receiving grant funds for a research project you discuss in your presentation

• Receiving royalties from the sale of a book whose content you discuss in your presentation

• Patent holder

• Ownership interest (stocks, stock options, or other ownership interests)

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Examples of relevant and disclosable nonfinancial relationships may include:

• Serving as a formal advisor to a review panel

• Sitting on the board of an organization whose product or service you discuss in your presentation

• Receiving an award or honor from an organization whose product or service you discuss in your presentation

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Please note that having a disclosable financial or nonfinancial relationship does not prevent you from contributing. Disclosing such relationships is intended to give webinar attendees a more complete context in which to consider the information you provide. As a general guideline, err on the side of disclosure.

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If your proposal is accepted, your disclosure(s) will be included with the author information related to each webinar listed on AACcessible AAC Academy online marketing materials. Note that for financial relationships, dollar amounts are not disclosed.

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In addition, you will be expected to disclose relevant relationships at the time of your webinar, verbally and visually.  AACcessible will provide additional guidelines for “live” disclosures after acceptance.

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Examples of observable and measurable learner outcomes include:

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• Participants will be able to identify three strategies to assess the current communication skills of non-speaking individuals.

• Participants will be able to describe five essential areas to assess in AAC assessment.  

• Participants will be able to identify at least two resources to assist in treatment planning for preschool children learning communication skills through AAC.  

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Learner outcomes that indicate that an attendee will learn, understand, or know something are not measurable and will need revision to be accepted.  You will be asked to submit three learner outcomes for each webinar.  If you submit a proposal for a webinar series, you will need at least three learner outcomes for each webinar in the series.