Gabriela Rangel
Open University of Catalonia (UOC)
Gabriela Rangel, PhD, is a psychologist with over 17 years of experience supporting individuals who benefit from Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and their support networks. Her work focuses on fostering social-emotional learning, mental health and wellbeing, and communication access. She is a member of the ISAAC International Research Committee and the North American Alliance for Communication Access. She currently serves as a professor at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and collaborates internationally on research, consulting and training initiatives.
MY SESSIONS
Fostering emotional competencies in AAC Speakers
Emotional competencies positively impact various aspects of life. Individuals who use AAC often face challenges in recognizing, expressing, and regulating emotions. This presentation explores the interaction between language and emotional competencies and introduces tools and strategies to support emotional learning through AAC, highlighting their role in intervention design and practice. By fostering emotional competencies, we empower AAC speakers to enhance self-expression, autonomy, and overall quality of life.