I received my bachelors, masters and PhD in the field of Speech- Language Pathology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Thereafter I joined the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg in 1978 from where I moved to Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal to work in the school context. In 1984 I was appointed at the University of Pretoria as a clinical tutor, lecturer and later as professor in Communication Pathology.

In 1990 I founded the Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) which is a unique graduate training and research facility in Africa. In 1995 the CAAC received the Education Africa Presidential Award from Nelson Mandela for its work in South Africa. I also received the Rolex Award for Enterprise in 1998 for the project “Communication for life”. Since then, the CAAC has received numerous national and international awards in recognition of its impact within the African continent and beyond.

My research endeavors over the past 18 years have focused largely on the development of relevant communication systems for people who have no or little speech within poverty contexts. One of the outcomes of this research was a book on “AAC and Severe Disability: Beyond Poverty” published by Whurr Publishers in 2005. This book, which was co-edited by Dr Lyle L Lloyd from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana was the first book which focused on poverty and AAC intervention internationally.

In 2008 I received an award from the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in recognition of my international contribution to the field. I am presently, President-elect of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (2009-2010) and an associate editor for the journal of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).

I started  at Indiana University, Bloomington on January,1  2009 in the position of  professor and  Otting Endowed Chair in Special Education and look forward to working with colleagues, students and the broader community in building a strong training and research program within the field of severe disabilities and augmentative and alternative communication.  May our efforts in this field not only be of benefit to those in Indiana, but extend beyond the United States to provide different opportunities for growth and skill development to all working in the field.

D.Phil (Communication Pathology)

• Alant, E ; Kolatsis, A & Lilienfeld, M . The Effect of Sequential Exposure of Color Conditions on time and Accuracy of Graphic Symbol Location. Accepted for Publication in Augmentative & Alternative Communication (March 2010)
• Bornman, J; Alant, E & du Preez, A (2009). Translucency and Learnability of Blissymbols in Different Countries : An Exploration. Augmentative & Alternative communication (accepted for publication in March 2010) 
• Goldblum, G & Alant, E (2009). Sales assistants serving customers with traumatic brain injury. Aphasiology, 23(1), 87-109
• Dada, S & Alant, E (2009). The Effect of Aided Language Stimulation on Vocabulary Acquisition in Children With Little or No Functional Speech. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 18, 50-64.
• Alant, E ; Uys, K & Tonsing, K. (2009). Communication, Language and Literacy learning in Children with Developmental Disabilities. In Matson, JL; Andrasik, A & Matson, M.L. (Eds). Treating Childhood Psychopathology and Developing Disorders.Springer, New York, pp. 373-402.