I’d love to share my passion for all things communication with you.  At the age of 18, I attended a weeklong young leader’s workshop run by the European Network for Independent Living in Strasbourg. The opportunity to work with others from across Europe, understand my rights, learn about advocacy, and the power of speaking to MEPs was amazing. This made me realise the value of teamwork and that advocacy is more than just talking from lived experience.  In turn, this understanding was pivotal in choosing to study social policy so my future work could be grounded in policy and understanding practice.

My focus on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)

When I retired from elite sport in early 2022, I was asked to become involved in many different activities. However, since the age of 4, the driving force in my life has been to empower others to fulfil their own communication potential.  There are many other people ‘out there’ advocating for disabled people on a whole host of important topics and campaigns. Yet, there are few who are able to speak out about the isolation, frustration, and joy when successful of having a communication disability.

Why advocating for AAC users matters to me

Having a head full of ideas, opinions, thoughts, aspirations, and dreams, it is impossible to share without those around you wanting to listen. They need to have high expectations and presume your competence. Communication partners must know how to interact with you both at home, through education and life, and in the public arena.  I am privileged to have both the education and a platform to speak out and share my passion on behalf of others to raise awareness of what can be achieved given the right ongoing support and resources. This includes being regularly invited to deliver keynote speeches, presentations, workshops, and training on a diverse range of topics both in the UK and internationally, but always grounded in communication.

A lifelong passion for communication

No one feels in control and included in their own lives unless we can give and receive information, know we will be heard and understood and be able to create shared meaning.  I was 12 when I attended the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) conference in 2006 in Germany. For the first time in my life I spent a week talking to people who didn’t know me, sharing my views, and feeling I had arrived somewhere I belonged and felt connected. A researcher called Mary Wickenden sought me out during the conference; after talking, I agreed to be part of an ethnographic study about being a teenage AAC user.  Over the next year, I saw Mary maybe 6 times, in school, at home one-to-one doing activities, and for days out with my family. The whole time she asked questions and listened, she made me feel valued, equal and important. This set the tone for my own research, that whoever we are, however we communicate, we are experts in our own lives, and our opinions matter.

My studies and research interests are focused on policy, co-creation, and communication disability.

I’m often asked about my accomplishments, so below is a list (or CV of sorts).

Non-executive roles:

2021 ongoing: International Communication Rights Alliance: Committee member

Group of organisations and individuals focused on policy and operationalising the UNCRPD in relation to communication disability.  Addressed CRPD committee twice on communication rights for AAC users.

2022 ongoing: Communication Matters (ISAAC UK): Trustee/Director, Chair of the Communities sub-group, member of the Governance Committee, Research Committee and representative on the APPGAT

UK chapter of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication.  Focused on supporting professionals, families, AAC users and developers/suppliers through awareness raising, training, research and networking opportunities.

2022 ongoing: 1 Voice: Patron

UK Charity supporting children and young people who use AAC and their families (and this gives me so much joy).

October 2024 ongoing: NHS England Specialised Services AAC Advisory Group: Patient and Public Voice Partner.

October 2024 ongoing: International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Executive Board – Vice-President LEAD and Chair of LEAD Committee

LEAD represents the views of AAC users globally.

2016 – 2018 LEAD committee member.

2021 – 2022 Co-opted LEAD committee member.

Qualifications

2013-2021:      BA (Hons) First Class in Social Policy, University of York.

2022-2025:     Masters of Research: Social Policy, University of York.

Dissertation

To what extent does policy support the provision of AAC (powered) for children and young people in England? A qualitative study.

Awards and other experience

2012 ongoing: Public speaker, invited keynote and presenter, workshop creator and delivery, trainer.

2015-2017: Boccia England – Represented England internationally in boccia.

2017-2018: Frame Running – Represented England internationally at Frame Running.

2018 ongoing: AAC mentor.

2019-2022: UK Boccia – Paralympian representing Great Britain at Tokyo 2020 (2021)and other international events in boccia. (Dual career athlete/student 2019 to 2021).

2021 ongoing: University of York Service User Participation Advisory Group: Social Work Advisory role and guest lecturer on communication impairment, AAC, safeguarding and life books.

2022 – 2024: Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy – Co-Author of the AAC Clinical Guidance for Practitioners.

2023: Shaw Disability Power 100 – UK top 100 influential disabled people, Top 10 in Community Advocate category.

2024: Doctor of Health (h.c.) awarded by Manchester Metropolitan University for AAC advocacy work and being a Paralympian.

2024: Shaw Disability Power 100 – UK top 100 influential disabled people, WINNER of the Grassroots and Community Advocate category and overall #10 most influential disabled person in the UK.

Find out more

A non-exhaustive list of publications, presentations, invited speaker events and workshops delivered by Beth is below or can be found here 

My audience or workshop participants are always central to everything I deliver. I try to bear in mind what their expectations are from the session when I’m writing. Then find ways to engage everyone in the narrative interactively so they share my passion.

If you would like to discuss an opportunity for us to work together on a project please contact me at bethmoulam@aol.com

 

 

Below are some of my publications, speeches and workshops. It is definitely not fully comprehensive!

Published Articles:

M, K. (pseudonym) (2005) ‘My Life Story’, Communication Matters Journal, Vol 19 (2), August 2005, pp.19-20.

Moulam, B. (2006) ‘Making Friends at ISAAC 2006’, Communication Matters Journal, Vol 20 (3), November 2006, p15.

Hewson, T. & Moulam, B. (2006) ‘BT ChildLine Awards’, Communication Matters Journal, Vol 20, No. 3, November 2006, pp 18-19.

Moulam, L. Murphy, J. Hartley, S. & Moulam, B. (2008) ‘The ISAAC Conference’ Communication Matters Journal, Vol 22 (3) November 2008.

Moulam, B. (2009) ‘Life is beautiful if you let it be’.

Moulam, B. (2010) ‘The Truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – labelled?’, Communication Matters Journal, Vol 24 (3) November 2010.

Moulam. B. (2011) ‘Sitting GCSE’s using AAC – A personal perspective’.  Communication Matters Journal, Vol 25 (3) November 2011.

Moulam. B. (2012) ‘ISAAC 2012 conference – our world’. Communication Matters Journal, Vol 26 (3) November 2012.

Moulam. B. (2013) ‘Communication on the move’. Communication Matters Journal, Vol 27 (1) April 2013.

Moulam. B. (2013) ‘My way to language and literacy’. Communication Matters Journal, Vol 27 (2) September 2013.

Moulam, B. & Green, E. (2014) ‘Connectedness’. Communication Matters Journal, Vol 28 (2) August 2014.

Moulam, B. (2015) ‘Report from Polish International’ [https://bocciaengland.org.uk/news/beth-moulam-reports-from-polish-international/]

Moulam, B. (2016) ‘Me and my extended shadow – living with personal assistance’ Communication Matters Journal, Vol 30 (3) November 2016.

Moulam, B. (2020) ‘Dreaming the dream: a lifetime accessible home’. Project Safety Matters, Association of Project Safety, Edinburgh, Issue 13 Autumn 2020.

Moulam, B. (2021) ‘My communication is my communication’ Communication Matters Journal, Vol 35 (1) April 2021.

Moulam, B. (2022) ‘Expectation environments’ Communication Matters Journal, Vol 36 (1) April 2022.

Moulam, B. (2023) ‘Transferring AAC skills into sporting success’ Communication Matters Journal, Vol 37 (2) August 2023.

Hewson, H, and Moulam, B. (2024) ‘Our Futures: Workshops Findings’ Communication Matters Journal, Vol 38 (2) August 2024.

Hanschell, A, Broomfield, K, Moulam, B, and Whittle, H. (2024) ‘The Communication Matters Research Interest Network’ Communication Matters Journal, Vol 38 (2) August 2024.

The Communication Matters Journal is published by Communication Matters (ISAAC) UK.   Articles under 2 years old may require membership to read, older articles are free.

 

Conference Activity: selected  (Author and lead unless indicated)

‘My Life Story’, ISAAC Conference, Dusseldorf, 2006.

‘Life is beautiful if you let it be’, 1 Voice Network day, Telford, 2008 & ‘ISAAC Conference, Montreal, 2008.

‘How professionals can help AAC users’, Co-presenter with 1 Voice Teenagers, Communication Matters Conference, 2009.

‘The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth: Labelled?’, Communication Matters Conference, Leicester, 2009 & ISAAC Conference, Barcelona, 2010.

‘1 Voice Teenagers – Making a Difference’, Co-presenter with 1 Voice Teenagers, ISAAC Conference, Barcelona, 2010.

‘Dance workshop’, Co-presenter, ISAAC Conference, Barcelona, 2010.

‘Sitting GCSE’s using AAC – a personal perspective’, Communication Matters Conference, Leeds, 2011.

‘Sitting UK National Exams – an AAC perspective’, ISAAC Conference, Pittsburgh, 2012.

‘My way to language and literacy’, Communication Matters Conference, Leicester, 2012.

‘Communication on the move’, Communication challenges of learning to drive Communication Matters Conference, Leicester, 2012.

‘Connectedness – up close and personal’ Co-Presenter Emma Green, Communication Matters Conference, Leeds, 2013 & ISAAC Conference, Lisbon, 2014.

‘Are young people who use AAC equipped to live independently?’, Communication Matters Conference, 2014.

‘Me and my extended shadow – living independently with a support team’, Communication Matters Conference, 2015 & ISAAC Conference, Toronto, 2016.

‘Synaesthesia: an explosion of the senses and the impact on thinking and learning’, Communication Matters Conference, Leeds, 2016.

‘The ties that bind us, moving on’ Co-presenter Liz Moulam, Communication Matters Conference, Leeds, September 2017 & ISAAC Conference, Gold Coast, July 2018.

‘Two powerchairs and AAC to Tokyo 2020’ CPISRA International Physical Activity Virtual Conference, December 2021.

‘Where now for disability sport policy?’ (Poster), CPISRA International Physical Activity Virtual Conference, December 2021.

‘Expectation Environments’ European Academy of Child Development, Barcelona, May 2022.

‘Research Opportunities’, Communication Matters Conference, Leeds, September 2023.

‘Self-Advocacy for AAC users’, Communication Matters Conference, Leeds September 2024.

Her talk was brilliant, and it was packed! Beth is an incredible woman”

‘Our Futures: Follow up’, Co-presenters Helen Hewson, Helen Whittle, Saff Murphy-Mann Communication Matters Conference, Leeds September 2024.

‘The International Communication Rights Alliance’ Co-presenter Jacob Matthews, Communication Matters Conference, Leeds September 2024.

‘The AAC Connection’ Co-Presenter Joanna Holmes, Communication Matters Conference, Leeds September 2024.

 

Workshops and Training (selection): Workshop author/lead unless indicated

‘Daring to Dream’, (Co-Lead with Mel Smith) for Youth Group, Epsom, 2012.

‘Pre-Conference Dreams Workshop’, (Co-leads Mel Smith, Jennifer Seal), ISAAC, Gold Coast, 2018.

‘Leadership Development Workshop for AAC users’ Beth Moulam (Co-author/Lead with Lateef McLeod, Yoo-Sun Chung), ISAAC, Gold Coast, 2018.

‘Pathways to Leadership’ Webinar for International Society for Alternative and Augmentative Communication, 2020.

‘AAC Awareness’ Training: facilitating AAC users on digital platforms, Boccia England, Nottingham, 2020.

‘The use of social media in developing an online presence’: Workshop for AT Therapy Mentors. Oldham, 2021.

‘Making Dreams Come True’ online workshop for York International Women’s Week, March 2022.

‘AAC and Identity’ 2-part workshop for Breaking the Ice National Conference, Canada, January & April 2022.

‘Dreams, hard work and resilience’ Motivational assemblies and tailored workshops in schools across England, 2022 and ongoing.

‘Privilege and ableism’ Motivational assemblies in schools across England, 2022 and ongoing.

‘Learning to lead’ Beth Moulam, series tailored workshops on leadership skills for independent living, 2022 & ongoing.

‘AAC and communication, an introduction’ Beth Moulam, Various different intensity workshops for University of York Social Work students 2023.

‘Self-Advocacy skills’ ‘Beth Moulam, UP – The Cerebral Palsy Movement 2023.

‘AAC and literacy’ Beth Moulam, for Access Technology, 2023.

‘Communication Partner Skills Training’ Beth Moulam & Joanna Holmes (Co-leads), at Communication Matters Conference 2023.

‘Our futures: AAC user workshop’ Beth Moulam & Helen Hewson (Co-leads), at Communication Matters Conference 2023.

‘What I wish I’d known then: The adolescent years and AAC’, Beth Moulam for Access Technology, 2024.

A resounding ‘That was excellent!!’ …. Really well put together session and extremely valuable for us to hear your insight.

 

Invited Talks (selection):

‘My Life Story’, ACE, Network Day, Oxford, 2005.

‘My Life Story’, 1 Voice Working Together Network Weekend, Northampton, 2006.

‘My future’, Office of Disability Issues Transition workshop, London, 2007.

‘My Life Story’, Beaumont College Inspiring People Conference, Lancaster, 2007.

‘My Life Story’, International Child Development Conference, Athens, 2008.

‘European Network for Independent Living Leadership workshop findings’ (Co-Speaker), European Parliament, Strasbourg, 2012.

‘My communication experience’, The AAC expert user group, University of Dundee, 2012.

‘Accessing GCSEs using AAC’, School of Computing Science, University of Dundee, 2012.

‘Best Practice in Teaching and Learning’, Disability support officers training seminar, Dundee, 2012.

Her [Beth’s] attention to detail is unparalleled as she crafts her talks sentence by sentence …… The quality of the content of her talk, her professionalism and her ability to integrate several technologies impressed all who attended and provided staff with new insights into the potential of individuals with complex needs.”

‘Living Independently’ (video), International Society Augmentative and Alternative Communication Chapter Conference, Israel, 2016.

‘Personal Experience Workshop’, Childhood Disability module, Canterbury College, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

‘Nutritional Needs of Elite Disabled Athlete’, MSc Nutrition, Leeds Beckett University, 2018, 2019.

‘Safeguarding in Sport from an athlete perspective’ (Co-Lead Tina Woods), Ann Craft Trust & North Yorkshire Sport, Harrogate, 2018.

‘Parental workshop’, Specialised Assistive Technology Centre, Singapore, 2019.

‘Lifetime homes’ (on-line) York City Council and Architects on 2 city housing developments, Virtual, 2020.

‘The importance of dreaming’, (on-line) UK Boccia Federation: Take the Floor series, 2020.

‘Experiences and perspectives on education’, (pre-recorded interview), Department of Social Work and Social Policy, University of York, 2021.

‘Passion for Potential: Expectation environments’ Keynote speaker, Communication Matters online conference, September 2021.

This really fired me up and got me thinking about how we can build potential and encourage success in the wider community as well as in the family and school. Beth’s passion for the subject was clear, and contagious.”

‘Routes to AAC Assessment for children and young people’, (online) Invited panellist, British Assistive Technology Association AAC special interest group, 2022.

‘Communication Rights Part 1 (online) Address to UNCRPD on behalf of the International Communication Rights Alliance, August 2022.

‘AAC and the Paralympics’, Keynote Plenary Speaker Communication Matters Conference, Leeds, September 2022.

‘Communication Rights Part 2’ (online) Address to UNCRPD on behalf of the International Communication Rights Alliance, March 2023.

‘Get Seen’ Keynote speaker, Communication Works South & Communication Works North, May 2023.

Wow! What an inspirational keynote speech by Beth……. Listening to Beth it’s crystal clear that effective Assistive technology can transform dreams into reality.  Thank you for inspiring us all Beth!

‘Embracing the future together’ Keynote Speaker, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy Conference, London, November 2023.

We’ve received a lot of wonderful feedback from our members and other delegates who attended ….. expressing their gratitude at being able to access such useful and informative content and see the high quality of work that is being carried out in our profession”.

‘Embracing the future together’ East Midlands AAC Cen, April 2024.

‘Communication Partner Skills’ with Joanna Holmes, AAC Special Interest Group, June 2024.

‘The difference you make’ Keynote Speaker, Capability Scotland Glasgow, September 2024.

Your contribution was so valuable to us

‘The Passion for Potential: Tackling Inequalities through co-created research’:  with Prof. Janice Murray, Manchester Metropolitan University Festival of Research, November 2024.

Thank you ….. a truly inspirational session – I really enjoyed listening to your valuable insights and provocations.

If you would like to share my passion for AAC, co-creation of research and policy or just talk more about my publications, speeches and workshops  contact me