About

Empowering every voice.

I am a Board-Certified AAC Specialist and Speech-Language Pathologist whose work sits at the intersection of clinical practice, teaching, technology, and creative problem-solving.

My path into this field is inseparable from where I grew up. Coming of age in post-Apartheid South Africa shaped how I think about communication, access, participation, and the systems around a person — long before it shaped how I evaluate, intervene, and teach.

Today, that belief runs through everything I do: how I collaborate with individuals and families, how I coach communication partners, how I design tools, and how I write and teach for other clinicians.

Nerissa C. Hall

“Communication is not a skill located within a person; it’s built with them, by the people and environments around them.”

01 · Credentials

  • PhD, CCC-SLP
  • Board Certified Specialist in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (2025)
  • ASHA Awards for Continuing Education
  • 2013 LEND Fellowship

02 · Education

  • Ph.D. Communication Disorders, UMass Amherst (2013)
  • M.A. Speech-Language Pathology, UMass Amherst (2007)
  • Dual B.S. Communication Disorders & Psychology, UMass Amherst (2005)

03 · Teaching

Adjunct Faculty, UMass Amherst (2019, 2022, 2024). I also teach internationally through workshops, invited talks, and continuing education programs.

04 · Publications

Books.

Fundamentals of AAC book cover
Fundamentals of AAC: A Case-Based Approach to Enhancing Communication (2022, 2nd Ed. 2025)
AI, XR, and Automation in SLP book cover
Artificial Intelligence, Extended Reality, and Automation in Speech-Language Pathology: Integrating Technology Into Clinical Practice