David R. Beukelman

David R. Beukelman (1943–2022) was an American speech-language pathologist and a pioneering figure in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), with a career focused on supporting children and adults with complex communication needs. He served as the Barkley Professor of Communication Disorders at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and later Professor Emeritus, and was a Senior Researcher in the Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska. His work centered on communication supports for people with neurological conditions that interfered with their ability to communicate effectively.

Beukelman co‑authored several leading texts in the field, including Augmentative & Alternative Communication: Supporting Children and Adults with Complex Communication Needs and Management of Motor Speech Disorders in Children and Adults, and co‑edited Augmentative Communication Strategies for Adults with Acute and Chronic Medical Conditions. Earlier in his career, he held academic and clinical leadership roles at the University of Washington and the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and he served as editor of the journal Augmentative and Alternative Communication. He was recognized as a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and a Fellow of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC)