Talks

Keynote Addresses

Alper, M. (2023, September). Supporting mental health among autistic youth in the digital age. Keynote address at MediaPsych 2023: 13th Biennial Conference of the Media Psychology Division of the German Psychological Society, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.

Alper, M. (2022, September). Supporting mental health among autistic youth in the digital age. 58th Annual Nobel Conference, Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, MN. [Video]

Alper, M. (2021, March). Critical media access studies: Examining the benefits and limits of accessibility in mediated spaces. Dis-/Abilities and Digital Media, German Research Foundation (DFG) Scientific Network. University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M. (2019, August). Digital media, youth, and disability. Keynote address at +aprendizajes Conference. Fundación Ceibal, Montevideo, Uruguay.

Alper, M. (2019, June). Redefining mediated human connections through disability and digital technology. Keynote address at #ScreentimeBU Graduate Student Conference, Division of Emerging Media Studies. Boston University, Boston, MA.

Alper, M. (2016, April). Universal design for learning. Keynote address at U.S. Department of Education Ready to Learn Grant Advisory Board Meeting. Twin Cities Public Television, Washington, DC.

Sponsored Panels

Alper, M. (2018, May). Screen time and the lives of children (with Amy Jordan, Jan Van den Bulck, and Sun Sun Lim, co-panelists). Sponsored session at International Communication Association, Prague, Czech Republic.

Alper, M. (2017, September). Media for social responsibility: Life with autism spectrum disorder (with Ron Suskind, featured panelist; Tina Caswell, Susanne Bruyere, and Nadine Vogel, co-panelists). Park Distinguished Visitor Series, Park School of Communications. Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY.

Alper, M. (2016, August). Creative computing for all (with Karen Brennan, moderator; Nick Giacobbe and Rhianon Gutierrez, co-panelists). Keynote panel at Scratch Conference. MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA.

Invited Talks

Alper, M. (2023, February). Beyond “mechanical boys”: Theorizing emotions, autism, and affective technologies. Inclusive Futures: Disability and Technology. Princeton University, Princeton, NJ.

Alper, M. (2021, December). Advancing digital and educational equity for autistic youth. Aspen Institute Virtually Human Working Group. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M. (2021, March). Critical media access studies: Examining the benefits and limits of accessibility in mediated spaces. Department of Communication, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M. (2021, March). Only a mother’s touch(screen): The materiality of maternal labor and assistive technology. Explorations in the Medical Humanities: Parenting in Pandemic. The Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities, the Motherhood and Technology Working Group at the Center for the Study of Social Difference, and the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society (co-sponsors). Columbia University, New York, NY. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M. (2021, February). Maximizing the participation of children on the autism spectrum in research. PBS KIDS, Arlington, VA. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M. (2021, January). Creating inclusive children’s media for autism and neurodiversity. PBS KIDS, Arlington, VA. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M. (2020, October). Parenting digital youth on the spectrum during the pandemic. Ask the Experts: Screens, Students, and ASD. Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, Cold Spring Harbor, NY. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M. (2020, June). Children on the autism spectrum and media: What should children’s media producers know in the age of COVID-19? Prix Jeunesse International 2020, Munich, Germany. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M. (2020, March). Disability, voice, and the social implications of communication technologies. University of Delaware Grand Challenges Program, Designing Inclusive Futures Project. University of Delaware, Newark, DE.

Alper, M. (2020, February). Promoting equity in digital learning through inclusive sensory ethnography. Connected Learning Lab, UC Irvine, Irvine, CA. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M. (2019, October). Digital media, disability, and youth: Opportunities for learning, voice, and sociality. Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Alper, M. (2019, May). Disability, voice, and the social implications of communication technology. LEAD20@MIT: Leadership in the Digital Age. Ruderman Family Foundation and MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, MA.

Alper, M. (2019, February). Disability and the social implications of communication technology. Learning Sciences Speaker Series, Center for Teaching & Learning. Boston University, Boston, MA.

Alper, M. (2018, November). Disability and the social implications of communication technology. Doctoral Colloquium in Learning and Development, Graduate School of Education. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

Alper, M. (2018, November). Disability tech. Architectural Access Workshop Series, Department of Architecture. MIT, Cambridge, MA.

Alper, M. (2018, August). The cultural politics of “sensory-friendly” mediated spaces. Communicating Universal Design, Department of Design Sciences, Faculty of Engineering. Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Alper, M. (2018, April). Reconsidering connection and conversation through disability and communication technology. Disrupting Distance: Evolving Connections and Disconnects in the Digital Age Symposium. Bard Graduate Center, New York, NY.

Alper, M. Giving voice: Mobile communication, disability, and inequality (Invited book talks after publication).

• University of Michigan, Department of Communication Studies, Communication and Media Speaker Series, Ann Arbor, MI. (2017, November)
• University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Annenberg Research Seminar, Los Angeles, CA. (2017, August)
• UC San Diego, UCSD Center for Humanities, Transdisciplinary Disability Studies Reading Group, San Diego, CA. (2017, May)
• Harvard University, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Cambridge, MA (with Elizabeth Ellcessor). (2017, May)
• Institute for Human Centered Design, Boston, MA. (2017, May)
• University of Maryland, Human-Computer Interaction Lab, College Park, MD. (2017, April)
• Northeastern University, School of Law, Faculty Colloquia, Boston, MA. (2017, April)
• Data & Society Research Institute, New York, NY. (2017, April) [Audio]
• University of North Carolina, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Mary Junck Research Colloquium Series, Chapel Hill, NC. (2017, January)

Alper, M. (2017, May). Growing up autistic in the digital age: Early fieldwork and findings. Access for All: Designing Experiences for People with Autism Symposium. New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn, NY.

Alper, M. (2017, April). Augmenting communication for non-speaking youth with new media and popular culture. Tech Kids Unlimited, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY. [Summary]

Alper, M. (2017, March). Growing up autistic in the digital age: Early fieldwork and findings. Northeastern Center for the Arts Faculty Lunchtime Colloquium. Northeastern University, Boston, MA.

Alper, M. (2017, January). “Giving voice to the voiceless” makes me want to scream: On disability, inequality, and speech-generating devices. EMW Drink Salon on Tech & Ethics. Cambridge, MA.

Alper, M. (2016, May). Reconsidering conversation: Mobile media as communication augmentations and alternatives. Department of Communication, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. [Video] [Captioned Video]

Alper, M. (2015, October). New directions in supporting digital youth with disabilities. Center on Media and Child Health, Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, MA.

Alper, M. (2015, June). Playing with transmedia and gender in children’s storytelling. St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, Vienna, Austria.

Alper, M. (2015, January). Making a difference. One app at a time?: Disability, distinction, and domestic access. Microsoft Research New England, Social Media Collective, Cambridge, MA.

Alper, M. (2014, October). Augmenting communication for non-speaking youth with new media and popular culture. Department of Informatics, UC Irvine, Irvine, CA. [Video]

Alper, M. (2014, October). Giving “screen time” a time-out: Rethinking media use among youth with disabilities. Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Santa Ana, CA.

Alper, M. (2014, March). Digital media and early learning: “Greatest hits” 2014. UCLA Early Care and Education Center, Los Angeles, CA.

Alper, M. (2013, October). Youth with disabilities and their digital media use. New America Foundation, Washington, DC.

Alper, M. (2012, October). From Minnie Mouse to Minecraft: Children’s transmedia storytelling and play. Advertising Research Foundation Youth Forum, Burbank, CA.

Invited Panel

Alper, M. (2020, October). Every body: A conversation with Sara Hendren & Elizabeth Guffey (respondent; with Matthew Battles, moderator). Making (It) Work Series, metaLAB and Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

Alper, M. (2016, October). The turn to “tween”: An age category and its cultural consequences (with Marah Gubar, moderator; Tyler Bickford, co-panelist). MIT Communications Forum, Cambridge, MA.

Alper, M. (2017, May). Conversation with Heben Nigatu, Buzzfeed’s Another Round Podcast (with Jonathan Sun, moderator; Kishonna Gray, co-panelist). MIT Online Humor Conversation Series, Cambridge, MA.

Conference Presentations

Alper, M. (2023, May). “I get to earn screens, which is terrible”: Parental mediation and the family context of autistic children’s media use. International Communication Association, Children, Adolescents and Media Division, Toronto, Canada. (Remote presentation) (Top Faculty Paper Award; Children, Adolescents and Media Division)

Alper, M. (2023, May). Beyond “mechanical boys”: Theorizing the affective uses of technology through autistic youth. International Communication Association, Philosophy, Theory and Critique Division, Toronto, Canada. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M. (2023, May). “They have mythical characters that have mythical abilities like myself”: An ethnographic study of media and identity development in autistic youth. International Communication Association, Popular Media & Culture Division, Toronto, Canada. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M., Rauchberg, J., Simpson, E., Guberman, J., & Feinberg, S. (2023, May). “I’m my own target audience”: Platform affordances and neurodivergent young people’s cultural production on #Autisktok. TikTok and Children Symposium, TikTok Cultures Research Network and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M., Manganello, J., & Colvin, K. (2022, November). Parental mediation of media use among children with disabilities and their siblings during the COVID-19 pandemic. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA. (Oral presentation)

Alper, M. (2022, May). “can we be friends? on social media”: A qualitative study of autistic children’s friendships in the digital age. International Communication Association, Children, Adolescents and Media Division, Paris, France.

Alper, M., Jennings, N., & Caplovitz, A. (2021, May). Children living with chronic illness, disability, and the media during the coronavirus crisis. International Communication Association, Children, Adolescents and Media Division. (Remote presentation)

Alper, M., Mello, S., & Allen, A. A. (2021, May). Doctors’ orders: Examining pediatric media guidance topics and correlates in the context of autistic children. International Communication Association, Children, Adolescents and Media Division. (Remote presentation)

Mankoff, J., Alper, A., McDonnell, E., Mack, K., Potluri, V., & Kasnitz, D. (2021, April). Human computer interaction folk have found disability studies: Playing together well! Panel discussion at the Society for Disability Studies Conference (SDS@OSU). (Remote presentation)

Alper, M. (2019, May). The cultural politics of “sensory-friendly” mediated spaces. International Communication Association, Activism, Communication and Social Justice Interest Group, Washington, DC.

Alper, M. (2019, May). Portables, luggables, and transportables: Historicizing the imagined affordances of mobile computing. International Communication Association, Mobile Communication Interest Group, Washington, DC.

Alper, M., Mello, S., & Allen, A. (2019, May). Physician mediation theory and pediatric media guidance in the digital age: A survey of autism medical and clinical professionals. International Communication Association, Health Communication Division, Washington, DC.

Allen, A., Alper, M., Shane, H., & Haynes, C. (2018, November). Attitudes & use of screen media in families of children with autism: A survey. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, Boston, MA.

Alper, M., Paulsen, K., Hjorth, L., Parisi, D., & Archer, J. (2018, October). On haptics, touch, and the internet. Roundtable panel at the Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR), Montreal, QC.

Alper, M. (2018, August). Disability and digital technology. Special session on “Digital Innovations for Change: Public Sociology in the 21st Century.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.

Alper, M. (2018, May). Future talk: Lay theories of technological and other futurities. International Communication Association, Children, Adolescents and Media Division, Prague, Czech Republic.

Allen, A., Alper, M., Shane, H., & Haynes, C. (2017, November). Interprofessional development of a survey exploring mobile technology use among families of children with autism. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, Los Angeles, CA.

Patel, R., & Alper, M. (2017, November). Giving voice to social communication outcomes in an increasingly diverse & digital age. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, Los Angeles, CA.

Alper, M. (2017, August). Disability: Making “sense” of computing through sensory processing disorder and autism. Panel on Making Sense of Computing: Methods, Uses, and Histories. Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science, Boston, MA. [Slides]

Alper, M. (2017, May). Hearing synthetic speech as human: Disability, technology, and the politics of listening to computerized voice. International Communication Association, Philosophy, Theory and Critique Division, San Diego, CA. (Top Faculty Paper Award, ICA Philosophy, Theory and Critique Division)

Alper, M. (2017, May). Making a case for iPad cases: Theorizing mobile accessories and materiality. International Communication Association, Mobile Communication Interest Group, San Diego, CA. (Top 8 Paper Award, ICA Mobile Communication Interest Group)

Alper, M. (2017, May). Keeping voices attached to people: Disability, demagogues, and design in media. International Communication Association Conference, Pre-Conference on Media Justice: Race, Borders, Disability, Data, San Diego, CA.

Alper, M. (2016, November). Bringing in disability to bring back class: Understanding media and technology for contemporary times and people. Plenary on Media and Class in the 21st Century. Media & Class in the 21st Century Pre-Conference, National Communication Association Conference, Philadelphia, PA. [Slides]

Alper, M. (2016, October). The communicative value of recreational media use among children with complex communication needs. Society for Research in Child Development, Special Topic Meeting: Technology and Media in Children’s Development, Irvine, CA.

Katz, V., Alper, M., & Clark, L. S. (2016, October). Researching children, intersectionality, and diversity in the digital age. Society for Research in Child Development, Special Topic Meeting: Technology and Media in Children’s Development, Irvine, CA.

Alper, M. (2016, October). Disability, digital media, and the “home technology divide.” Digital Media and Learning Conference, Irvine, CA.

Goggin, G., & Alper, M. (2016, July). Disability, children, and new challenges to digital policy and human rights. International Association for Media and Communication Research Pre-Conference, Children’s and Young People’s Rights in the Digital Age. London School of Economics, London, UK.

Alper, M., & Goggin, G. (2016, June). Children with disabilities: Rights, digital tech, freedoms. International Communication Association, Children, Adolescents and Media Division, Fukuoka, Japan.

Alper, M. (2015, June). “Repairs Not iPads”: Infrastructural breaks in school district deployment of tablets. Digital Media and Learning Conference, Los Angeles, CA.

Alper, M. (2015, May). The trouble with “screen time”: Disability and the social construction of children’s mediated bodies. International Communication Association Conference, Popular Communication Division, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Alper, M. (2015, May). “There’s many ways that I know that he can read”: Towards an asset model of childhood disability and children’s media use. International Communication Association Conference, Children, Adolescents and Media Division, San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Top 3 Poster Award, ICA Children, Adolescents and Media Division)

Alper, M. (2015, May). Speak, spell, touch, tell: A history of mobile talking machines. International Communication Association Conference, Communication History Division, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Alper, M. (2014, May). Reconsidering theories of ICT adoption: The case of tablet-based augmentative and alternative communication devices. International Communication Association Conference, Theme Session, Seattle, WA.

Alper, M. (2014, May). Augmentative, alternative, and assistive: Reimagining mobile communication and disability. International Communication Association Conference, Mobile Communication Pre-Conference, Seattle, WA.

Alper, M. (2013, October). “Can Our Kids Hack It With Computers?”: Making hacking “family-friendly,” 1983-1987. Society for the History of Technology Conference, Portland, ME.

Alper, M., & Jennings, N. (2013, June). Young children’s positive and negative parasocial relationships with media characters. International Communication Association Conference, Children, Adolescents and Media Division, London, UK.

Holler, A., Götz, M., & Alper, M. (2013, June). Children’s preferences for TV show hosts: An international perspective on learning from television. International Communication Association Conference, Children, Adolescents and Media Division, London, UK.

Alper, M. (2013, May). War on Instagram: Framing mobile photography apps in embedded photojournalism. MIT Media in Transition Conference, Cambridge, MA.

Alper, M. (2013, March). Mixed-ability maker culture. Digital Media and Learning Conference, Chicago, IL. [Video]

Alper, M. (2012, March). Promoting emerging new media literacies among young children with blindness and visual impairments. Digital Media and Learning Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Alper, M. (2011, May). Representations of non-American “foreigners” in American children’s television. International Communication Association Conference, Children, Adolescents and Media Division, Boston, MA. (Top Student Paper Award, ICA Children, Adolescents and Media Division) [PDF]

Alper, M. (2011, March).“There’s a nap for that!”: Parents’ YouTube videos of babies and toddlers using iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch devices. Digital Media and Learning Conference, Long Beach, CA.