What is AAC and who might benefit from it?

The short answer

AAC means augmentative and alternative communication: tools and techniques that add to speech or provide another way to communicate. It includes gesture and signing, objects, photographs, paper symbol boards, alphabet boards, communication books, speech-generating devices and apps. A person may use AAC temporarily, throughout life, for some messages or in some settings. The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists states that there are no prerequisites for AAC assessment, so a child should not have to reach a particular age, understanding level or amount of speech first. Good assessment begins with the child, their communication partners, tasks and environments, then considers access, language, vocabulary, sensory and motor needs, training and maintenance. The useful question is not which product looks most advanced. It is whether the child can use the system to initiate, refuse, ask, comment, joke, repair and influence what happens across real parts of life.

• AAC can supplement speech or provide an alternative to it.
• AAC includes unaided communication, paper-based systems and electronic devices.
• There are no prerequisites for an AAC assessment.
• Assessment should consider the child, communication partners and environments, not a device in isolation.
• A useful system supports more than requests and remains available throughout the day.