AAC Support for Communication

AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. These are tools or strategies that help people communicate when spoken language or sign language alone isn’t enough, and can be used throughout a person’s life. AAC can be as simple as a picture card or as advanced as a speech-generating app on a tablet.

When Might AAC Be Helpful?

AAC may support a child who is deaf or hard of hearing if they also:

• Have additional disabilities that affect speech or language.
• Are very young and just beginning to develop language and communication.
• Need extra support to make their wants and needs clear at home, school, or in the community.

Examples of AAC

• Picture symbols or communication boards: This could look like pointing to a picture of “bathroom” or “I’m hungry.”
• Sign language combined with symbols or pictures: This can support vocabulary while your child builds language.
• Speech-generating devices or apps: A device that speaks aloud what your child selects.
• Tactile symbols or objects: Tactile objects can be felt or held, and can help children, who are deafblind, build their understanding of abstract ideas. For example, a spoon might be used to represent it’s time to eat.

Who Can Help?

If you think AAC might support your child, talk with your child’s:

• Speech-Language Pathologist.
• Teacher of the Deaf.
• Occupational Therapist.
• Early Intervention Team.
• Educational Team.

These professionals can help you decide if AAC is a good fit and what options may work best. The OCALI Lending Library has several AAC options to try before you buy. You and your team can check these items out with a free lending library account

Explore AAC Videos

• AAC and Young Children: Supporting Communication in Infants and Toddlers from OCALI offers a course introducing the foundations of Augmentative and Alternative Communication for infants and toddlers with complex communication needs.
• To learn more about how AAC may be used with a signing deaf child, you may find this recorded Virtual Workshop

Key takeaway

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) can support continued speech or sign language development; it works alongside them to support your child’s communication. AAC can help your child be understood in more places and by people who may not yet know how your child communicates. For example, if a child is visiting a new library and doesn’t yet know how to ask for the bathroom by speaking or writing, they could point to a picture of a toilet in their communication book to let the librarian know. Another child might use their device to order food at a restaurant when a server doesn’t understand their speech. Over time, some children may learn to say or write words and no longer need the picture or device for that message. Others may continue using AAC as part of their everyday communication, alongside speech or sign language. Writing and picture communication can also be especially helpful for sign language users when talking with someone who doesn’t know sign language.