Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

Assistive Technology (AT) is “used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with disabilities” (IDEA) and allows for more independence when accomplishing educational and life tasks. However, as with many fields grouping individuals together, AT includes subcategories to identify specific issues within among its users. As a subset of AT, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) refers to a “method of communication used by individuals with severe speech and language disabilities… who are unable to use verbal speech but are cognitively able or whose speech is difficult to understand” (Watson). Whereas AT focuses on creating independence and functional capabilities for a person with disabilities, AAC isolates to focus on the individual’s need for communication.

Since individuals using AAC technologies are unable to verbally speak or can be difficult to understand, Augmentative and Alternative Communication uses a variety of non-verbal communication tools and devices to assist in communicating. Most commonly used include communication boards, symbols, drawings and pictures, sign language, non-verbal gestures, or a combination of these. Furthermore, many AAC cases involve Assistive Technology (Watson). In fact, like Assistive Technology, Augmentative and Alternative Communication consists of no-, low-, and high-tech devices. No-tech AAC devices include picture and symbol boards that don’t require batteries; these devices can be used by pointing at the picture/symbol to communicate what an individual wants or needs. Low-tech devices become more involved and may use a battery, incorporating the picture/symbol, the word, and an object that matches. High-tech devices are electronic devices that allow messages to be stored and retrieved. With high-tech AAC devices, there are two subcategories: dedicated and non-dedication. Dedicated tools are developed primarily for the purpose of communicating, whereas non-dedicated tools can be used for communication but have other functions as well, such as a computer. When determining if an individual requires AAC, one should consider the individual’s cognitive ability, physical ability, vocabulary use, motivation, and which AAC system would match the individual’s needs (Watson). Doing so will help place the individual with the proper AAC device and allow for better communication.