About AAC

“AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. It refers to tools and strategies that support or replace speech for people with communication difficulties. AAC can be unaided (like gestures or facial expressions) or aided (like picture boards or speech-generating devices)” (Hartmann, n.d.).

For students who cannot rely on speech alone to communicate, AAC provides additional pathways for them to express themselves. This is especially important given that, according to CommunicationFIRST (n.d.), “... 5 million people in the United States with speech-related communication disabilities and conditions continue to face low expectations, outright prejudice, and isolation. [They] have the highest rates of segregation, restraint, seclusion, and abuse of any demographic group.” 

As school professionals and families, we have the power to make positive change for students with speech-related communication disabilities by teaching students to communicate using AAC.

Explore the Resources

Please take some time to explore the following resources to learn about AAC:

• Watch the short clip What is AAC? #Shorts (AssistiveWare, 2023) for a brief introduction to AAC.

• Read the article What is AAC? (Hartmann, n.d.) from AssistiveWare to learn about AAC and the different types of AAC that exist.