Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Augmentative and Alternative Communication
According to American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, augmentative and alternative
communication includes all the different ways in which we share our ideas and feelings without
actually talking. When you augment something, you are adding to it, therefore, augmentative
communication is when you add something to your speech (e.g. pictures, sign language, facial
expressions, a letter board, etc.). These tools can assist you with making your message clearer for
your communication partner. Alternative communication refers to needing a different way to
communicate. This could be because your speech is not understood by others or because you are
not able to speak (Hartmann, 2020).
AAC can refer to many different tools, systems, devices or strategies that are designed to assist
or replace verbal speech. Each and every single one of us uses different forms of AAC every day.
These include writing, drawing, facial expressions, or even the use of gestures instead of talking.
Individuals who have difficulties with speech and language may rely on AAC to help them
communicate. Some individuals may use AAC at all times, others may only use AAC in specific
scenarios (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association).
There are many different reasons why someone may not be able to communicate using speech.
They may have a developmental disability that has affected the development of their speech, or
they may have an acquired disorder that has affected their ability to speak. Different people with
a variety of communication difficulties, speech impediments, or disorders may benefit from
using AAC (Lingraphica, 2020).
There are different types of AAC devices – unaided systems and aided systems. It is common for
people who use AAC to use a combination of AAC types when communicating. Unaided
systems do not require anything other than your own physical body. These include facial
expressions, body language, gestures, and some sign vocabulary. With unaided communication,
an individual relies on their own body to convey messages to listeners. Aided systems use some
sort of device or tool in addition to the body. Aided systems can be broken down into basic and
high-tech. A basic aided system could be a pen and paper or using a picture board to point to.
High-tech aided devices refer to using a computer or tablet to touch letters or pictures in order
for that device to speak for the individual (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association).
The implementation of augmentative and alternative communication can be used to provide the
patient with an opportunity to practice repetitive production. The purpose of AAC is to “enable
those with highly limited verbal expression competencies to communicate efficiently to varying
communication partners and to participate in a variety of social situations and everyday
activities” (Lüke, 2016). Recent advances in technology have provided clinicians more options
than ever before to support a child’s acquisition of language using speech generating
augmentative and alternative communication systems (Barton-Hulsey et al., 2017). Evidence
shows that augmented input for improving communication skills in people with developmental
disabilities and CAS is promising (Zangari, 2018). The AAC being recommended for this case
study is Proloquo2Go. Proloquo2Go is an innovative application developed by AssistiveWare
that provides user friendly support for users, as well as all members within the interdisciplinary
team, in order to implement AAC best practices. AssistiveWare was founded in 2000 and is a
leading pioneer in the field of augmentative and alternative communication, developing assistive
technology software for iOS and macOS. Proloquo2Go was released in 2009 as the first
full-featured augmentative and alternative communication application for iOS. This is an AAC
application that can be used as a daily communication tool and aiding in building language skills.
This application was designed to promote growth of communication skills, as well as foster
language development through research-based vocabularies. This is one of the few AAC
applications that is designed to support all users, from beginner to advanced, and is available in
English, Spanish, French, and Dutch (AssistiveWare).