Something to Say and a Way to Say It

Communication is our ability to understand what others are saying to us and expressing what we want to say to others, when and where we want to say it.

We all use many tools in order to communicate. We speak, we point, we gesture, we move closer or farther away, we make faces, we write, and we use many other forms of expression. We nod or shake our heads to say “yes” or “no” when asked by a friend if we are ready for lunch. We use words when we talk on the telephone because we learned from our mamas when we were very young that “Grandma cannot see you nodding your head, so you need to say ‘yes’” and we have incorporated this learning into our adult communication. We look or point toward something we want someone with us to see. We generally move closer to someone we care about as we prepare to say, “I love you.”

For those who, because of a disability, are unable to use any of the typical array of communication tools – words, gestures, expressions, etc – effectively and efficiently in the presence of the people with whom they desire or need to communicate, augmentative and alternative communication tools and strategies provide a means to communicate and a clear indication to others that they have something to say and a way to say it.

There are a variety of devices, systems and strategies that belong in the category of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools that can be used to supplement the communication skills of individuals with disabilities.

The range, dissimilarity and feature richness of AAC products is truly awe-inspiring. Although some AAC tools can legitimately be described as “high tech”, e.g. electronic speech generating devices sometimes known as “voice output communication aids”, other AAC tools are “low tech” and have few or no electronic or electrical components.

(As noted in Module 1: Guiding Principles of this Web site, a well-designed device with complex technology on the inside can, on the outside, be remarkably easy to master and use.)