16-04-2021

Aac Equipment Sitesaac Resources

If the acronym AAC doesn’t mean anything to you, you’re in the right place. First, AAC stands for Alternative and Augmentative Communication. AAC is a way for people who have communication challenges, to have a means to communicate.
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Aac Equipment Sitesaac Resources Inc
Aac Equipment Sitesaac Resources List

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Children and adults with severe speech or language problems may need to find other ways to communicate. There are many types of AAC that they can use. Speech-language pathologists, or SLPs, can help.

AAC methods The AAC user will require a system and method suited to their particular disability. They will have to be able to learn and understand the meaning and use of the system and be able to operate the chosen method. Electronic systems are often a first choice as they can offer the added bonus of speech output and convey a positive image. Paid AAC Options for Children with Autism. More sophisticated AAC can be purchased for a price. While these options may have more features, they also cost more money so they may be better for speech-language pathologists working with many non-verbal autistic children or for parents of children who already know that AAC will work for their child.

On this page:

About AAC

You may have seen someone write in a notebook to answer a question. Maybe you have seen people using gestures to communicate. You may have seen someone point to pictures or push buttons on a computer that speaks for them. These are all forms of augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC.

Aac Equipment Sitesaac Resources Inc

AAC includes all of the ways we share our ideas and feelings without talking. We all use forms of AAC every day. You use AAC when you use facial expressions or gestures instead of talking. You use AAC when you write a note and pass it to a friend or coworker. We may not realize how often we communicate without talking.

People with severe speech or language problems may need AAC to help them communicate. Some may use it all of the time. Others may say some words but use AAC for longer sentences or with people they don’t know well. AAC can help in school, at work, and when talking with friends and family.

Types of AAC

Do you or your loved one have difficulty talking? There are options that might help. There are two main types of AAC—unaided systems and aided systems. You may use one or both types. Most people who use AAC use a combination of AAC types to communicate.

Unaided Systems

You do not need anything but your own body to use unaided systems. These include gestures, body language, facial expressions, and some sign vocabulary.

Aided Systems

An aided system uses some sort of tool or device. There are two types of aided systems—basic and high-tech. A pen and paper is a basic aided system. Pointing to letters, words, or pictures on a board is a basic aided system. Touching letters or pictures on a computer screen that speaks for you is a high-tech aided system. Some of these speech-generating devices, or SGDs, can speak in different languages.

Working With A Speech-Language Pathologist

An SLP will test how well you or your loved one can speak and understand. The SLP can help find the right AAC system for you. You may use a basic system first and may need it for only a short time. This may happen if you had mouth surgery or a stroke and your speech comes back.

It may take some time to get a more high-tech system, if you need one. Not every device works for every person, so it is important to find the right one for you. The Information for AAC Users webpage has more information about finding the best AAC system. Insurance or other funding can help you pay for your AAC device.

See ASHA information for professionals on the Practice Portal's Augmentative and Alternative Communication page.

Other Resources

This list does not include every website on this topic. ASHA does not endorse the information on these sites.

AAC Tech Connect
AAC apps are software applications for mobile devices that assist individuals with complex communication needs including persons with limited speech or speech that is not usually understood by others. This site provides free and fee-for-service tools for searching 'quality' AAC apps (based on a defined criteria) and dedicated AAC devices. The AAC Apps Assistant may be sampled for free for 24 hours or 30 days if you are willing to provide feedback.
AAC Funding Help
A Web site for help funding AAC technology created by the Assistive Technology Law Center at Duke University
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA):AAC page
This AAC page on the ASHA Web site explains what AAC is, types of AAC systems, and where to go for more information.
Apps for AAC
AAC apps are software applications for mobile devices that can help individuals who are non speaking or those whose speech is not usually understood by others. This is a comprehensive Web site of iPad/iPhone/iPod AAC apps, offering filtered search and comparison tools. It is maintained by Will Wade, an OT at the ACE Centre, Oxford. Wade also reviews apps in his blog posts. Also includes an Apps for Android page.
ASHA's Apps Resources Web page
This resource includes links for finding apps for AAC as well as additional information about their use. This resource does not list or suggest specific apps for use in therapy settings.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication Centers
This AAC website is designed to provide access to a wide range of information and resources related to AAC and includes vendor links, academic resources, intervention links, early intervention resources, and general AAC links. It is maintained by the Barkley AAC Center and the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska.
Augmentative Communication On-Line User’s Group (ACOLUG)
An international internet listserv. Its primary purpose is to provide a forum for people who use AAC to communicate with each other. Other members include college students studying AAC, manufacturers, researchers, practitioners, allies and university students.
iPad/iPod/iPhone Apps for AAC
This is a continuously updated comparison chart of AAC apps courtesy of the Spectronics Web site (long-time AT vendor of Australia and New Zealand). It is maintained by Jane Farrall who has decades of experience as a special educator working with AAC.

Making Communication Happen
A booklet developed by the Vermont Communication Task Force that provides three annotated tools to help a person and his or her team to plan and provide communication supports.
Mobile Devices and Communication Apps: An AAC-RERC White Paper
The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Communication Enhancement (AAC-RERC) offers this paper as a means for raising issues related to mobile technologies and AAC Apps and to encourage discussion and collaboration among AAC stakeholders.
Practical AAC Info
A Web site developed by 2 speech-language pathologists that provides AAC support to clinicians and educators. The list of free or lite Apps is by Carol Zangari.

Aac Equipment Sitesaac Resources List

Say It With Symbols
Created by a Massachusetts mom of a child with complex communication needs, this site sells low tech communication aids, visual supports, cards and gifts featuring picture symbols that support children and adults with communication disorders and autism. It also has a Free Stuff page of links to free symbols, PECs, boards, stories and more.

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