AAC on Fondsites

Visual Supports for Communication Access: More Than Pictures on a Wall

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This guide explains how visual supports can make communication easier across home, school, therapy, work, and community routines. It is educational background, not an AAC evaluation, behavior plan, classroom accommodation decision, treatment plan, or substitute for a licensed speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, teacher, physician, assistive technology team, or qualified local professional.

Visual support is a broad phrase. It can mean a gesture, photograph, object, drawing, schedule, written keyword, choice board, first-then card, map, calendar, communication book, AAC display, or anything else that makes information visible. The point is not decoration. The point is access.

AAC Access Methods: Touch, Eye Gaze, Switches, and Partner Scanning

Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This guide explains AAC access methods as practical communication pathways, not as a shopping list of devices. It is educational background, not an AAC evaluation, equipment recommendation, school decision, therapy plan, or substitute for a licensed speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, assistive technology professional, physician, audiologist, teacher, vision specialist, or qualified local team.

AAC can include speech, gesture, signs, writing, picture boards, communication books, tablets, speech-generating devices, switches, eye gaze, partner-assisted scanning, and many blended systems. The access method is the way the person reaches the message. If access is wrong, the vocabulary may be excellent and still remain out of reach.

Communication Partner Training: How Listeners Help Communication Work

Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This guide explains communication partner training: the work of helping listeners, caregivers, teachers, clinicians, coworkers, and family members communicate in ways that support the person with a speech, language, fluency, voice, cognitive-communication, or AAC need. It is educational background, not a treatment plan, legal or school advice, diagnosis, supervision, or substitute for a licensed speech-language pathologist, qualified school team, physician, audiologist, psychologist, or local professional.

Speech-language support is often described as if all change must happen inside the person receiving services. The speaker should produce the sound. The child should answer. The adult with aphasia should find the word. The AAC user should select the message. Those goals may matter, but communication is never one-sided. A listener can make a message easier to send, easier to repair, and easier to trust.

AAC in Daily Routines: Communication Beyond the Practice Table

Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This guide explains how augmentative and alternative communication, often called AAC, can become part of ordinary routines instead of staying trapped at a therapy table. It is educational background, not an AAC evaluation, device recommendation, treatment plan, school decision, or substitute for a licensed speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, teacher, physician, audiologist, assistive technology team, or qualified local professional.

AAC can include gestures, signs, pictures, communication books, partner-assisted scanning, writing, speech-generating devices, tablets, and other supports. The right system depends on the person, the setting, motor access, vision, hearing, language, cognition, partners, culture, and goals. A guidebook cannot choose that system, but it can help partners think about how AAC lives in a real day.