Speech and language therapy reports, training courses, apps: AAC has its own vocabulary. Here are 53 terms, each defined in one sentence based on Beukelman and Light (2020), with other common names or acronyms in brackets; a linked term leads to the guide that covers it in detail. For funding questions, see Funding AAC.

A

AAC (augmentative and alternative communication): all the ways of adding to or replacing speech and writing.

Aided / unaided AAC: with an external tool (board, tablet) or with the body alone (gestures, signs, facial expressions).

Aided language board (aided language display): a symbol board, displayed or placed on the table, that everyone points to while talking.

C

Co-construction: a message built by two people, where the partner suggests, guesses or completes and the user confirms or corrects.

Communication board: a single page of symbols, printed or on screen, often linked to an activity (meals, bath time, play).

Communication book: a paper book with tabs grouping pages of symbols, often the first tool and later the tablet’s backup.

Communication dictionary (gesture dictionary): a document listing a person’s gestures and signals, what they mean and how to respond.

Communication partner: anyone who interacts with the user (parent, teacher, classmate, carer).

Communicative competence: the ability to communicate effectively, combining linguistic, operational, social and strategic skills.

Communicative functions: reasons for communicating, such as expressing a need, sharing information, building closeness or following social conventions.

Complex communication needs (CCN): the person’s speech is not enough for everyday communication, whatever the cause.

Core vocabulary: a small set of very frequent words that are useful everywhere, such as ‘more’, ‘all done’ or ‘go’.

D to F

Direct selection: the person points to the button themselves, with a finger, a hand, their eyes or a pointer.

Expansion / recast: repeating the person’s message in a fuller form, for example ‘more juice’ for ‘more’.

Eye gaze (eye tracking): access with the eyes, where a camera follows the eyes and selects the button the person looks at.

Fitzgerald colour code (Fitzgerald Key): background colours given to buttons according to the type of word (people, actions, describing words…).

Floorholder: a message that holds your turn while you compose, for example ‘Hold on, I’m typing…’.

Fringe and personal vocabulary: words specific to a topic or a person (names, places, foods, passions).

Functional communication training (FCT): replacing a behaviour that challenges with a message that has the same function and is at least as easy to produce.

G to K

Holophrase: a group of words used as a single block, for example ‘all done’ or ‘what’s that?’.

‘How to talk to me’ card (communication passport): a message that explains to a new person how the user communicates and how to help.

Iconicity: how closely a symbol resembles what it stands for, from transparent (guessable) to opaque.

Just-in-time programming: adding a word to the tool during the activity, at the moment it becomes useful.

Key word signing: you say the whole sentence and sign only the important words, as with Makaton.

L and M

LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning): a method based on fixed positions and repeated movements for each word.

Least dangerous assumption: without proof, choosing the assumption that does the least harm if it is wrong, for example assuming the person understands.

Literacy: the ability to read and write, which can be taught to everyone, with no prerequisites.

Low-tech / high-tech: tools without electronics (paper boards, books, alphabet boards) or with them (tablets, speaking devices), which complement each other.

Message banking: chosen phrases recorded in your own voice before losing speech, to play them back later.

Modelling (aided language modelling, aided language input): the partner touches words on the person’s tool while talking; also called aided language stimulation.

Motor planning: the principle that a word always keeps the same place, so that the movement becomes automatic.

Multimodal communication: combined use of several means of communication (gestures, sounds, symbols, speech), with no hierarchy between them.

O and P

OBZ (Open Board Format): an open file format for exchanging communication boards between compatible apps.

Partner-assisted scanning: the partner says or shows the options one by one and the person signals the right one.

Participation Model: an assessment and intervention framework that starts from the person’s activities and the barriers to their participation.

PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System): a six-phase method in which the person exchanges a picture for what they want.

PODD (Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display): an AAC system designed by Gayle Porter, whose pages are organised into pragmatic branches.

Pragmatic branches (pragmatic organisation): pages organised by intention (chatting, asking, saying something is wrong) rather than by word category.

Presuming competence: assuming the person understands more than they can express, and offering them a rich environment.

R and S

Repair: a strategy to put right a misunderstood message, by repeating or changing it (adding information, simplifying, saying it another way).

Robust AAC: a system that in time lets the person say anything (large vocabulary, every communicative function, grammar, letters).

Scanning: buttons light up in turn and the person presses a switch when the right one is highlighted.

Speech-generating device (SGD): an electronic tool that speaks messages aloud (a dedicated device or a tablet with an AAC app).

Switch: a large button or sensor activated by a part of the body (hand, head, foot) to make a selection, often with scanning.

Symbol (pictogram): a simplified drawing that stands for a word or an idea, taken from libraries such as ARASAAC.

T to W

T2L (Transition to Literacy): the written word appears in large print for about 3 seconds when a symbol is touched, to support reading.

Text-to-speech (TTS): a computer-generated voice that reads messages aloud.

Visual scene display (VSD): a photo of a real moment with areas that speak words, useful for young children and in aphasia.

Visual schedule: pictures or photos that show how a day or an activity unfolds.

Voice banking: about 4 to 6 hours of your own speech recorded to create a synthetic voice close to yours, which can say anything.

Wait time: a pause of 5 to 10 seconds given to the person to express themselves before helping.

Word prediction: automatic suggestion of the likely next words, which saves selections.

Written choice conversation: the partner writes 2 to 4 possible answers in large letters so the person can point to theirs, especially in aphasia.

Pictalk Buddy brings together AAC boards, a visual schedule, guided sequences and notebooks, with the same symbols, on Android, iOS, the web and the watch. A pay-what-you-want app, developed by a non-profit association. Discover Buddy

Sources

• Beukelman, D. R., & Light, J. C., 2020, Augmentative & Alternative Communication (5th ed.), Paul H. Brookes.