No Tech AAC
- Facial expressions
- Gestures
- Body language
- Sign language
AAC Evaluations & Training
Every child deserves a reliable way to communicate.
When spoken words are limited, difficult to understand, or not consistently available, Augmentative and Alternative Communication, known as AAC, can provide another pathway to meaningful communication.
Hand in Hand Speech Therapy provides comprehensive AAC evaluations, individualized recommendations, and practical AAC training designed to help children communicate more successfully across everyday environments.
☎ (516) 774-3074- ✓ ASHA Certified Speech Language Pathologist
- ✓ AAC and Assistive Technology Expertise
- ✓ Bilingual and Multilingual Support
- ✓ Family and Team Centered Approach
- ✓ Manufacturer Neutral Recommendations
A helpful starting point
New to AAC?
AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. It includes tools and strategies that support communication when speech alone does not fully meet a person’s needs.
- Gestures
- Visual supports
- Picture communication
- Communication boards
- Speech generating devices
- Tablets with communication applications
What Exactly Is AAC?
AAC is more than a device.
AAC is any tool or strategy that helps someone communicate beyond speech alone.
Some people use AAC temporarily. Others use it throughout their lives. Some children use AAC alongside spoken language, while others rely on AAC as their primary method of communication.
AAC may be as simple as pointing to a picture or as sophisticated as using a speech generating communication device.
The goal is not simply to give a child a device. The goal is to give them access to language.
Low Tech AAC
- Picture symbols
- Communication boards
- Visual choice boards
- Core vocabulary boards
High Tech AAC
- Communication applications
- Tablets
- Speech generating devices
- Dedicated communication systems
AAC does not mean giving up on speech. AAC gives a child another way to communicate while speech and language continue to develop.
Who May Benefit
Could AAC help my child or student?
AAC is not limited to one diagnosis or one profile. AAC may be considered when a child:
- Is minimally speaking or nonspeaking
- Has difficulty communicating wants, needs, thoughts, or feelings
- Becomes frustrated when others do not understand them
- Has speech that is difficult for unfamiliar listeners to understand
- Relies heavily on pointing, gestures, or leading adults to what they want
- Uses only a limited number of spoken words
- Has difficulty combining words into meaningful messages
- Has motor speech challenges
- Has an existing AAC system that is not being used effectively
- Needs more reliable communication across environments
AAC may support communication needs associated with
- Autism
- Childhood apraxia of speech
- Cerebral palsy
- Developmental disabilities
- Genetic syndromes
- Neurological conditions
- Motor impairments
- Complex communication needs
A diagnosis is not required for someone to benefit from AAC.
AAC is communication, not a last resort.
AAC Evaluations
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
✓
Finding the communication system that fits the person, not the other way around.
An AAC evaluation is a comprehensive assessment designed to determine whether AAC may improve communication and what type of communication system best matches the individual’s strengths, needs, abilities, environments, and communication goals.
An AAC evaluation is not simply asking which AAC application should be downloaded. It considers the whole communicator.
Communication Profile
Current communication methods, spoken language, gestures, vocalizations, communication functions, receptive and expressive language, social communication, and where communication breaks down.
Access Considerations
Fine motor abilities, direct touch, visual access, positioning, symbol size, navigation demands, and alternative access methods when appropriate.
Symbol and Vocabulary Needs
Picture symbols, written words, core and fringe vocabulary, vocabulary organization, language complexity, and the ability to grow with the system.
AAC System Trials
When appropriate, we trial communication boards, core vocabulary systems, AAC applications, tablet based systems, and dedicated speech generating devices instead of defaulting to one product.
Communication Across Environments
We consider how communication needs shift across home, school, therapy, community settings, social environments, and daily routines.
Family and Team Input
Parents, caregivers, teachers, therapists, paraprofessionals, and communication partners hold essential information about how the communicator is understood every day.
Recommendations and Next Steps
Recommendations may address the system, vocabulary, device features, access method, goals, strategies, training, environmental supports, and follow up.
Manufacturer Neutral by Design
Recommendations are individualized. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by an AAC manufacturer. The communicator guides the recommendation.
The Process
What happens during an AAC evaluation?
- 1
Learn About the Communicator
We learn how the child communicates, what is working, where communication breaks down, and what the family or team hopes AAC will make possible.
- 2
Assess Communication and Access
We examine language, motor access, visual considerations, symbol understanding, and other factors that may influence AAC use.
- 3
Explore AAC Options
The child receives opportunities to interact with communication tools and systems through practical, meaningful interaction.
- 4
Identify Best Fit Recommendations
We consider the individual’s entire communication profile instead of choosing a system based only on diagnosis or age.
- 5
Build an Implementation Plan
Recommendations explain which system may fit and how the people around the child can support successful communication.
The best AAC system is not necessarily the most expensive or most popular.
The right AAC system is one that:
- Matches the communicator
- Provides access to meaningful vocabulary
- Can grow with their language
- Works across environments
- Can be supported consistently by communication partners
AAC Training and Implementation Support
A communication device is only the beginning.
Successful AAC implementation requires more than placing a device in front of a child. Children learn AAC through consistent exposure, modeling, meaningful interaction, and support from the adults around them.
AAC training helps parents, educators, clinicians, and support teams understand how to make an AAC system a functional part of everyday communication.
Parents and Caregivers
Learn how to support AAC during:
- Meals
- Play
- Getting dressed
- Bedtime
- Community outings
- Preferred activities
- Everyday conversations
Schools and Educational Teams
Training may support:
- Teachers
- Paraprofessionals
- Speech language pathologists
- Occupational and physical therapists
- Behavioral teams
- Special education teams
- Related service providers
Clinics and Facilities
Consultation may improve:
- AAC implementation
- Staff confidence
- Carryover
- Communication accessibility
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
- Consistency across providers
What AAC training may cover
Understanding AAC
What AAC is, what it is not, and how AAC supports language development.
Aided Language Modeling
How adults can model words on a child’s AAC system while speaking naturally.
Moving Beyond “I Want”
Supporting comments, questions, descriptions, greetings, opinions, feelings, and social interaction.
Core Vocabulary
How to model flexible words such as go, stop, more, help, want, like, not, different, look, and turn.
AAC in Everyday Routines
Creating communication opportunities without turning every interaction into a therapy task.
Supporting Without Pressure
Avoiding the expectation that a child must prove they can use a device before receiving what they need.
Device Navigation and Customization
Adding and organizing vocabulary, adjusting settings, understanding navigation, and basic troubleshooting when relevant.
Communication Partner Strategies
Model, pause, wait, follow the child’s interests, respond to all communication attempts, and reduce excessive prompting.
Supporting Generalization
Using AAC across people, activities, and environments instead of limiting it to therapy sessions.
More than requesting. More than a device. More ways to connect.
AAC Is a Team Effort
AAC works best when the people around the communicator know how to support it.
A child may have access to an excellent AAC system and still struggle to use it consistently if the adults around them are unsure how to model, respond, or create meaningful communication opportunities.
That is why AAC training is not an extra. Communication partner training is a critical part of AAC success.
Child or AAC User
- Family
- Teachers
- SLP
- OT and PT
- Paraprofessionals
- Caregivers
- Community
Communication partners matter.
Choose Your Path
Not sure which service you need?
AAC Evaluation
Choose an AAC evaluation when:
- The individual does not currently have an AAC system
- You are unsure which system is appropriate
- Current communication does not adequately meet their needs
- A new or updated recommendation is needed
- Several communication systems need to be explored
- A formal assessment or written recommendation is needed
AAC Training
Choose AAC training when:
- The individual already has an AAC system
- Parents or staff are unsure how to use it
- The device is rarely used
- The child only uses AAC to request
- Communication partners need modeling strategies
- Staff need professional AAC education
- AAC use is inconsistent across environments
Evaluation and Implementation Support
For families and organizations who want comprehensive support from assessment through implementation, including evaluation, recommendations, communication partner coaching, and follow up as the system becomes part of everyday life.
Discuss the Right AAC Service
For Schools, Facilities and Organizations
AAC support for schools, programs, and clinical teams
AAC implementation often extends beyond one clinician.
Hand in Hand Speech Therapy can support organizations seeking specialized AAC expertise through individualized evaluations, consultation, staff education, and implementation focused training.
- Individual AAC evaluations
- AAC consultations
- Communication system recommendations
- Classroom AAC support
- Staff training
- Parent and caregiver education
- AAC implementation coaching
- Communication partner training
- Team based consultation
- Professional development
- AAC and assistive technology education
Training can be tailored to an individual student, a classroom, a clinical team, a department, or an entire organization.
Our AAC Philosophy
Communication should never depend on speech alone.
Presume Competence
A person’s current speech abilities do not define the complexity of their thoughts.
Build Language, Not Compliance
AAC is intended to support genuine communication, not simply following adult directions.
Honor All Communication
Gestures, vocalizations, facial expressions, movement, speech, signs, and AAC can all be meaningful.
Individualize the System
AAC should reflect the communicator’s language, culture, interests, environments, access needs, and developmental profile.
Support Communication Partners
We do not expect children to learn AAC alone. Adults need coaching too.
Allow the System to Grow
AAC should leave room for language growth instead of only supporting basic requesting.
We evaluate the communicator, not the product.
Multilingual and Culturally Responsive AAC
Communication does not stop at one language.
Multilingual families should not automatically be told to limit communication to English. Many AAC systems offer multilingual options, though availability and features vary by system.
AAC planning should consider
- Languages used at home
- Languages used at school
- Family communication patterns
- Cultural context
- Vocabulary meaningful to the child
- Names of important people
- Foods and activities
- Routines and community experiences
Families should be able to communicate with their child in the languages that connect them to home, family, culture, and community.
Myth vs. Fact
Common AAC myths, answered.
Myth
“AAC will stop my child from talking.”
Fact
AAC is designed to support communication, not replace a child’s opportunity to develop speech. AAC can be used alongside spoken language.
Myth
“We should wait until the child is older.”
Fact
There is no universal prerequisite age for AAC. Communication support can begin early when a child needs another way to express themselves.
Myth
“My child needs to prove they are ready for AAC.”
Fact
AAC does not require a child to demonstrate a specific set of prerequisite skills before they deserve access to communication.
Myth
“AAC is only for autistic children.”
Fact
AAC may support individuals with many different communication profiles and diagnoses.
Myth
“AAC is just for requesting things.”
Fact
A robust communication system should allow someone to comment, ask questions, protest, joke, greet, describe, socialize, and share thoughts.
There are no words too important to communicate.
Frequently Asked Questions
AAC evaluations and AAC training, explained.
What does AAC stand for?
AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. It includes tools and strategies that support or supplement spoken communication, from gestures and picture symbols to communication boards and speech generating devices.
Does AAC mean my child will stop talking?
No. AAC can be used alongside speech and does not require families to abandon spoken language. Many children use AAC while speech and language continue to develop.
Does my child need a diagnosis to receive an AAC evaluation?
No. AAC needs are based on functional communication rather than diagnosis alone. A diagnosis is not required for someone to benefit from AAC.
What happens during an AAC evaluation?
We build a communication profile, look at receptive and expressive language, assess motor and visual access, explore symbol and vocabulary needs, trial systems when appropriate, gather family and team input, and finish with individualized recommendations and an implementation plan.
Is an AAC evaluation just testing different applications?
No. An AAC evaluation considers language, access, communication needs, environments, symbol systems, vocabulary organization, and communication partners. The system is chosen to fit the communicator.
What is an AAC device?
An AAC device is a tool used to communicate messages when speech alone does not meet a person’s needs. It may be a printed communication board or an electronic system that speaks selected words aloud.
What is a speech generating device?
A speech generating device produces spoken output when the user makes selections, allowing messages to be heard by communication partners.
Is an iPad considered AAC?
An iPad may become part of a high tech AAC system when paired with appropriate communication software. Features, durability, access options, and vocabulary organization differ by setup.
What is core vocabulary?
Core vocabulary is a small set of flexible, frequently used words such as go, stop, more, help, want, like, not, and look that can be combined across many topics and situations.
What is aided language modeling?
Aided language modeling is when adults touch or select words on the AAC system while talking, showing the communicator how the system is used in real interaction.
Can AAC be used with children who already speak?
Yes. AAC may supplement speech when spoken communication is unreliable, difficult to understand, limited, or insufficient for more complex language.
What if my child already has a device but does not use it?
This often signals a need for training, implementation support, reassessment, vocabulary modification, or communication partner coaching. It does not mean AAC has failed.
Who should attend AAC training?
Parents, caregivers, teachers, paraprofessionals, clinicians, related service providers, and anyone who regularly communicates with the AAC user.
Do you provide AAC training for schools or organizations?
Yes. Training may be customized for an individual student, a classroom, a clinical team, a department, or an entire organization.
Can AAC support more than one language?
Many AAC systems offer multilingual options, though language availability and features vary. AAC planning should consider all languages important to the communicator.
Will you automatically recommend a specific AAC application?
No. Recommendations are individualized and manufacturer neutral. We evaluate the communicator, not the product.
Does AAC only work for requesting?
No. A robust AAC system should support comments, questions, refusals, jokes, greetings, descriptions, and social connection.
How do we know whether we need an AAC evaluation or AAC training?
Choose an evaluation when there is no system yet, the current system is not meeting communication needs, or a formal written recommendation is needed. Choose training when a system already exists and the people around the communicator need strategies to use it well. We can help you decide during a consultation.
Take the Next Step
Communication changes everything.
Whether you are wondering if AAC may help your child, trying to make better use of an existing communication system, or seeking specialized AAC support for your school or organization, the next step begins with understanding the communicator.
Let’s create a communication system that gives someone more ways to participate, connect, advocate, and be understood.
Prefer to talk? Call (516) 774-3074
