What is AAC?
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is the way individuals who cannot speak communicate with others. There are two different categories of AAC: unaided and aided.
Unaided AAC
When a person uses their body to communicate, it is considered unaided AAC. Examples of this are sign language, eye gaze, and gestures. A benefit to using unaided AAC is that the tool or strategy is always with you and does not need to be transported separately. The individual communicating using unaided AAC must have some motor control. They also must have communication partners who can understand their communication method.
Aided AAC
Aided AAC is when a person requires additional support outside of their body to communicate with others. Examples include pictures, communication boards, switches, and speech generating devices . The benefits of using aided AAC is that it is easier to communicate with a person who may not be familiar with some of the strategies that are used in unaided AAC such as sign language. It is of value to make aided AAC easily transportable and readily available.