Combining AAC with Speech Therapy to Maximize Results

What is AAC and Why is it Essential in Speech Therapy?

AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) refers to a wide range of tools, strategies, and supports that help individuals express themselves when spoken language is difficult, impaired, limited, or absent. These systems can be high-tech, such as speech-generating devices and mobile apps, or low-tech, such as symbol boards, picture books, and sign language.

AAC benefits people across all ages and diagnoses, including children with autism, Down syndrome, apraxia, cerebral palsy, and genetic syndromes, as well as adults with acquired speech loss due to stroke, ALS, or traumatic brain injury. By providing access to communication, AAC opens the door to greater participation, independence, and learning.

AAC can also be defined by the types of tools that are used such as:

• Low-tech AAC: Picture exchange cards, communication books, symbol charts, and sign language.
• High-tech AAC: Dynamic display devices, speech-generating tablets, specialized communication apps.

AAC is not just a last resort. Research and reported clinical results both support the early introduction of AAC to help jumpstart language development, reduce frustration, and pave the way for speech and literacy gains. For children who face communication challenges, AAC offers a pathway to participation, connection, and self-expression at home, in school, and beyond.

Benefits of Combining AAC and Speech Therapy

Children who receive speech therapy combined with AAC are well positioned to experience a range of benefits beyond basic needs-based communication. With the right strategies and support from SLPs, educators, and families, AAC use can yield:

• Greater engagement in classroom and social activities
• Faster vocabulary growth and increased comprehension
• Reduced frustration-related behaviors
• Improved reading and writing success
• Opportunities for personal expression, agency, and self-advocacy
• More consistent communication at home and at school

Research shows that AAC not only promotes communication, but also fosters meaningful participation and connection. The more naturally AAC is woven into therapy and daily life, the more confident and autonomous children become as communicators.

How Does AAC Complement Traditional Speech Therapy?

While speech therapy traditionally targets verbal sound production, language structure, and social communication, AAC adds a dynamic, multimodal layer. Here is how the two work together:

1. Modeling Language: AAC allows SLPs and caregivers to model both spoken and symbolic language simultaneously, making abstract language concrete and accessible.
2. Bridging Delays: When verbal progress is slow, AAC ensures children can still participate fully in learning, play, and conversation.
3. Reinforcing Skills: It’s not a matter of choosing between speaking and using AAC; incorporating both options increases overall language processing, awareness, and output.
4. Scaffolding Literacy: Pairing AAC with print supports vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing skills for all learners.

AAC provides a safety net for expressing ideas, asking questions, participating with peers, and practicing new language, all while verbal abilities grow at each child’s individual pace.

Essential AAC Strategies for SLPs and Parents

To successfully combine AAC and speech therapy, considerations must be made that go beyond the choice of AAC method. True progress comes from consistent, personalized, everyday use of AAC across settings. Here are the foundational strategies proven to make a difference:

1. Model AAC Every Day, Everywhere

• Demonstrate use of the AAC tool in a variety of environments (mealtime, play, community walks).
• Pair spoken words with selecting icons, pressing device buttons, or pointing to symbols.
• Model without the expectation of an immediate response; the goal is exposure, not testing accuracy.

2. Personalize Vocabulary and Content

• Keep vocabulary current, interesting, and specific to the child’s routines, interests, social circles, and age.
• Update with new school topics, seasonal words, inside jokes, and favorite activities.

3. Make AAC Part of Everyday Routines

• Embed AAC prompts and decision points into daily life: getting dressed, choosing dinner, playtime, and sharing feelings.
• Encourage the child to use AAC to comment, refuse, request, and greet, not just answer questions.

4. Focus on Core Words and Real Conversations

• Go beyond single item requests. Teach “all done,” “help me,” “your turn,” and “that is funny.”
• Core vocabulary supports participation in real conversations across contexts.

5. Celebrate Small Wins and New Communicative Acts

• Notice and cheer every initiation, response, comment, or new use of AAC even if it is a refusal or a joke.
• Invite siblings, peers, and staff to recognize “AAC wins” and join in celebrations.

Integrating AAC into Speech Therapy Activities

AAC should not be siloed; it shines brightest when woven throughout therapy. Here are practical examples of how SLPs and caregivers can amplify speech therapy with AAC:

During Structured Therapy Sessions:

• Use the device or board to reinforce target sounds, word combinations, or narrative skills (such as sequencing a story using picture symbols).
• Have a “core word of the week” and model it using both AAC and speech in various games and storybooks.
• Split practice between verbally producing sounds and selecting the same words or phrases with AAC.

In Daily Life and Classrooms:

• Prompt use of AAC during classroom routines such as greetings, transitions, or snack time choices.
• Incorporate AAC in peer groups for turn-taking games, cooperative play, or group storytelling.

Through Literacy and Writing:

• Model responses to comprehension questions (“Who?” “What happened?”) using the AAC device.
• Encourage sentence-building or story retell with symbol grids or digital voice output.
• Connect print to AAC symbols to build word recognition for emerging readers and writers.

Maximizing AAC Engagement: Motivation, Routines, and Play

Long-term AAC success depends on motivation, personalization, and the belief that communication can be joyful. Here is how to nurture engagement:

• Prioritize Play: Use favorite games, apps, or songs to model AAC for fun and not just to answer adult prompts. Games like scavenger hunts or “Simon Says” are great opportunities.
• Embed Choices and Humor: Allow the child to select their “voice,” device theme, or program silly sounds and favorite jokes into the AAC system.
• Give Real Power: Set up situations where the child can use AAC to say “No,” refuse, or ask for a break. True communication means being able to say what you do not want as well as what you do want.
• Refresh and Move with the Child: As children grow, regularly update device vocabulary to match new interests, contexts, schools, ages, or developmental phases.

Overcoming Common Barriers to AAC Success

Even with expert planning, progress can be slowed by obstacles. Being proactive about challenges keeps communication moving forward:

Building Home-School Partnerships: Consistency Matters

Collaboration between SLPs, educators, and families is key to maximizing AAC success. When everyone is on board, children experience consistent expectations and communication support, no matter where they are. Consider these partnership-boosting strategies:

• Share vocabulary updates, lesson plans, and device overlays before introducing new topics at school.
• Send home printed boards or AAC activity suggestions for bedtime stories, family walks, or outings.
• Invite caregivers to join therapy sessions or read-aloud activities, either in person or via video.
• Organize brief in-person and/or virtual training or troubleshooting workshops for families, teachers, and paraprofessionals.

Empowering Children: Celebrating Small AAC Wins

Every step, no matter how small, is worth celebrating on an AAC journey. These “wins” build confidence, foster independence, and turn effort into sustained progress. Here are examples you can look out for and cheer on:

• Requesting a favorite food or activity, even once, on their own
• Greeting a new friend at school
• Refusing an undesired activity with an AAC “no”
• Telling a joke, making a comment, or sharing during group time
• Spontaneously using AAC in new settings (the grocery store, playground, family vacation)
• Managing device routines like charging or carrying their own communication book

Best Practices: Setting Up AAC + Speech Therapy for Success

1. Start AAC Early: Introduce AAC alongside speech therapy as soon as possible, even in preschool.
2. Match AAC to the Child’s Needs: Consider motor skills, vision, cognitive profile, and interests.
3. Practice in All Environments: Use AAC at home, school, on outings, and during daily routines.
4. Get the Team Involved: SLPs, parents, teachers, aides, and peers can all model and celebrate AAC use.
5. Keep Technology Reliable: Maintain devices, have backups, and check-in regularly for updates and troubleshooting.
6. Revisit and Revise: At every transition (new grade, school, major life change), update vocabulary and content for relevance and fun.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Final Thoughts: Unleashing Every Child’s Voice

When AAC and speech therapy walk hand in hand, children with communication challenge receive the maximum opportunity to learn, participate, and belong. Each small AAC success is a step toward a bigger, richer, more independent life. With a collaborative, creative, and caring approach, SLPs and families can unlock communication breakthroughs every day.