I’ve Been Using AAC Since I Was A Little Kid

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Augmentive and Alternative Communication (AAC) is all types of communication other than speaking.  AAC is a set of communication systems that help individuals can communicate without having physical speech. AAC is for individuals of all ages with conditions like cerebral palsy, autism, apraxia, and ALS that affect their ability to speak. 

Augmentative = to add to someone’s speech 

Alternative = to be used instead of speech 


There are two types of AAC.

Low-tech AAC is a type of AAC that provides physical communication features. Examples: communication chart/board, written communication, drawing, sign language, nonverbal communication

High-tech AAC is a type of AAC that provides digital communication features. Examples: iPad, a text-to-speech app, texting, emailing, AAC-based communication device. 

I am a person living with cerebral palsy which left me unable to speak. I use my iPad with a text-based AAC app called Proloquo4text (high-tech AAC tool) to communicate. It changed my life. Proloquo4text is a very powerful AAC app that features intuitive word and sentence prediction, quick talk, and saved phrases. Proloquo4text gave me the freedom to express myself confidently without losing any text. Obviously, this is my voice. And I love the way I communicate confidently. Proloquo4text is also customizable, enabling you to make your own way to communicate. For example, you can create phrases you say and save them. Proloquo4text's versatility makes it useful for people with cerebral palsy, autism, ALS, and other speech disorders.

Proloquo4text, a text-based AAC app that enables me to communicate confidently and effectively in a customizable way. 

Also, I occasionally use a laminated communication chart (low-tech AAC tool) to communicate using my tongue. I created myself that chart. My dad created the original chart for me when I was a little kid before I created a better, modern, and detailed version of the chart. The communication chart contains bold letters, numbers, punctuations, and common action words as well as essential phrases. I have felt profoundly confident in my ability to communicate with the chart since I was a little kid. But, the chart is now an occasional communication tool for me so I can use it to communicate in case if needed.

Customized Communication Chart (front page) - Bold letters, numbers, punctuations, and action words

Customized Communication Chart (back page) - Essential phrases such as question words, health words, routine words, and feelings

Before I started using an iPad in the middle of my junior year of high school, I used old communication devices like DynaVox. I started using my own communication device when I started kindergarten. These communication devices were simple and classic. 

I am beyond grateful to be a full-time AAC user. I have been using AAC since I was a little kid. It’s very important for me and others who cannot speak or have speech difficulties to communicate our own way and urge the whole community to gain a deep understanding of how we communicate confidently and effectively. AAC isn't just about making people's voices heard but it's also about how they use communication tools to express themselves in their unique ways. Although people are nonspeaking, they have strengths and challenges like everyone else, and they deserve to be communicative, heard, and treated equally.  

Being nonspeaking doesn’t mean people have nothing to say but it means they can think, express, and understand everything. People cannot speak but they have a voice through a special device or gadget. Let You Hear Them!  

What does AAC means to you? Let me know in the comments.

💖 Marisa 

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