AAC & complex communication
My child uses few or no spoken words or may need AAC support.
Speech is one way to communicate. It is not the only one that counts, and it is not the only one worth investing in.
You may be noticing
Does any of this sound familiar?
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Clear opinions, humor, and preferences, with no dependable way to share them outside the family
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Speech that is emerging but not reliable enough to carry a whole day
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Frustration or withdrawal when a message does not land
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A device that arrived, was exciting, and now lives on the counter
What this may mean
AAC stands for augmentative and alternative communication—the tools and strategies that give a person a dependable way to say what they mean, from gestures and sign to picture boards and speech-generating devices. Augmentative means it adds to whatever speech someone already has; alternative means it can stand in when speech is not available. AAC is not a last resort, and using it does not take away a child’s drive to speak.
We start from one assumption we do not negotiate: presume competence. Your child has something to say and has been saying it, in whatever way was available.
Three small steps
What you can do now
Tap a card to see how.
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Notice all the ways your child already communicates.
AAC builds on gestures, sounds, and looks rather than replacing them.
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Keep any system within reach all day.
A board or device that lives in a bag until practice time cannot become a voice. Model on it yourself, without requiring your child to perform.
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Ask about an AAC evaluation.
It starts with your child—not a device—and tries systems that may genuinely fit.
How we help
We are device-neutral: the right system is the one that fits your child.
Dr. Taylor is formally trained across a range of systems, including TouchChat, LAMP Words for Life, Unity, and Tobii Dynavox. We model AAC constantly without requiring your child to perform, keep it available all day rather than at practice time, and coach everyone in your child’s circle so the system works beyond our room.
Learn moreThe longer explanation, if you want it
A dependable way to say what you mean
AAC stands for augmentative and alternative communication—the tools and strategies that give a person a dependable way to say what they mean. It covers a wide range: gestures and sign, picture boards, and speech-generating devices that speak aloud when a word is selected. Augmentative means it adds to whatever speech someone already has. Alternative means it can stand in when speech is not available. Most children use some of both.
AAC is not a last resort, and it is not an admission that speech did not work. Using AAC does not take away a child’s drive to speak—it gives a child a reliable voice while everything else keeps developing.
What parents often notice
Clear opinions, humor, and preferences, with no dependable way to share them outside the family. You can read your child better than anyone, and the translating never quite ends. Frustration or withdrawal when a message does not land. Speech that is emerging but not reliable enough to carry a whole day. A device that arrived, was exciting, and now lives on the counter. Communication that looks entirely different at home than at school. No single item here settles whether AAC is the right fit—that is what an evaluation is for.
When an evaluation can help
An AAC evaluation does not start with a device. It starts with your child—what they already do to communicate, how they see and move and hear, what they most want to say, and where they spend their days. Only then does it look at what would genuinely fit, often by trying more than one system. You leave with a written picture, individualized goals, and documentation supporting next steps and funding.
What families can expect
Most families start with a free consultation, then an AAC evaluation with device trials where appropriate. From there, sessions focus on real communication for real reasons, and training brings caregivers, classrooms, and support staff onto the same page. We revisit the system as your child grows—vocabulary that fit last year may not fit now. We help communication work with more people and in more settings.