When speaking is hard, learning to read and write can feel even harder, especially if people expect children to prove their reading ability by reading out loud or using a pen or pencil to write sentences. These expectations don’t reflect how many children actually communicate or learn. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can play an important role in literacy development, helping children who use AAC share their ideas, grow their language and confidence, and take part more fully in school and everyday life.
To get more information on how AAC can foster literacy, what tools and devices work best for supporting writing, how speech therapists can help, and more, we spoke to Ali Steers, MA, CCC-SLP, ATS, speech language pathologist and founder of Steers AAC Language & Speech; Rebecca Gianforte, BCBA, former special education teacher and current doctoral student at Vanderbilt University; Elizabeth Burnett Rossi, PhD, assistant professor at Middle Tennessee State University; and Sarah Douglas, PhD, associate professor at Michigan State University.
AAC can be an incredibly powerful tool for children with disabilities who have difficulties with spoken communication. (Note that the term AAC is very broad. Here, we are referring to any electronic or non-electronic communication system that allows a child to communicate their own thoughts. This can include communication books like PECs; AAC systems such as speech-generating devices and apps; and paper-based systems that support communication — specifically their use in literacy instruction, with a focus on the science of reading.)
Typically, literacy is discussed in terms of spoken words, reading aloud, answering questions out loud, and/or using speech to demonstrate literacy skills. However, literacy and communication are not necessarily demonstrated in these ways for many children. Questions about reading abilities are often based on assumptions rather than facts. The real question is not necessarily whether children who use AAC can learn to read, but rather whether they are being provided the opportunities and instruction they need to do just that.
Many families worry that limited speech means limited literacy potential. But children who are minimally speaking or nonspeaking absolutely can learn to read when they’re given meaningful access to language, instruction, and communication tools.
As Gianforte tells us, “Literacy is a human right. All children should have access to literacy because it’s their human right, and it has great implications for their future and for their independence. If we’re waiting for the right time, we are just prolonging the skills that they really need. There’s a reason early intervention is so important. It’s important to get early literacy skills as a focus for these children.”
Here are a few big points our experts want to emphasize:
It’s a myth that a child must be able to speak before they can learn to read
All kids can partake in early literacy skills, whether or not they have limited speech. Gianforte tells us that the ability to speak isn’t a prerequisite to literacy instruction. This may be because when people think of the word literacy or reading, they imagine conventional literacy: reading a book out loud, fluency, comprehension, decoding, etc.
“But there’s also emergent literacy, which includes all the skills that weave into and and develop into conventional literacy. Emergent literacy includes skills like the foundations of language, phonological awareness, and print concepts and print awareness. All children can be a part of learning these foundational emergent literacy skills,” she says.
Students need adapted literacy instruction, skilled service providers, and AAC that supports the transition to literacy
As Dr. Rossi explains, students with complex communication needs — including those who use AAC — can learn to read and develop literacy skills. What truly makes the difference is access to supports: “They need effective, adapted literacy instruction, they need skilled service providers, and they need AAC that supports the transition to literacy.”
But research shows that they often face barriers: “(1) They may be excluded from literacy instruction or only have access to instruction that requires spoken responses, severely limiting their participation; (2) their service providers may not be trained to provide effective instruction; and (3) they may not have access to AAC that supports the transition to literacy.”
So what works best? Systematic reviews of literacy interventions found that literacy instruction works best when it targets just a few skills at a time, includes clear modeling and practice with feedback, and gives kids repeated chances to practice specific skills. But instruction alone isn’t enough — AAC users also need meaningful, shared reading and writing experiences to build fluency, confidence, and understanding. Studies also emphasize the value of feedback, opportunities to correct mistakes, and allowing enough time for literacy instruction to really stick.
Dr. Rossi also emphasizes that this could look like a child having more than one type of assistive technology. AAC may support communication, while other tools may be needed to build reading comprehension and develop specific reading skills. When the right instruction and technology work together, students are better supported as they move from communication into literacy.
As Dr. Rossi explains, research shows that even very young children who use AAC — including preschoolers with intellectual disabilities — can successfully participate in shared reading. In some cases, their peers without disabilities even use AAC alongside them during these activities.
“What’s most important at that age,” Dr. Rossi explains, “is making sure students have access to the same foundational literacy skills their peers are learning. When preschoolers are learning to identify letters and make letter sounds, students with AAC support needs should be doing those things too.”
Gianforte tells us that early literacy is as much about learning letters or reading words as it is about language, sound awareness, and understanding that print carries meaning. For kids who use AAC, that learning starts with seeing and hearing their device used every day.
Just like children learning to speak who hear language all around them, “students that are learning to speak through their speech-generating devices need to see and hear a lot of input into their device from the people around them in their world, so that their output also shows that.”
In this clip, she explains why modeling AAC matters so much, how parents can keep it simple, and how AAC can support early literacy skills such as phonological awareness and letter-sound learning.
Key tips from Gianforte:
Literacy develops in stages
When we think about teaching reading and writing through AAC, it’s easy to jump straight to spelling words or “getting it right.” But literacy develops in stages — and all children need access to letters, sounds, and the freedom to explore writing in their own way. In this clip, Steers explains why every AAC system should include an alphabet, how instruction should match a child’s developmental level, and why honoring early “scribbling” — even when it looks different — is essential for building real writing skills over time.
A central question in this conversation is how picture- and symbol-based AAC systems compare with print-rich devices — and which approaches best support literacy development and long-term independence for AAC users. Here are some key points to remember overall when looking at the intersecting role of AAC, literacy, and technology, and what the research actually shows works.
As Steers emphasizes, literacy — like communication — is for everyone. There is no child who is “too” anything to benefit from a strong literacy program. For children who are nonspeaking, literacy can be what Steers calls “the golden ticket,” because it opens up far more autonomy and independence in communication.
However, many AAC systems rely on picture- or symbol-based layouts, visual scene displays (VSDs), or grid-based systems that use picture symbols, for example, which can be limiting when a child wants to say something that isn’t already programmed. As this study by Zimmerman explains, “Too often, people who need or use AAC are automatically provided with, and restricted to, a limited set of picture symbols for communication until they are formally taught spelling and writing or can demonstrate literacy skills. This approach reflects a misunderstanding about access to the alphabet being contingent on mastering a system of symbols first. . . . People who need or use AAC should be provided this access to the alphabet just as early and equitably as nondisabled people.”
Dr. Rossi adds more, telling us, “What we know from the literature is that using symbols to develop literacy skills can cause problems for students down the road. Educators might think this is going to be easier for the child to learn with pictures, but in fact, we have data from a long time ago, from like the 1960s — even of typically developing students — that using pictures to learn to read is not helpful, and that when we use letters and words — and the appropriate instruction that goes along with it — they end up learning more quickly and more effectively.”
Light et al. adds on to this, stating that “Knowledge of picture symbols may facilitate language learning, communication development, and some early print awareness (e.g., the idea that printed information carries meaning), but there is currently no evidence that knowledge of graphic symbols directly supports learning of the specific skills required for conventional literacy (e.g., phonological awareness, letter sound knowledge, decoding, encoding).” They add that while picture symbols are often introduced under the assumption that they’re easier to learn than text, children and adults who rely on them “may have few opportunities to transition to text.”
When a child has letter-sound awareness and access to an alphabet, they have another option. They can try to spell, even if it’s not perfect, to clarify their message. For example, if a child wants to talk about a friend’s dog named George, but that name isn’t on their AAC layout, they can pull up a keyboard and spell it as best they can. Getting close is often enough to be understood, and that ability alone can dramatically expand what a child can share with others.
“We must reimagine the design of AAC technology in a way that accounts for this problem,” Zimmerman explains. Here’s what she suggests:
As Dr. Douglas tells us, “While the approach requires some modification, it is advantageous to provide literacy instruction since it will open the door to generating their own words through spelling rather than relying on words that are programmed in their device. I remember a time when my youngest child came home from preschool (around age four) and used the word ‘aroma,’ something we definitely didn’t say around our house often. Had she been a child I worked with, I would not have thought to include that word in the device, so the option to use it even after hearing it would not have been there for the child. Literacy is a critical skill that all children should be offered.”
AAC Transition to Literacy (T2L) technologies
Researchers have been working on new AAC features designed to help users move from picture-based communication to reading text without taking away access to symbols that support understanding. These tools are called Transition to Literacy (T2L) technologies, and they’re built into both grid-based AAC systems and visual scene displays (VSDs).
When a child uses AAC with T2L features:
These features are designed to support the building blocks of reading, including recognizing written words (sight words), connecting letters to sounds, and linking meaning, print, and speech.
Currently, two versions of the T2L technology have been developed: one that focuses on the full word (with the intent to support sight word recognition and single-word reading) and one that sounds the word out letter by letter and then blends the sounds together to produce the full word (with the intent to support decoding, letter-sound knowledge, and phonological awareness). You can see videos of the T2L sight word feature here and the T2L decoding feature here.
Note that T2L isn’t meant to replace reading instruction or one-on-one work with a teacher or speech therapist. It doesn’t provide guided lessons, feedback, or corrections. Instead, it works alongside instruction by giving kids many more chances to see, hear, and connect written words during everyday communication. This means children can be exposed to print and practice recognizing or decoding words throughout the day — at home, at school, or out in the community — without needing a specialist present every time.
If your child is using AAC, you may be wondering what reading instruction looks like, especially if sounding out words or reading aloud isn’t a possibility at this time. The good news is that learning to read doesn’t have to rely on speech.
Dr. Douglas tells us that for children who use AAC, reading instruction can look very similar to that of other children, with a few key modifications. Rather than asking children to respond aloud, AAC provides other ways for children to demonstrate their knowledge – by choosing, pointing, pressing, or selecting. This can be within their system or it can be through visuals.
She also shares that there are some great curricula out there that guide this process well and would be helpful for caregivers and practitioners looking to implement reading instruction. For example, Accessible Literacy Learning (ALL) was one of the first to develop a process for reading instruction for children who use AAC. Early Reading Skills Builder (ERSB) is also another one recommended by researchers. AAC Language Lab, specifically Getting Ready to Read, is another resource that has a lot of materials to support literacy for children who require AAC. For more apps and online resources specifically geared toward AAC users and readers who use text-to-speech technology, head to this article.
Making reading joyful, accessible, and meaningful
In terms of literacy, Steers stresses how important it is to make reading joyful, accessible, and meaningful, and that shouldn’t change just because a child is using a device to access reading.
“We want literacy to be fun and enjoyable,” Steers says. “We want it to be accessible for all children. . . . Reading isn’t something that we do because the teacher assigned it, it’s something that we do because it’s snuggles and it’s cozy and it’s fun, and we can enter this imaginative world together when we read this book. And that shouldn’t change if a child is 3 years old or 13 years old or 15 years old. Maybe they become more independent with it, but this joy of reading, this love of reading, that’s something that we really want to foster regardless of a child’s age.”
And as kids get older, it’s important to match books with the child’s interests – favorite characters, TV shows, humor, or even silly topics.
Early literacy: using AAC to support shared reading experiences
One of the best ways to foster that joy is through shared reading: reading a text and talking about it, engaging in a dialogue about it. The focus is connection, Steers tells us, not getting everything perfectly right or testing knowledge of content.
As you’re reading with your child and engaging with them through shared reading, you can pull up the child’s AAC system, whatever it may be, as the language of interaction. This may mean making comments such as: “Oh my goodness, look at that!” “Uh oh, something’s happened!” “That character needs help.”
“We're using the communication device to talk about the book. We're engaging with it. We're making it fun. There are no demands for communication at this point in time. I am simply just using the child's language organization. This is the language that we're using. Whatever it is, maybe it's a book, a device, could be on an iPad. That's our language of interaction, and then we're using that language to engage with the child,” Steers explains.
Dr. Rossi tells us that there are specific frameworks parents can use during shared reading to support literacy. One is called the CAR method: Comment on the text or picture (then wait 5+ seconds) Ask for participation with a question or a look (then wait 5+ seconds) Respond by adding more (e.g., “Oh, you like that picture” or “Wow, that tiger looks scary”)
As you explore the difference between pictures and print, you can also start building early print skills during everyday reading. This might look like talking about the difference between words and pictures, pointing out the title of the book, and showing where a book begins and ends. You can support your child by helping them turn pages and, at times, pointing to each word as you read. These small, simple moments help children learn how print works and build important early literacy skills — even before they’re reading on their own.
“It’s really just about interacting with these texts and getting your children to communicate and expand what it is that they’re communicating about,” Dr. Rossi says.
Incorporating print during shared reading and shared play
When we imagine early reading instruction, we might think of reading through a colorful picture book and discussing what we see in the images. But that isn’t best practice for children using AAC devices.
That’s what Gianforte tells us happens with shared reading: “We talk a lot about the pictures that we see and we talk about the stories, but we’re not referencing print enough. We need to really think about, ‘Hey, that’s the letter A in the book.’ Or, ‘Oh, that’s the word cup. Hey, I see C in it. Press C on the device.’ Or, ‘Hey, that’s the word cup. Oh, I hear cup,’ and then pressing the sound on their device. So it’s not just referencing words, but how do we also reference letters and letter sounds within shared reading and just across different contexts? Because we can reference print. It’s really natural to do this during shared reading. . . . And that can be done across service providers and teachers and parents and siblings.”
Another simple way to support early literacy is to incorporate print-rich toys into play. This can be done in easy ways such as using a laminated menu during playhouse play, leaving labels on boxes of toy food, or playing with letter-shaped cookie cutters in Play-Doh. As you play, you can simply point out letters and sounds without having to teach a lesson. “Incorporating print into different times of the day is a way to support literacy,” Gianforte tells us.
Supporting independent access to books
As children get older, they may want more independence, but this can be tricky for children who live in complex bodies or have serious motor or vision impairments. You might be wondering, how do we get this child a library of books, or how do I ensure that they have access to a lot of books? Steers stresses that access to books should never be the issue and that technology can help fill this gap.
For example, some platforms are specifically geared for children with significant motor and vision challenges. One of these is Switch On Literacy, created by Steers’ mentor Linda Burkhart, available on the Mind Express platform. In this system, the child scans through a list of books they might be interested in, selects one, and then listens to it being read to them. The child is able to move through the book on their own, without someone else turning the pages for them. In this platform, you can also program YouTube videos of someone reading or audiobooks within the AAC layout. In this case, the child scans through the videos, selects one, and then listens to it, much like any other child might do on YouTube. The difference is that the layout is adapted for children with significant motor or vision challenges to use on their own.
“If your child has significant motor challenges, significant vision challenges, a hearing impairment, etc. — regardless of the profile of the learner, I want parents to know that access to books is available for all children, and really reading to your child is fantastic, wonderful, a way to develop closeness and share an experience with them. But there are also ways for children to independently access books using various technology platforms,” she tells parents.
Nonspeaking ways to show reading skills
One important role AAC can play in reading instruction is giving children a way to demonstrate what they know without speaking. “AAC can be used to allow nonspeaking responses when learning beginning reading skills,” Dr. Douglas explains. This means that rather than asking the child to say a word aloud, the instruction can be tailored to allow the child to demonstrate what they know in nonspeaking ways.
For example, with the ALL curriculum, a child might be taught the skill of blending sounds first. They would then be presented with a simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) word like cat and a set of pictures to choose from, such as car, cut, bat, and cat. They would then sound out the word and choose the picture that is the correct match. This way, the child is able to demonstrate that they know how to decode the word without having to say it aloud.
Using AAC to learn letter names and letter sounds
Beyond showing understanding, AAC can also be used to teach the foundational skills that make reading possible. As Gianforte explains, many AAC devices include keyboards that can be used during early reading instruction. These keyboards may look like:
On many devices, selecting a letter will produce the name of the letter. But some speech-generating systems also offer phonetic keyboards, which look similar but produce the sound the letter makes instead of the name. Families and teams may need to do some research to locate and activate these features. This matters because learning letter sounds is a key step in learning to decode words. AAC gives students multiple ways to hear, see, and interact with those sounds:
Building phonological awareness with AAC
Learning letter sounds fits into an even bigger picture: phonological awareness. Gianforte explains that early literacy includes a skill called phonological awareness. This is a broad skill that focuses on understanding and playing with the sounds of spoken language, not print. Phonological awareness includes skills such as:
AAC can support these skills in natural, everyday moments. For example, “When they’re naturally in the environment, [the parent can say], ‘Oh, that’s a c-c-car. I hear c at the beginning of car.’ Then they can hit the c on the student’s phonetic keyboard. So these are just really easy ways to incorporate it, especially at the younger age, when they’re just in that emergent literacy phase.”
Practicing reading independently
But once that foundation is in place, the next question is, how do we give kids more opportunities to practice? How do they get more exposure to sounds, letters, and words during their free time, especially those kids living in complex bodies, those using switches or eye gaze, or those with significant vision challenges?
This is where thoughtfully designed literacy tools that are accessible for AAC users might be able to play a supportive role, Steers tells us, not as a replacement for teaching, but as a way for kids to practice on their own, make their own choices, and explore literacy independently. That might be during a quiet time at home, while their parent is making dinner, or as part of a structured classroom routine. She explains more in this clip.
Hot topic: can AAC really support phonics?
The other element of reading is phonics, which is the study of the sounds that letters make. But for many parents of children using AAC, there is another very real question: can AAC help with phonics? Steers says that AAC devices are highly individualized, which means that they can be programmed to make almost any sound that the child might need, but it’s important to remember that the device may need some help from you.
“We can program phonics into an AAC device. We can have it say whatever we want when you select a button. We could have it say ‘ah’ or use someone else’s voice. The problem is, when you start putting those sounds together, the device isn’t smart enough yet to make the changes that happen naturally in spoken language.”
For example, she says, if we’re programming phonics into an AAC device and we want to spell out the word bead, the device will read out loud buh, eh, ah, duh. Now this becomes buh-eh-ah-duh, instead of bead. This is something that will probably change with AI, she tells us, but for now, AAC devices are not smart enough to make that change.
Hot topic: is receptive reading “real” reading?
Receptive language is the ability to understand and process language (listening/reading), while expressive language is the ability to communicate thoughts and feelings (speaking/writing/gesturing). For kids using AAC for reading instruction, it helps to switch from testing reading expressively to testing it receptively. This means showing understanding without having to speak. That might look like:
Dr. Rossi tells us, “When we have students who use AAC, we really have to make sure that we are assessing their literacy development and not their spoken language skills. So by doing things receptively, we are able to do that and make sure we are only assessing their literacy skills.” Dr. Rossi describes how receptive reading tasks can be modified to assess actual literacy skills, as opposed to simple recognition. One of the ways that teams can modify tasks is by varying the number of choices the child has to make. For instance, if a child is learning letter sounds, they would first be asked to identify a sound with only one or two letter choices. However, once they are proficient in their skills, the same task can be made much more complex with many more choices, including the entire alphabet.
The task itself can also vary in important ways. For example, instead of asking a child to pick the sound duh by selecting a letter card, a teacher might ask the child to pick a word that starts with the sound duh. The child could be shown pictures of a dog, a cat, and a tree and asked to pick the one that starts with the sound duh. That’s when the child has to link sounds to words, not just learn a letter. As the child becomes more proficient, the level of support can be decreased. Instead of being given a verbal cue, a child might be shown a picture of a dog and asked to pick the written word that spells dog.
But the question is, is this really reading — or matching?
Dr. Rossi says, “On a very basic level, it is matching, but there are ways that we can do that to assess these really important foundational literacy skills that we know students absolutely must have.” Dr. Douglas agrees, telling us that all reading skills are valuable — both expressive and receptive instruction. “Even with typically developing children, we use both approaches, and both support reading skills. I would not worry about this too much, but just be sure to do a mix as you provide instruction.”
Still, parents often worry that receptive reading tasks — such as choosing a word or pointing instead of saying it out loud — aren’t “real” reading. In this clip, Gianforte speaks directly to that concern and explains why receptive responses are a valid and meaningful way for many AAC users to show what they understand.
When we think about writing, it’s easy to picture pencils and paper and to wonder how writing works for a child who uses AAC. Gianforte tells us, “A lot of times we think of writing for our younger learners as the ability to hold a pencil or the ability to draw lines or write their letters, but the actual point of writing is the expression. It’s how we share our thoughts and ideas, and so using a device that will allow them to formulate, eventually, words or sentences using symbols.”
She adds that there are many different apps that connect to these speech-generating apps and devices, and some of them have connections right to text, “so you can formulate within the AAC a text that you want to share with someone, or a way to search the internet. So the device really becomes their voice, but also a tool to be able to communicate and share their written ideas.”
However, it’s important to note that there is very little research around students who use AAC and writing instruction (compared to reading instruction). For parents who want to learn more about literacy instruction, Dr. Rossi recommends the book Comprehensive Literacy for All: Teaching Students with Significant Disabilities to Read and Write. She tells us that the book is written more for teachers of students with extensive support needs, but it includes students with complex communication needs as well.
One of the most important ideas in writing instruction: every child needs access to a pencil
That pencil just doesn’t look the same for every child. As Steers explains, for some kids, the pencil is a traditional one you hold in your hand. For others — especially children with significant motor or access needs — the “pencil” might be an alternative pencil, accessed through scanning, eye gaze, a binder with printed alphabet letters, a keyboard, or partner-assisted selection. Choose an alternative pencil that works for your child. You can find some examples in our article Top Communication Tools, Apps, Assistive Technology, and More!
Steers shares what this can look like in practice: as an adult scans through letter options, the child signals when they reach the right one, and the adult writes it down. During journaling, a child might choose to write about birds they saw at the beach. The adult models the thinking process out loud — listening for the first sound in bird, scanning through letters, choosing B, and writing it down. If a mistake happens, it’s simply corrected and the writing continues, just like it does for any early writer.
In this clip, Steers explains this process in detail and shares more about how AAC gives every child access to writing through alternative pencils, scanning, and modeling.
Key tips to remember:
With some help from the book Comprehensive Literacy for All: Teaching Students with Significant Disabilities to Read and Write, Dr. Rossi gives us some tips and strategies for beginning and more conventional writers. These classroom strategies can give you concrete examples to reference during IEP meetings or when discussing writing supports for your AAC user. You can also use some of these at home.
For beginning writers
Shared writing. Shared writing is a supportive group writing activity for early writers. An adult helps choose the structure of what will be written and talks through the writing process out loud, modeling how writers think. Each AAC user then contributes a line using their AAC system, so everyone is actively participating in creating the text together. You should also try different writing tools and writing surfaces. The goal is to celebrate all writing, not to focus on spelling or handwriting conventions.
Model writing every day in real moments. This means adults show how writing works during meaningful, natural activities, like signing in and out where students write their names for real purposes throughout the school day.
Use predictable chart writing. One of the most common and accessible forms of shared writing is predictable chart writing, which uses repeated sentence patterns to make writing and reading more approachable for emergent writers. You can see how this looks in this article. This is a structured, step-by-step way to teach early writing. Students help choose the ideas, which connects writing to their interests and helps them learn that writing is a way to express themselves.
For more conventional writers
Independent and natural writing opportunities. As kids get older, they should have chances every day to write using letters, not just for practice, but for real, meaningful reasons. Instead of worksheets or tracing letters, writing can be part of everyday life: signing in to an activity, writing a short story or note, creating a schedule, writing a poem, or adding a new line to a favorite book. And remember, use alternative pencils. You should also let students choose their own writing topics. Here are some ideas for independent writing:
Daily journaling. Daily journaling works by using short prerecorded messages on a student’s device about their daily activities as a starting point for writing. The student listens to the message, then the teacher models how to write a similar message and reads it aloud, showing excitement about the student’s ideas. Once the example is removed, the teacher supports the student in writing their own message, helping them practice turning their thoughts into written words.
Shared writing. Use printed pictures that are highly interesting to the student. Using AAC and a keyboard, teachers talk with the student about the picture (using yes/no questions if needed), then model writing based on the conversation. Over time, teachers gradually hand more of the writing over to the student, and students eventually choose their own pictures and write independently.
Understand that writing tools take extra effort. Students who use alternative pencils and paper need to spend more attention on their tools than peers without disabilities. These tools come with additional writing challenges, so motivation matters. Writing activities that use technology and allow interaction with peers, teachers, and an audience can help with engagement.
Focus on getting students writing, not accuracy. If teachers focus too much on accuracy early on, students may avoid writing because of critical feedback. (This is also important to consider when writing IEP goals, so teachers don’t feel pressure to correct everything right away.)
What tools and devices work best for supporting writing?
When it comes to writing, an AAC device can play two important roles. First, it helps students talk about their writing — sharing ideas with teachers or peers, getting feedback, and participating in revision discussions. That communication piece really matters. Then, when it’s time to actually put their message down in writing, students benefit from text-based writing tools, such as word processing with word prediction and spelling support. Those features help them focus on expressing their ideas, not getting stuck on mechanics.
Some students benefit from separate writing programs or apps that offer word prediction, sentence frameworks, or literacy scaffolds. But families also want to know whether this means juggling multiple devices, or whether one setup can do it all.
Dr. Douglas tells us that there are systems in which writing can be integrated and it’s not necessary to have a separate system. This can be reassuring for families who already feel like they’re juggling enough. The key isn’t having more technology, it’s having the right features and good instruction to support them.
She adds that AAC is helpful in writing instruction, with many AAC systems featuring a keyboard for writing: “Many of the built-in features of AAC, such as word prediction, can also aid a child in building writing skills and mirror the tools children often have using technology in schools today. These features pair well with an evidence-based reading approach where the child can spell out unknown words they want and can type messages using whichever access mode they normally use,” she tells us. Her tip: combine reading and writing instruction. When children are shown the image for cat, they can learn to spell it in tandem with the “sounding out” skills they are learning.
Dr. Rossi tells us that with writing, you could start off using something like a flip chart of the different letters, but it’s really important that kids have access to all of the letters of the alphabet and have these opportunities on a daily basis. As students get older and move toward more conventional literacy, Dr. Rossi says the research is more limited, but based on how all children learn, we think certain supports are likely to be helpful. Teaching different writing processes types (e.g., narrative, persuasive, expository, etc.) and using different graphic organizers could be helpful.
Hot topic: is putting a sentence together on an AAC device actually writing?
This is a question you might have or one you might be asked by others. The short answer is yes, it absolutely can be. Gianforte tells us that this fits naturally with how all humans communicate. “We are considered multimodal communicators. We communicate through gestures and facial expressions and words and sometimes written word and speech. Same thing for our communicators.”
Children who use AAC communicate in many ways, too. Sometimes that means using symbols, sometimes typing, sometimes combining text, drawing, or storytelling tools within their device. As Gianforte notes, “There are a lot of great ways to incorporate writing and storytelling within the device.”
And as Steers mentioned earlier, it all comes down to normalizing all forms of writing, especially in the classroom: “We have modeling devices and secondary communication books in the classroom, so normalizing the tools that children are using will help them feel validated that their method of communication, their method of writing, is accepted and valued in this classroom environment in the same way that this pencil is accepted and valued in this classroom environment.”
Let’s take a sidenote to explore a bit more about what Steers is sharing. Both Gianforte and Steers emphasize that literacy, communication, and identity are deeply connected, and how adults use AAC matters just as much as whether it’s used. Here are some tips if you’re unsure how and when to use your child’s device.
Model often, encourage gently
Gianforte reminds us that best practice has shifted over time. While modeling AAC is essential, forcing a child to use their device can backfire. She explains that the research supports encouraging AAC use without making it mandatory. That might sound like modeling a word on the device — “Oh, that’s a car! I see another car!” — and then casually inviting participation: “Do you want to try saying car?” If the child doesn’t respond, the adult simply keeps modeling and moves on. There’s no pressure, no correction, and no “you have to.”
As Gianforte puts it, the goal is to make communication inviting and exciting, not stressful. Children who use AAC often need more exposure to language, print, and sound — but that doesn’t mean they need to feel like they’re being assessed.
Literacy isn’t about compliance, it’s about connection
Steers takes this idea even further. She shares that many kids use their devices to write stories, send emails, and text family members — sometimes even before they can fully read or write. Many AAC systems allow messages typed into the device to be sent directly, which turns literacy into something meaningful and real. “That is such an important part of literacy development,” Steers explains, “because literacy and language are about connecting. At its root, it’s about connecting. It’s not about compliance. It’s not about doing work.”
Create a language-rich home
Dr. Douglas reminds parents that supporting literacy doesn’t require anything fancy or special — it starts the same way it does for all kids. “Parents can follow the same kind of process they would with any learner,” Dr. Douglas says. “Provide a language-rich environment. Read a lot! Use dialogic reading techniques, such as prompting, expansion, asking questions to support recall, vocabulary building, comprehension, etc. Aided language modeling (modeling words on your child’s AAC system as you talk) throughout the process can provide the language input that the child can use to further build language skills.”
Expect literacy instruction and advocate for it
Dr. Douglas emphasizes that families should expect their child to receive literacy instruction, not see it as optional or “extra.” Some schools may not be familiar with AAC-friendly or accessible literacy curricula, so coming into meetings informed can make a big difference. Knowing what approaches exist — and asking how literacy will be taught — helps keep literacy on the table. Read more in our article IEP Tips for AAC and Literacy.
Model AAC, even when it feels awkward
Steers acknowledges what many parents feel but rarely say out loud: using your child’s AAC system can feel uncomfortable at first. “I think that when an adult picks up a child’s AAC system and uses it to say something, it is unnatural. . . . It feels uncomfortable at first,” she explains. But she also reminds parents what that moment communicates to a child: “When an adult does that, they are telling the kid, ‘I see you. I value you. I value your communication. I am here to help you learn. We have a shared language. We’re going to do this together. I believe in you. I believe you have something to say.’”
Know that it takes time
Literacy doesn’t happen on a tight timeline, and that’s okay. Steers tells us that literacy expert Erin Sheldon describes her daughter’s journey as a 40-year process. Steers recounts attending a presentation where Sheldon stated something along the lines of: “You know what, if my daughter turns 40 and she doesn't have full literacy, then, okay, I'll let it go. But until she's 40, we are going to hammer away at literacy because it's worth it.” Why? Because for many nonspeaking individuals, literacy is what unlocks true independence. When a child can spell — even imperfectly — they’re no longer limited to the words programmed into a device. They can say whatever they want, to whomever they want, whenever they want.
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