How do I know if my child needs AAC?

A child could benefit from an AAC device if they:

• have difficulties speaking verbally,

• are speaking verbally unreliably, or

• are unable to speak verbally.

“If your child is not developing intelligible speech with their mouth on par with their typically developing peers, then, in theory, you should be talking with a speech therapist, and that speech therapist should be giving you good advice about whether or not your child has the ability to develop intelligible speech without augmenting their communication,” AAC specialist Ali Steers explains.

For more information about AAC, check out our article Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Programs and Devices.