Parlance Perspectives

The device arrived. Now what?

Getting an AAC device is not the finish line.

An AAC tablet tucked inside an open school backpack.

2 / 10

Think about how children learn spoken language.

A father reading a dinosaur book with his child in his lap.

A teacher talking with a circle of young children.

A parent and child playing with toy dinosaurs and blocks.

They hear it all day. Every day. From everyone.

3 / 10

Even with all of that exposure… we still wait.

Thousands of models.
Countless opportunities.
Language develops over time.

A newborn lying on a blanket, surrounded by speech bubbles.

0–6 MONTHS

Listening and taking it all in.

A baby crawling, looking up at speech bubbles.

6–12 MONTHS

Understanding grows. More sounds. More intent.

A toddler walking and reaching toward many speech bubbles.

12–24 MONTHS

Then, one day, those first words.

Language doesn’t happen overnight. It happens because it’s everywhere.
Given time, consistency, and connection.

We accept that a first word can take a year or more of round-the-clock exposure and modelling. Yet AAC is often scored within a month of the device arriving, on a fraction of that exposure.

4 / 10

So why would we expect AAC to be different?

1 hour a week isn’t a language environment.

When the device goes back in the bag, so does the opportunity to communicate.

Expecting progress without consistent access, modelling, and opportunities across the week is setting AAC up to fail.

5 / 10

Before asking whether AAC is working… ask whether AAC is happening.

When these five conditions are in place, then we can ask the right question:
How is the child progressing?

6 / 10

The device isn’t for the therapy session. It’s for the child.

At home: a boy uses his AAC device at the kitchen table while his mother cooks.

At school: the boy joins circle time with his device beside him.

At the store: the boy uses his device from the grocery cart.

At the playground: the boy and his friends gather around the device.

7 / 10

With AAC, we open the door to so much more.

It’s not just communication.
It’s participation, independence, connection, and confidence.

The boy raises his hand in class, his device on the desk.

PARTICIPATIONJoins in.
Has a voice.

The boy orders from a server at a restaurant with his device.

INDEPENDENCEMakes choices.
Gets needs met.

The boy laughs with a friend on the playground swings.

CONNECTIONBuilds relationships.
Makes friends.

The boy asks for a drink on his device and his mother hands him a cup.

CONFIDENCEExpresses self.
Feels capable.

LIFEOpens doors today and for the future.

AAC isn’t the finish line.
It’s the beginning of everything.

When we introduce AAC with purpose and support, we don’t limit potential—we unlock it.

8 / 10

“He’s just not making progress with it.” The battery’s been dead since Tuesday.

A dead battery tells you something… and it’s not about the child.

9 / 10

When AAC “isn’t working,” look at the week before you look at the child.

A child who isn’t progressing is giving us data. Often it describes the team’s week, not the child’s ability.

AAC isn’t working for him.
PEOPLEWho besides the therapist modelled it this week?
He never uses it.
ACCESSWas it charged and within reach, or in the bag?
He doesn’t know what to say with it.
MODELLINGHas he seen anyone else say things with it?
He only uses it to ask for snacks.
OPPORTUNITIESWhat other reasons to communicate did his day give him?
He only uses it in therapy.
SETTINGSHas it ever left the therapy room?
He just stims with it.
EXPLORATIONSpeaking children babble, repeat and play with their voices all day. Nobody takes their words away for it. Exploring the device is how he learns where the words live.

10 / 10

AAC adoption is hard. What helps?

What do you do to overcome the challenges of AAC adoption?

What I’ve found is…This strategy really helps because…This made a big difference for us.

A speech-language pathologist smiling at her phone.

I adapted it by…I’d love ideas for…In my experience…