Floor Holding

The conversational practice of maintaining one's turn to speak, signaling to others that one has not finished and intends to continue. For AAC users, floor holding is particularly challenging because the time required to compose messages creates long pauses that communication partners may interpret as the end of a turn. AAC users employ various strategies to hold the floor, including saying "wait" or "one sec," using pre-programmed phrases like "I'm typing," making eye contact, or producing sounds to indicate they are still composing. Effective floor holding is essential for AAC users to fully express their thoughts without being interrupted.