Technical Agency

Technical agency, in the context of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), refers to an individual's ability to actively participate in and contribute to a conversation through direct actions such as speaking, gesturing, or vocalizing. It is distinguished from colloquial agency, which concerns whether those contributions successfully advance the person's conversational objectives. For augmented communicators, technical agency is constrained by factors including device throughput, input method, conversational pace, and the behaviors of communication partners. Understanding technical agency helps AAC researchers and practitioners identify barriers to participation beyond device limitations.