Delegated Agency

Delegated agency occurs in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) when a close conversation partner (such as a parent or aide) acts on behalf of an augmented communicator to advance the communicator's conversational goals. This may include expanding on the communicator's brief responses, answering questions with the communicator's permission, or interpreting nonverbal cues for unfamiliar third parties. While delegated agency can increase the amount of information exchanged and reduce communicative effort for the AAC user, it can also inadvertently reduce the communicator's direct participation by limiting responses to yes/no confirmations or creating "missed opportunities" when partners guess incorrectly or speak at length.