Glossary

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ARASAAC(also: Aragonese Portal of Augmentative and Alternative Communication)

A publicly funded open pictogram library maintained by the Government of Aragon, Spain, providing nearly 12,000 colour and black-and-white pictograms licensed under Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA). ARASAAC symbols are widely used worldwide in augmentative and alternative…

Aided AAC(also: Aided Augmentative and Alternative Communication)

The branch of Augmentative and Alternative Communication that relies on an external tool to produce or carry the message — ranging from low-tech paper communication boards and picture-exchange cards to high-tech tablet apps and dedicated speech-generating devices accessed via…

Aided Language Stimulation(also: Aided Language Modeling, Aided Language Input, ALgS)

A communication intervention technique in which a conversation partner models language on an AAC device while speaking, pointing to symbols on the learner's communication system as they talk. This includes describing their own actions, narrating the learner's actions, providing…

Assistive Communication(also: Assisted Communication)

Any method, device, or system used to supplement or replace natural speech and writing for people who have difficulty with spoken or written language. Assistive communication encompasses a broad range of approaches, from low-tech solutions like picture boards and communication…

Augmented Communicator(also: AC, AAC User, Aided Communicator)

A person who uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technology to express themselves, typically because a disability affects their ability to produce speech. Augmented communicators use devices ranging from simple picture boards to sophisticated speech-generating…

Communication Board(also: AAC Board, Symbol Board, Choice Board)

A low-tech or digital display of symbols, pictures, words, or phrases arranged on a surface that a person with complex communication needs can point to, touch, or select to express messages. Communication boards can be static (fixed vocabulary on a single page) or dynamic…

Communication Rate(also: Communication Speed)

The speed at which a person can convey messages, typically measured in words per minute (WPM). For AAC users, communication rate is often significantly slower than natural speech (100-200 WPM)—unaided AAC users may achieve only 2-10 WPM with scanning systems, while more advanced…

Complex Communication Needs(also: CCN)

A term describing the communication challenges faced by individuals who cannot rely on speech alone to meet all their communication needs in daily life. People with complex communication needs may use a combination of speech, gestures, sign language, communication boards, and…

Core Vocabulary(also: Core Words)

A small set of high-frequency words — typically pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions — that make up approximately 80% of what people say in everyday communication. Examples include words like "I," "want," "go," "more," "help," and "that." In AAC practice, core…

Device Abandonment(also: Technology Abandonment, AT Abandonment)

The phenomenon where users stop using an assistive technology device after initial adoption. In AAC, abandonment rates are notably high and stem from multiple factors including devices that do not match users' communication strengths, poor customization, high cost, social…

Discreet AAC(also: Discreet Assistive Communication, Wearable AAC)

Augmentative and alternative communication devices designed to be socially unobtrusive and visually inconspicuous, in contrast to traditional tablet-based AAC systems that are physically prominent and easily identifiable. Discreet AAC encompasses wearable technologies such as…

Facilitated Communication(also: FC, Supported Typing)

A technique in which a facilitator provides physical support to a person with a communication disability — typically by holding or steadying the person's hand, arm, or wrist — as they point to letters, words, or pictures on a communication board or keyboard. Originally promoted…

Fringe Vocabulary(also: Fringe Words, Context-Specific Vocabulary)

Topic-specific or situation-specific words in an AAC system, typically nouns and other content words that are needed in particular contexts but not used frequently across all conversations. Examples include words like "dinosaur" at a museum, "swing" at a playground, or…

Global Symbols

A community-interest company and open symbol platform that hosts multiple pictogram libraries for AAC and Easy Read, supports translation into many languages, and provides an AI-assisted SymbolBuilder tool for generating new symbols. Global Symbols is widely used in projects…

Interactive Communication Model

A model of communication that extends the linear model by incorporating feedback from the receiver back to the sender, creating a two-way exchange. In AAC contexts, interactive high-tech devices enable the AAC user to receive responses and adjust their communication accordingly,…

Just-in-Time Support(also: JIT Support, Just-in-Time Programming, JIT Vocabulary)

In augmentative and alternative communication, the programming and availability of language concepts at the moment they are needed, rather than requiring pre-planning. Just-in-time support can be mentor-generated (e.g., a conversation partner quickly creating a hotspot on a…

Key Word Signing(also: KWS, Keyword Signing, Signs Supporting English)

An augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) method that uses manual signs from a national sign language alongside spoken words to support communication. Unlike native sign language, KWS users sign only the key content words while speaking complete sentences, making it…

Keystroke Saving Rate(also: KSR, Keystroke Savings)

A metric measuring the efficiency of text prediction systems by calculating the percentage of keystrokes saved compared to typing the same text on a standard keyboard without prediction. A KSR of 50% means the user needed only half the keystrokes they would have required…

Linear Communication Model(also: Shannon-Weaver Model, Sender-Receiver Model)

A model of communication in which information flows in one direction from a sender to a receiver through a channel, with no feedback mechanism. In the context of AAC, a linear model means the user constructs and delivers a message through the device while the communication…

Makaton

A language programme that uses a combination of speech, signs (borrowed from British Sign Language), and graphic symbols to support communication for people who have difficulty with spoken language. Unlike BSL, which is a complete natural language with its own grammar, Makaton…

Motion-Based AAC(also: Physical Expressive AAC, Expressive Sidekick)

An emerging form of augmentative and alternative communication that uses physical movement of objects or robotic devices to convey nonverbal communicative intent during conversations. Unlike traditional AAC which focuses on generating speech, motion-based AAC addresses the…

Multimodal Summarization(also: Multimodal Summary, MMS)

A technique for presenting information through multiple complementary formats — typically combining pictures, simplified text, and structural diagrams — to improve comprehension of complex content. Multimodal summarization is particularly valuable for accessibility because it…

Overselectivity(also: Stimulus Overselectivity, Overselective Attention)

A learning challenge in which an individual attends to only one or a few features of a stimulus while ignoring other relevant features, resulting in an inability to discriminate between stimuli that share some characteristics. For example, a child who is overselective might…

Personal Digital Assistant(also: PDA, Handheld Computer, Pocket PC)

A portable handheld computing device popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s that combined features like a calendar, contacts, note-taking, and basic application support in a pocket-sized form factor with a touchscreen interface. In accessibility research, PDAs like the iPAQ…

Personal Voice(also: Voice Banking, AI Voice Clone)

A technology that creates a synthetic replica of a person's voice from recorded speech samples, enabling text-to-speech output that sounds like the individual rather than a generic electronic voice. Apple's Personal Voice feature (iOS 17+) allows users to train an AI model of…

Phoneme(also: Speech Sound)

The smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish one word from another. For example, the /b/ and /p/ sounds in "bat" and "pat" are different phonemes. American English has approximately 39 phonemes, compared to 26 letters in the alphabet. In accessibility and AAC…

Photo-based Communication(also: Visual Communication Aid, Image-based Communication)

A communication strategy that uses photographs or images as the primary medium for conveying meaning, sharing experiences, and supporting conversation. For people with aphasia, intellectual disabilities, or other conditions that affect spoken and written language, photographs…

Pictograph(also: Pictogram, Picture Symbol, Graphic Symbol)

A simplified visual symbol or image that represents a word, concept, or action, used as an alternative or supplement to written text. Pictograph systems such as Sclera, Beta, and Widgit are widely used in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to support people with…

Scanning(also: Switch Scanning, Sequential Scanning)

An input method used in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) that allows users with severe motor impairments to make selections using one or more switches. The system sequentially highlights items in a vocabulary set, and the user activates a switch when the desired…

Semantic Compaction(also: Minspeak)

A method of encoding language for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) that maps concepts onto sequences of multi-meaning icons. Each icon is deliberately ambiguous, and meaning is resolved when icons are combined into sequences called iconic sentences. For example,…

Sentence Prediction(also: Phrase Prediction, Utterance Prediction)

An AAC text entry acceleration technique that suggests complete sentences or phrases based on what the user has begun typing. Unlike word prediction which completes individual words, sentence prediction allows users to select entire utterances with a single action, dramatically…

Severe Speech and Motor Impairment(also: SSMI)

A condition where an individual has significant limitations in both spoken communication and physical movement, often co-occurring in conditions such as cerebral palsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or traumatic brain injury. People with SSMI typically rely on…

Speech Composer(also: Speech Generation, Message Composition Engine)

A software component in AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) systems that takes user input — whether typed text, selected symbols, or telegraphic phrases — and processes it for spoken output through a text-to-speech synthesiser. Advanced speech composers may include…

Symbol Communication(also: Symbol-Supported Communication)

The use of graphic symbols — pictograms, ideograms, line drawings, or photographs — alongside or in place of text to convey meaning. Symbol communication supports people who cannot rely on spoken or written language, including many AAC users, children and adults with…

Symbol Selection Set(also: Symbol Board, Communication Board)

A structured collection of graphic symbols, words, or phrases arranged in a grid or other layout for use in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Users select symbols to compose messages, with each symbol representing a word, phrase, concept, or action. Selection…

Synthetic Voice(also: Artificial Voice, Computer-Generated Voice, TTS Voice)

A digitally generated voice produced by text-to-speech technology, used by individuals with speech impairments as an alternative means of verbal communication. People who rely on synthetic voices for presentations, phone calls, or daily conversation must often invest…

Talking Mats

A visual communication framework that uses a textured mat and sets of picture symbols to help people express their views on topics that matter to them. Developed at the University of Stirling, Talking Mats provides a structured way for people who find it difficult to communicate…

Telegraphic Speech(also: Telegraphic Input, Compressed Speech)

A simplified form of communication that uses only essential content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) while omitting function words (articles, prepositions, conjunctions) and grammatical inflections. In AAC and assistive technology contexts, telegraphic input allows users with…

Transactional Communication Model

The most dynamic model of communication, in which all parties are simultaneously senders and receivers, co-creating meaning through instantaneous, continuous feedback. In this model, communication is a collaborative process where context, environment, and shared understanding…

Unaided AAC(also: Unaided Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Body-Based AAC)

The branch of Augmentative and Alternative Communication that relies solely on the user's body — gestures, facial expressions, vocalisations, manual signs, body orientation — without an external device. Unaided AAC is fast, always available, and naturally expressive; families,…

Utterance-Based System(also: Utterance-Based AAC, Prestored Message System)

A type of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system that uses prestored phrases, sentences, or complete utterances rather than requiring users to construct messages word-by-word or letter-by-letter. Utterance-based systems organise prestored text hierarchically,…

Visual Vocabulary(also: Picture-Based Vocabulary, Icon Vocabulary)

A collection of words or concepts represented through images, icons, or pictorial symbols rather than text alone. Visual vocabularies are widely used in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to support people who have difficulty with text-based language,…

Voice Output Communication Aid(also: VOCA, Speech Output Device)

An electronic augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device that produces synthesized or digitized speech output when a user selects symbols, words, or phrases. VOCAs range from simple single-message devices to sophisticated systems with extensive vocabularies and…

Voice banking(also: Voice preservation, Speech banking)

The process of recording and storing samples of a person's natural voice so that a synthetic version can be created for future use with text-to-speech systems. Voice banking is particularly important for people with degenerative conditions like ALS or motor neuron disease who…

Word Board(also: Communication Board, Word Display)

A communication tool used in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) consisting of words, common phrases, and sometimes alphabet letters arranged on a physical board or digital display. Users compose messages by pointing to items on the board. Words are typically…

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