How a child's progress in AAC is measured

When your child speaks through a board, a button or a tablet, progress is real — and there are clear, caring ways to see it grow.

In short

A child's progress in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is measured not by whether they start talking, but by how much, how often and how independently they communicate using their AAC system. A speech and language therapist tracks meaningful, everyday signs — the number of different messages a child sends, the range of reasons they communicate (requesting, commenting, refusing, asking), how independently they navigate their device or board, and how well others understand them. Progress is measured against your child's own starting point and personalised goals, reviewed regularly with you.

What progress actually looks like

AAC progress is gathered through observation, simple data-keeping and review across the settings where your child lives and learns:

• More messages, more often — the therapist looks at how frequently your child initiates communication and how many different words or symbols they use spontaneously (not just when prompted).
• Wider communication purposes — early on a child may mainly request. Real growth shows when they also comment ("look!"), refuse, greet, ask questions and share feelings.
• Growing independence — moving from needing hand-over-hand or prompting towards finding and combining symbols themselves, and stringing two or more symbols together.
• Communicating with more people, in more places — at home, school and with grandparents, not only in the therapy room.
• Repair and persistence — does your child try again, or another way, when not understood? This is a powerful sign of confidence.
• Comprehension and engagement — understanding others, and showing that the device is genuinely theirs — a voice, not a chore.

Importantly, AAC does not stop or slow spoken language; research consistently shows it often supports speech to emerge. So measuring progress is about communication overall, in whatever modality works for your child.

How goals are set and reviewed

The therapist works with you to set small, observable goals personalised to your child — then reviews them at regular intervals, adjusting the vocabulary on the device, the symbols available and the strategies taught at home and school. You are part of every review, because the people around a child are the ones who make AAC come alive.

The Pinnacle way

AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional — never from an app or online form. Our speech therapy team builds a personalised AAC plan and tracks progress through a clinician-administered structured assessment reviewed with you. Explore how Pinnacle supports communication for every child at our home.

Trusted sources

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) guidance on AAC and goal-setting; WHO ICD-11 framework for communication functioning; American Academy of Pediatrics family resources (HealthyChildren.org).

Next step — Want a clear picture of your child's communication growth? Book an assessment with a Pinnacle speech and language clinician.

This is general information, not a diagnosis — individual assessment and diagnosis require an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.