What techniques are used in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)?

When words are hard to find, the right tools give your child a voice — and AAC is the whole toolkit, from a pointed finger to a talking tablet.

In short

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is not one single method — it is a flexible toolkit of techniques used to support or replace spoken words so a child can express needs, choices and ideas. These range from no-tech approaches (gestures, signs, facial expression) to low-tech tools (picture cards, communication boards, books) and high-tech options (speech-generating devices and apps). A speech and language therapist chooses and combines these to fit your child — and using AAC encourages spoken language, it does not hold it back.

The techniques used in AAC

Unaided (no-tech) techniques — these use only the body, nothing external:

• Gestures and body language — pointing, reaching, nodding.
• Manual signs — simple signing systems (such as Makaton-style key-word signing) paired with speech.
• Facial expression and eye gaze — looking towards a wanted object or person.

Aided low-tech techniques — simple physical tools, no battery needed:

• Picture and symbol cards — a child hands over or points to a picture to communicate.
• Communication boards and books — grids of symbols, photos or words a child selects from.
• Picture-exchange approaches — structured ways to teach a child to initiate by exchanging a symbol for what they want.
• Choice boards and visual schedules — supporting decisions and daily routines.

Aided high-tech techniques — electronic, voice-output tools:

• Speech-generating devices (SGDs) — press a symbol and the device speaks the word aloud.
• AAC apps on tablets — customisable symbol or text grids that talk.
• Switch access and eye-gaze technology — for children who cannot point with a finger, allowing selection by a button press or by looking.

Most children use a mix of these — often called a multimodal approach — chosen and built around your child's current abilities, then grown over time. The goal is always more communication, more often, in more places.

When to seek a check

Consider a speech and language assessment if your child is not using words by around 18–24 months, has very limited ways to make needs known, becomes frustrated trying to communicate, or has a diagnosis (such as autism, cerebral palsy or a developmental delay) where communication support would help. AAC can begin early — there is no minimum spoken-word requirement, and it is never "too soon" to give a child a way to be heard.

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. From there, a speech and language therapist builds a communication and developmental profile and matches the right AAC techniques to your child through our speech therapy support. Explore how communication grows at Pinnacle Blooms Network.

Trusted sources

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) guidance on augmentative and alternative communication; World Health Organization guidance on assistive technology and communication; American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) developmental communication guidance.

Next step — Want to find the right way for your child to be heard? Book a communication assessment with a Pinnacle clinician.

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