FAQs

      1.  Is my family member/client too old or too young to benefit from AAC?

             People of ALL AGES and ABILITIES can benefit from some form of AAC.   There are no age limits or ranges                  for an AAC evaluation.  Young children can begin using AAC to include gestures, sign language, picture        

            communication systems, and speech generating devices as soon as they would be expected to be

            developing speech.

             Adults born with disabilities affecting their speech (e.g., autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, etc.) who 

             have never used AAC or who have tried AAC in the past but were not successful can benefit from an

             AAC evaluation.

             Adults who have suffered a stroke or traumatic brain injury causing them to lose speech or make speech    

            difficult to understand can benefit from AAC.  

             *It is never too late and it is never too early to consider AAC*

      2.  Will AAC prevent my child from talking?

             Study after study has demonstrated that AAC (e.g., sign language, picture communication systems, 

             speech generating devices, etc.) does not prevent a person from developing speech if he/she is capable of

             doing so.

             Listed below are links to studies discussing the affects of AAC on speech production in people with autism 

             and other developmental disabilities.

                    Schlosser and Wendt (2008)  Effects of Augmentative and Alternative Communication Intervention on

                    Speech Production in Children with Autism: A Systematic Review.

Millar, Light and Schlosser (2006). The Impact of AAC Intervention on the Speech Production of 

                    Individuals with Developmental Disabilities: A Research Review.