What is AAC?
AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication — any method of communicating besides speech. It's for people who are nonspeaking, minimally verbal, or whose speech is hard for others to understand.
Augmentative vs. alternative
Augmentative means adding to speech (supporting the words someone already has). Alternative means communicating in place of speech. Many people use a mix, and their needs change over time — AAC meets them wherever they are.
Types of AAC
- No-tech / low-tech: gestures, sign, or paper symbol boards and books.
- High-tech: apps and devices that speak aloud — like SayThrough — where you tap symbols and words to build messages.
What are “core words”?
A small set of about 200–400 core words (want, go, more, stop, help, I, you…) makes up roughly 80% of everyday speech. Good AAC keeps these high-frequency words in consistent, easy-to-reach places so they can be found by muscle memory. SayThrough's board is built around core vocabulary, with topic pages for the rest.
Does using AAC stop someone from talking?
No — research consistently shows the opposite. Offering AAC does not prevent speech; for many people it supports language development and can encourage more spoken words, not fewer. Read what the studies actually found.
How do I get started?
- Just start. You don't need a formal evaluation to explore AAC. Open a free app and let the person experience communicating.
- Model it. Tap words yourself as you talk (“aided language stimulation”) so they see how messages are built.
- Keep it available all the time — not just during “lessons.”
- Loop in an SLP (speech-language pathologist) when you can, for personalized goals.
Try it free. SayThrough is a free, open AAC app — no account, works offline. It's a no-cost way to start today.