People with disabilities may need augmentative and alternative means to communicate with the world. This may be due to their specific disability, including sensory disabilities (blindness or hearing loss) and intellectual or developmental disabilities (Down syndrome or autism spectrum disorders). This may also be due to an injury, such as spinal cord injury (SCI), burn injury, or traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Just as their peers without disabilities, people with disabilities may use different types of tools and systems to communicate and participate in their communities. These systems, techniques, tools, strategies, and communication devices are known as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). They may include braille, sign language, letter boards, speech-generating or communication devices, AAC apps on mobile devices, and symbol cards, among others. People with disabilities who use AAC describe various benefits in the use of AAC, including stronger friendships and more frequent social interactions, deeper social roles, increase independence, greater participation in their family lives and communities, improved information sharing with medical professionals, improved personal safety, an increase in employment opportunities, and improved mental health, among others. Without AAC technology, people with disabilities may experience challenges when communicating with others. They may experience frustration and greater vulnerability – especially when alone in a care setting. They may face more social isolation and loneliness and may feel shut out of important decisions over their own life. They may be unable to show what they know or can learn, which may decrease their access to education, employment, and community participation opportunities.

NARIC’s information specialists are often asked for information and resources about AAC from people with communication disabilities, their families, and service providers. This month, we are highlighting evidence-based consumer products from the NIDILRR community for this community, which may include guides, calendars, factsheets, and more.

Below, you will find just a few examples of evidence-based consumer products produced by the NIDILRR community:

• The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (The RERC on AAC) conducts rigorous evidence-based research for designing effective AAC technologies and interventions, develops and evaluates innovative AAC engineering solutions driven by consumer needs, and provides comprehensive training and dissemination to ensure that all people, including children and adults with developmental, acquired, and severe disabilities have access to effective AAC to enhance communication of people with complex communication needs. The RERC on AAC provides a large collection of free webcasts through their AAC Learning Center. These webcasts include presentations on research and clinical applications and consumer perspectives. The AAC Learning Center also provides education resources, research, courses, and more for people interested in AAC.
• NARIC’s Research In Focus series highlights interesting results from NIDILRR-funded research and uses consumer-friendly language to share those results. Below are a few examples of articles in this series focused on AAC:
  • The article, A Novel Technology-Based Intervention May Reduce the Language-Learning Gap for Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, discusses a study from the NIDILRR-funded project on Improving Outcomes Using Aided Augmentative and Alternative Communication for Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing that looked at the potential benefits of an AAC technology, the technology-assisted language intervention (TALI) coupled with speech therapy in children who were deaf or hard of hearing with language delays. The results of this study suggest that TALI may have the potential to narrow the language-learning gap for these children. This article is also available in Spanish.
  • The article, For People with ALS, Social Media Can Be a Key Communication Tool to Maintain Relationships and Expand Networks, discusses a NIDILRR-funded study from The RERC on AAC that looked at how people with ALS who use AAC are tapping into social media to meet their communication needs. The results showed that the use of social media supported connections, provided opportunities to find support from other people with ALS, and provided communication opportunities. The study also found that there were barriers to using social media, including physical limitations, such as loss of motor function, emotional toll of dealing with limitations and isolation caused by ALS, and difficulty in getting AAC devices to interact with computers. This article is also available in Spanish.

To learn more about these and other products from the NIDILRR community, contact NARIC’s information specialists.