This dynamic and timely session explores current and emerging issues in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), offering educators, speech-language pathologists, therapists, and support staff practical tools and critical insights to better support AAC users across a range of settings. Grounded in the values of innovation, inclusion, and advocacy, this session challenges outdated assumptions and highlights strategies that center the lived experiences, communication rights, and identities of AAC users.
As AAC technology and implementation practices evolve, so too must our approaches to supporting individuals who rely on these tools for expressive and receptive communication. This session takes a deep dive into real-world topics that reflect the complexities of modern AAC use—topics that are often overlooked but essential for promoting autonomy, dignity, and full participation.
Key areas of focus will include:
* Grid Size Selection and Motor Planning: Participants will examine the relationship between grid size, visual layout, and motor planning, and how these design choices can either support or hinder language development and access. Drawing on current research and clinical experience, this segment will explore the benefits of maintaining consistent icon locations (motor planning stability), using robust language systems from the start, and resisting the impulse to “simplify” systems in ways that unintentionally restrict communication potential.
* Device Stimming: Regulation or Disruption?: This often-debated topic will be explored through a neurodiversity-affirming lens. Participants will learn to recognize when repetitive or self-directed device use may serve a valid purpose—such as self-regulation, exploration, or sensory engagement—and how to differentiate between communicative intent and non-communicative behavior without pathologizing the user. Rather than viewing device stimming as a problem to eliminate, this session will encourage nuanced strategies that respect autonomy while still guiding purposeful communication development.
* Slang, Humor, and Health Vocabulary: Authentic communication includes more than academic or functional vocabulary. It encompasses the ways individuals express identity, emotion, connection, and autonomy. This session will address the importance of incorporating age-respectful and socially relevant language into AAC systems—including slang, humor, idioms, sarcasm, and sensitive health or body-related vocabulary. These elements are not optional—they are essential for building relationships, navigating social interactions, and promoting dignity.
* Customizing AAC Systems for Identity and Context: Participants will explore best practices for personalizing AAC systems to reflect the user’s culture, preferences, values, and evolving communication needs. This includes strategies for collaborative customization involving users, families, and support teams; leveraging vocabulary sets that are relevant and meaningful; and ensuring systems remain dynamic, flexible, and empowering over time. Emphasis will be placed on how thoughtful customization can support representation, user agency, and communication ownership.
Throughout the session, participants will be guided by core values such as presuming potential, supporting user agency, and creating inclusive environments where all forms of communication are respected and validated. Practical strategies, real-life examples, and case studies will be shared to help bridge the gap between theory and practice. Attendees will leave equipped with tools to reflect critically on their current AAC practices and make informed, user-centered decisions that prioritize autonomy and authenticity.
Participants will be encouraged to engage with challenging topics and consider how their own biases or routines may inadvertently limit the voices of AAC users. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all solutions, this session provides a framework for responsive and respectful AAC support that evolves with the user.
This session not only introduces new ideas but also advocates for a shift in mindset—away from compliance-based AAC implementation and toward practices rooted in equity, representation, and relationship-building. Attendees will be encouraged to act as advocates within their own systems, pushing for policy and practice changes that prioritize access, customization, and dignity.
By the end of the session, participants will be better prepared to:
* Make informed decisions about AAC layout and vocabulary that support language access and motor learning
* Recognize and support device use behaviors through a strengths-based, neurodiversity-affirming lens
* Expand AAC vocabulary to include authentic, socially meaningful, and age-respectful language
* Customize AAC systems to reflect the identities, interests, and goals of individual users
* Champion user agency, self-expression, and the right to be heard in all communication contexts
This session is ideal for professionals at any stage in their AAC journey who are ready to reimagine what’s possible when innovation, inclusion, and advocacy guide their approach to supporting real-world communication.
