Communication Access as Protection: AAC, Safeguarding, and Trauma

Abstract

People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by violence, abuse, and other potentially traumatic experiences. At the same time, there are significant barriers when it comes to reporting boundary violations and experiences of violence, communicating personal boundaries, seeking help, or gaining access to the legal system. As a result, the consequences of trauma may go unrecognized, and trauma-related reactions may be mistakenly interpreted as manifestations of the disability.

While communication access in the field of AAC is primarily associated with participation, inclusion, and self-determination, this contribution foregrounds its protective function and explores the intersections of AAC, trauma, and safeguarding.

Communication barriers can increase vulnerability to violence, victimization, and retraumatization, while access to effective AAC may function as a key protective factor. The session examines how communication systems can support people with complex communication needs in expressing fear and distress, communicating consent and refusal, disclosing boundary violations and experiences of violence, seeking help, and exercising self-determination. Particular attention is given to trauma- and safeguarding-related vocabulary as a prerequisite for disclosure, protection, and self-advocacy.

The contribution further highlights practical implications for the design of communication aids, safeguarding frameworks in service settings, and access to support services and the justice system. The ability to communicate experiences of violence and abuse, provide testimony, and be understood in interactions with police, counselling services, or courts is a fundamental prerequisite for protection, access to justice, and the exercise of basic human rights.

Against this backdrop, the contribution argues that communication access should be understood not only as a prerequisite for participation, inclusion, and self-determination, but also as a prerequisite for safety, protection from violence, and access to justice. In doing so, it positions communication access as a form of protection at the intersection of AAC, safeguarding, trauma, and human rights.

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