This is a plain-language summary of a journal article. The article is one of 21 articles in a special issue of the AAC journal (Volume 41, Issue 3, 2025). All the articles are written or co-written by AAC users. The articles are free to read. Plain-language summaries of research are important for accessibility. Providing summaries in plain language helps make complex information easier to read. This helps to better understand and put the research into practice.
Summary of: Crossing the communication chasm by Crisp-Cooper (2025)
This article is by an AAC user, Melissa Crisp-Cooper. She writes about her experiences communicating in different ways, including using AAC.
For her, using speech with familiar and patient communication partners is the easiest way for her to voice her true thoughts. Her husband, co-worker, and some paid communication partners make this easiest. Sometimes it helps to have these people revoice what she says. That means they speak after her, repeating what she said, so others understand what she says. But paid communication supporters are difficult to find, train, and keep.
She says:
“Talking to the rest of the world can be a lonely, deeply frustrating experience. I tend to censor my words to convey my message and meet the needs of the listener. This can both leave a lot unsaid and create missed opportunities for someone to truly hear my thoughts or get to know me.”
Usually, unfamiliar people are not patient enough to talk with her. They talk to her support people instead. Or they get antsy, or avoid talking to her at all. It took her a year to feel comfortable communicating at a new job, for example. While she was getting comfortable, she was often left out of conversations.
She says that AAC can help people talk with unfamiliar people. But it can also make things harder in some ways.
Sometimes technology makes communicating easier (like sending texts and emails). But it can also speed up conversations too much or make it hard to join in. She sees her AAC as another tool, like her wheelchair. It is not her voice because it cannot capture her personality.
The author calls for better support, better technology, and more understanding for AAC users. People who use AAC need to be included in all conversations and all areas of society. That means people without disabilities need to step up and listen.
Citation:
Crisp-Cooper, M. (2025). Crossing the communication chasm. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 41(3), 223–225.
Access the full article: https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2025.2499681
Share your comments or questions.