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: External challenges for individuals who need or use AAC who are learning language: lived experiences, key research findings, and future directions by Holyfield et al. (2025)
This article explains the outside barriers that make it harder for people who use AAC to learn language. The article was written by an AAC user, a parent of an AAC user, and two AAC researchers. Their goal was to show what gets in the way and what needs to change in research, technology, and everyday practice.
1. Late and Limited Access Has Lifelong Effects
Language learning starts at birth, but many children wait years before getting AAC. Some are never offered AAC at all. Families report that:
- Many professionals do not feel trained to support AAC.
- Myths like “they aren’t ready yet” delay help.
- Bias affects who gets AAC services.
- Schools and clinics often treat AAC as a last resort.
Lesson to Learn: All children who need AAC should receive it early. Professionals must be ready to identify who could benefit and support them right away.
2. AAC Must Fit the Person — and Today’s Tools Don’t Always
Many current AAC systems do not match a user’s real communication needs because:
- Systems don’t always support all communication modes (speech, gestures, sign, devices).
- High‑tech tools are sometimes overused while other modes are ignored.
- Picture‑based systems can be hard to learn and tiring to use.
- Limited or preset vocabulary can make it hard to say what you want.
- Picture symbols can be confusing or unclear.
- Traditional grid layouts are visually overwhelming.
- Picture‑based AAC can isolate users from others, while text-based AAC can help them connect more.
Lesson to Learn: Good AAC support should include multiple communication modes, reduce visual and thinking demands, personalize vocabulary, give access to text, and grow with the learner.
3. Meaningful Language Opportunities Matter
Having AAC is not enough. People need real chances to learn and practice language:
- Focusing only on requesting limits social growth.
- Requests create short, simple interactions that don’t build language.
- Users need chances to take turns, joke, share feelings, and talk about real life.
Lesson to Learn: AAC should support full communication, not just asking for things.
4. Communication Partners Play a Huge Role
The people around an AAC user shape how much language they learn:
- Partners’ attitudes and skills affect AAC success.
- Lack of awareness can cause AAC users to be ignored or excluded.
- Training partners leads to better interactions and better language growth.
- Peer interactions help reduce loneliness and build strong language skills.
- Modeling AAC along with speech improves learning, but partners often don’t do it enough.
- Meeting skilled AAC users gives learners valuable support and confidence.
Lesson to Learn: AAC users need people around them who also use and support AAC—partners, peers, and mentors.
What Future Research Needs to Focus On
More research is needed to remove barriers. This includes studying:
- How to involve AAC users in research and design.
- How to give AAC early, especially to infants and toddlers at risk.
- How to make AAC access faster in underserved areas.
- How to better train professionals at all levels.
- How to redesign AAC systems to better match how people learn language.
- How AI and other technology can support communication partners.
- How to create adaptive “smart” AAC systems that grow with the user.
- How to expand peer interaction, mentoring, and community belonging.
- How to use text‑based AAC as a first language for some learners.
- How to build fair and equal partnerships among AAC users, families, researchers, and developers.
What Needs to Change
Most challenges AAC users face are not about their abilities. They come from late access, tools that don’t meet their needs, and too few chances to practice real communication. These barriers shape how people learn, interact, and connect — and removing them must be a priority. Below are key steps to change:
- Give AAC early — starting in infancy.
- Train professionals and communication partners well.
- Redesign AAC systems based on how people actually learn language.
- Support real conversations, not just requesting.
- Center AAC users’ lived experiences in all research and design.
Citation:
Holyfield, C., Light, J., Nieder, D., & Preece, J. (2025). External challenges for individuals who need or use AAC who are learning language: lived experiences, key research findings, and future directions. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 41(3), 267–279.
Access the full article: https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2025.2508485
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