by Carrie Elliot, MA, CCC-SLP (Speech-Language Pathologist); NWACS Board Member

“Linguistically-robust language systems are those that will allow someone to construct grammatically correct utterances.”

— Dr. Carole Zangari, PrAACtical AAC

You may have heard the word “robust” thrown around here or there. It’s likely you heard someone say “a robust communication app.” You may be thinking, “what does that mean?” That’s a really good question.

I am an assistive technology specialist and an SLP. I think most professionals in our little AAC world may all mean roughly the same thing… but since this one word stands in for a myriad of features, it’s likely that we may not actually be thinking the same thing. When I really started thinking about it, I began to wonder, “what do I really mean when I say ‘robust’?” I knew that I had a list of apps that I considered meeting the “robust test.” But even then, within those apps, there are different vocabulary options. Some of those options did not meet my personal criteria for “robust.”

Turns out, the term “robust” as it relates to evaluating AAC systems has been around a little while! Original credit for this concept goes to Carole Zangari and Gail Van Tatenhove in 2009. In the book, Practically Speaking: Language, Literacy, & Academic Development for Students with AAC Needs (p. 174-179), Zangari and Van Tatenhove discussed critical characteristics of AAC systems:

include multiple modalities
be linguistically based
feature core vocabulary
provide access to morphological variations
have the potential for growth and expansion

I love the phrase “critical characteristics.” As the field has developed, the word robust has become a synonym - but a loosely defined one.

MY THOUGHTS

So in an effort to improve clarity and transparency, I am laying out my criteria for what is “robust” in the hopes that it starts a conversation to get us all on the same page!

Ability to Communicate About More Than the Here and Now
- Can be used to express many communicative purposes: Request, Protest, Make Choices, Greet, Share, Direct Attention, Label, Ask Questions, Answer Questions, Tell Jokes, Share, Express Affection.
Designed With Motor Planning In Mind
- Promotes speed of communication (how many “clicks” to get to the desired word?).
Supports Literacy Development
- Access to alphabet
- Phonics keyboard
Allows for Language Growth
- Provides the ability to grow into grammar such as easily adding plural -s, or adding verb endings for tense (e.g., -ed, -ing).
Core Vocabulary
- Includes core words on the main page. Core Words can express a lot of different things, in a lot of different ways. Examples: go, do, like, on.
Customization and Personalization
- It should be easy to add pictures, buttons, and pre-stored messages that are unique to the user.
Intuitive User Experience
- Easy to figure out settings, editing and how to personalize. Easy to find vocabulary.
Consistent Color-Coding Schema
- Fitzgerald Key or some similar color-coding for parts of speech
Support and Training
- Easy to connect: in-app support, social media, email, etc.
- Other forms of training on the product such as video tutorials
- Communication partner training
Out of the Box & Ready to Go
- In an ever-busy world, users or their communication partners may not have time to customize or personalize right away. A robust app will be ready to use without doing any editing.

The bottom line is that a good communication app should allow a user to communicate about whatever they want to whomever they want whenever they want.

CHECKLIST