by Jo Ristow, SLP (speech-language pathologist); NWACS Board Member

reading time: 3 minutes

Summary of: Talking With Friends Is Just Different: Moving AAC Forward With Friendship in Mind by Finke and Therrien (2025)

Friendships

Friendships are one of the most important things to promote joy and connection. So in our theme for this month, we looked at research that centers friendships for people who use AAC. In some ways, they are the same as for speaking people. In some ways, they are different.

Even with differences, friendships of all types help people feel supported, understood, and happy. The authors state “communication and friendship have a reciprocal relationship.”

Reciprocal means each one influences the other. Communication is key to making and maintaining friendships. And friendships provide unique opportunities to communicate. Friends share information and build trust and closeness.

But for people with communication challenges, making and keeping friendships can be hard. It is even harder for people who use AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication). This is in part because of big things like ableism, segregation, and limited accessibility in places where friends hang out.

It is also because of the way AAC systems are built. Some problems with current systems include:

Focus on basic needs (like for asking for things or stating needs like hunger and thirst). Core words are great for basic needs but do not reflect the inside jokes and personal vocabulary used between friends. AAC systems are not made for conversations that are personal, emotional, silly, or fun.
Slow speed of output. Friend conversations are often fast and in groups. AAC users have a hard time keeping up.
High cognitive demand. AAC users have to think about what they want to say. But also, they have to find it in their device. This involves navigating, problem solving, and trouble shooting technology problems among other things.
Limited expressive features. AAC devices often don't have personal vocabulary. They also have limited vocal tones for expressing sarcasm, humor, and empathy.

These are not only difficult but also can have negative effects on health. They add to social isolation, loneliness, and mental health challenges.

So what can be done? The authors suggest:

Promote personal and personalized vocabulary and communication. Story telling, humor, and sharing connections should be priorities for clinicians and app makers.
Use visual scene displays. These have a photo with words and phrases embedded. It is more context- and person-based.
Use different ways of communicating. Include preprogrammed apps like photo apps, calendar apps for referring to future and past events, texting, and other apps.
SLPs can ask about social connections and social priorities in assessments and write goals about them for therapy.
Focus on literacy. This opens up access to many more social avenues like texting, social media, and using digital resources to find ways to connect!
Finally, teach others how to interact with people who use AAC. Friendship goes both ways and speaking friends also need to adapt!

In short: Friendships matter a lot, but many AAC tools were not built with friendship conversations in mind. The article says we need to rethink AAC so it supports not just needs and tasks, but real, meaningful social conversations—giving AAC users a better chance to connect, belong, and find joy in friendships.

Citation:

Finke, Erinn H. PhD, CCC-SLP; Therrien, Michelle PhD. Talking With Friends Is Just Different: Moving AAC Forward With Friendship in Mind. Topics in Language Disorders 45(3):p 183-198, July/September 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/TLD.0000000000000368