AAC at Home: Making Communication and Literacy Part of Everyday Life
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
When an AAC tool comes home, whether it’s a no‑tech communication board or flipbook, a mid‑tech option, or a high‑tech tool like an iPad with a communication app, it can feel overwhelming at first. The tool sits on the counter. You’re not always sure when to use it. You might worry that changing something will “mess it up.” And honestly? Your family is just trying to get through dinner.
When AAC tools are new, your child may not yet be using them independently to communicate. That’s expected. At this stage, your role is to model language so your child can begin connecting meaning with symbols. This supports the development of receptive language, understanding language, which comes before we can expect expressive communication.
Think about how young children learn spoken language. We talk to them long before they use words themselves. They hear language every day for many months, even years, before we expect them to respond with words or phrases. That early input matters.
The same idea applies for children who use AAC. They benefit from receiving language in the same form they are learning to use to communicate. This is called aided language modeling, speaking while also pointing to symbols on the AAC tool. (Video of Aided Language Modeling.) When we model, we do so without expecting an immediate response. Just as we give young verbal communicators time to listen and learn, children who are learning to communicate with symbols deserve that same patience and grace.
Here’s the truth: using AAC isn’t one more thing to add to your plate. It’s a way to deepen connection. AAC creates meaningful opportunities for shared understanding, participation, and togetherness within your family.
Communication doesn’t live only in therapy sessions. It lives in kitchens, on car rides, during bath‑time splashes, and in bedtime snuggles. AAC belongs in all of it.
A Parent Story: “It finally felt like conversation and connection.”
“It felt big. Important. Like I needed a training manual before I could even touch it." Maria, mom to Lucas
Maria remembers the first week her son Lucas brought his AAC device home. One night at dinner, Lucas was staring at his spaghetti. Maria gently pulled the device closer. Instead of asking him to request something, she simply modeled: 'I like this.' She tapped ‘like’ and ‘this’ as she spoke. Lucas watched.
No pressure. No quizzing. Just talking.
A few weeks later, Lucas tapped “yucky” and burst out laughing. That was the moment it clicked. Using AAC wasn’t a task or work. It was connection.
How to Make AAC Part of Everyday Routines
Something even BETTER about integrating AAC into your daily life is that you don't need extra special materials. You just need access and intention. Most daily routines are perfect for modeling core words, which are comprised of roughly 300-400 high-frequency, multipurpose words that make up about 75-80% of what we say every day. Helping your child understand and access these words builds a strong language foundation, giving them the tools to create any message they want, what researchers call spontaneous novel utterance generation (SNUG). American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.).
Alongside core vocabulary, everyday activities offer natural opportunities to introduce fringe words, which are topic-specific words tied to your child's personal interests and the world. These can be especially motivating for sparking real conversation.
The routines below aren't new things to add to your day. They are already happening, and they present opportunities for you to talk with your child. Depending on where they are in their journey, your child can talk about what's going on and connect with you, not just ask for things.
Check out these resources for ideas and some great printouts from The AAC Coach.
Morning:
Words and Phrases to Model:
Tired, brush teeth, eat, go
Mealtime and Cooking Activities:
Comment instead of quiz:
“I love this.”
“This is spicy.”
“What do you think?”
“Put that in”
“Add more”
Bath Time:
Model:
wet
bubbles
splash
Big
Hot
Cold
Sing songs and tap key words as you sing.
Bedtime:
Reflect together:
fun
sad
favorite
Tomorrow
“What If My Child Isn’t Motivated?”
Instead of asking, “How do I get my child to use the tool/s?” try asking:
What does my child care about?
When do they light up?
How can AAC help them share that?
Motivation grows when communication is:
Meaningful
Social
Connected to interests
Free from pressure
Try This at Home
Follow their interests. Dinosaurs? Model dinosaur words. Baking? Model “mix,” “hot,” “yummy.”
Model without requiring imitation. Point to symbols while you talk. Your child does not need to copy you to learn.
Honor ALL communication. Every form of communication matters. Gestures, vocalizations, facial expressions, and pointing to symbols all count. When you understand what your child is expressing, you can honor that communication and build on it by expanding their message or modeling it on their talker. By keeping the focus on connection rather than a repeated expression in a different modality, communication tools remain supportive, engaging, and meaningful, helping your child stay motivated and confident in expressing themselves.
Pause expectantly and Wait. Sometimes a warm look and raised eyebrows create the space needed for communication. Providing that time to allow for processing and exploring without the pressure of time can lead to discoveries and confidence.
Literacy Starts Now!
Research from Comprehensive Literacy for All by Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver reminds us: All children can develop literacy when they receive comprehensive, accessible instruction from the very beginning. Language and literacy grow together. Children move from: Emergent literacy, where children are exploring books, listening to stories, and beginning to understand that print has meaning. Then they move to Conventional literacy, where children begin to read words, write their ideas, and understand text more deeply. For children who use AAC, barriers to communication access and limited opportunities for meaningful expression can result in fewer or delayed literacy experiences, not because of their ability to learn, but because instruction and access are not always designed with their needs in mind. This makes it especially important to ensure that all children have consistent access to print, robust language experiences, and explicit literacy instruction. When we intentionally design instruction that includes AAC users, we support every child in moving forward along the literacy continuum.
What Literacy Can Look Like at Home
Here are some great ways to build literacy skills at home. You may already be using some of these strategies and activities and don’t even realize you are providing a research-based intervention! The important thing is that you continue to give your child these experiences and also, make sure to continue to model the language on whatever AAC tool/s your child is using or learning to use.
Shared Reading
Shared reading is a way of building connections. A mom once told me bedtime reading felt like a quiz: “What’s that?” “Who is that?” “What color is it?” Her son would look away and shut down. When we shifted the goal from correct answers to connection, everything changed. Instead of questioning, she started commenting: “I see a big dog.” “He looks scared.” “I think he’s hiding.” She modeled a few key words on his AAC system as she read and let the story unfold without pressure. Familiar books, daily routines, and shared enjoyment mattered more than performance. And little by little, he leaned in.
When we focus on connection and model language naturally, communication grows.
Exploring Letters and Early Writing
Exploring letters and early writing starts long before perfect spelling. You can notice letters on cereal boxes, find the first letter of your child’s name, or explore the keyboard on their AAC system together. Writing begins with scribbling, choosing letters, selecting symbols, and dictating stories, not with getting it “right.”
The Big Shift: Growing a Communicator
AAC at home is not about perfection. It’s about:
Having the tool/s available
Modeling consistently in routines
Reading together
Talking about everything
Believing your child can learn
When we incorporate our child’s AAC into the natural environment outside of school, providing opportunities across the day, we are building language and growing communicators. In addition, when literacy is woven in from the earliest years, children who use AAC are supported in moving from emergent to conventional literacy with stronger foundations and greater independence.
If You’re Wondering Where to Start…Start tonight.
Bring the device to the dinner table, model a sentence, read a book together, and share comments instead of asking questions. That’s a great start.
*For SLPs and Teachers:
Families often feel the pressure to “do it right,” but what they need most is reassurance that communication grows through connection and not perfection. When you share this message, you are affirming that AAC belongs at home, literacy starts now, and parents are powerful partners in this journey. Sometimes one simple invitation, “Just have the tool/s accessible and add them into what you are already doing” opens the door. Feel free to share this with families in newsletters, IEP follow-ups, or classroom updates. AAC grows best when school and home feel connected.
Learn More
Comprehensive Literacy for All by Karen Erickson & David Koppenhaver. A practical, research-based guide grounded in the belief that all students can learn to read and write, with clear strategies for supporting learners with significant disabilities.
References
Addressing the literacy learning needs of persons with disabilities of all ages. UNC School of
Medicine. (n.d.). https://www.med.unc.edu/healthsciences/clds/
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). AAC Glossary and Principles. ASHA.
Learning and participation for all students.
Open Access 2.0. (n.d.). https://www.openaccess-ca.org/
