Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
13 results found in Augmentative and Alternative Communication.
- ARASAAC (Aragonese Portal of Augmentative and Alternative Communication)
- A publicly funded open pictogram library maintained by the Government of Aragon, Spain, providing nearly 12,000 colour and black-and-white pictograms licensed under Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA). ARASAA…
- Aided AAC (Aided Augmentative and Alternative Communication)
- The branch of Augmentative and Alternative Communication that relies on an external tool to produce or carry the message — ranging from low-tech paper communication boards and picture-exchange cards t…
- Assistive Communication (Assisted Communication)
- Any method, device, or system used to supplement or replace natural speech and writing for people who have difficulty with spoken or written language. Assistive communication encompasses a broad range…
- Facilitated Communication (FC, Supported Typing)
- A technique in which a facilitator provides physical support to a person with a communication disability — typically by holding or steadying the person's hand, arm, or wrist — as they point to letters…
- Global Symbols
- A community-interest company and open symbol platform that hosts multiple pictogram libraries for AAC and Easy Read, supports translation into many languages, and provides an AI-assisted SymbolBuilder…
- Multimodal Summarization (Multimodal Summary, MMS)
- A technique for presenting information through multiple complementary formats — typically combining pictures, simplified text, and structural diagrams — to improve comprehension of complex content. Mu…
- Personal Digital Assistant (PDA, Handheld Computer, Pocket PC)
- A portable handheld computing device popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s that combined features like a calendar, contacts, note-taking, and basic application support in a pocket-sized form facto…
- Photo-based Communication (Visual Communication Aid, Image-based Communication)
- A communication strategy that uses photographs or images as the primary medium for conveying meaning, sharing experiences, and supporting conversation. For people with aphasia, intellectual disabiliti…
- Speech Composer (Speech Generation, Message Composition Engine)
- A software component in AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) systems that takes user input — whether typed text, selected symbols, or telegraphic phrases — and processes it for spoken outp…
- Symbol Communication (Symbol-Supported Communication)
- The use of graphic symbols — pictograms, ideograms, line drawings, or photographs — alongside or in place of text to convey meaning. Symbol communication supports people who cannot rely on spoken or w…
- Symbol Selection Set (Symbol Board, Communication Board)
- A structured collection of graphic symbols, words, or phrases arranged in a grid or other layout for use in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Users select symbols to compose messages, …
- Unaided AAC (Unaided Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Body-Based AAC)
- The branch of Augmentative and Alternative Communication that relies solely on the user's body — gestures, facial expressions, vocalisations, manual signs, body orientation — without an external devic…
- Visual Vocabulary (Picture-Based Vocabulary, Icon Vocabulary)
- A collection of words or concepts represented through images, icons, or pictorial symbols rather than text alone. Visual vocabularies are widely used in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC…