Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
123 results found in communication.
- Lip Reading (Speechreading, Visual Speech Perception)
- The practice of interpreting speech by visually observing the speaker mouth movements, facial expressions, and gestures. While commonly associated with deaf and hard of hearing individuals, lip readin…
- Lip-reading (Speechreading, Speech Reading, Visual Speech Perception)
- The practice of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face, and tongue, often used by deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals as a communication strategy. Lip-reading r…
- Listener Feedback (Listener Response, Feedback Signals)
- The signals produced by a listener during conversation that communicate their attentiveness, understanding, agreement, confusion, or emotional response to the speaker without taking a full conversatio…
- Makaton
- A language programme that uses a combination of speech, signs (borrowed from British Sign Language), and graphic symbols to support communication for people who have difficulty with spoken language. U…
- Mediated Communication (Proxy Communication, Supported Communication)
- Communication that is facilitated or interpreted through a third party, such as a caregiver, support worker, family member, or communication partner who knows the person well. In research involving pe…
- Micro-Culture (Communication Micro-Culture, Subculture)
- A distinct set of communication norms, practices, and shared understandings that develop within a specific community or group of individuals. In AAC communication, micro-culture refers to the unique "…
- Mixed Hearing Groups (Mixed Hearing Settings, Mixed Ability Hearing Groups)
- Groups that include people with different hearing abilities, typically d/Deaf individuals, hard of hearing individuals, hearing individuals, and sign language interpreters communicating together. Mixe…
- Motion-Based AAC (Physical Expressive AAC, Expressive Sidekick)
- An emerging form of augmentative and alternative communication that uses physical movement of objects or robotic devices to convey nonverbal communicative intent during conversations. Unlike tradition…
- Multi-Modal Communication (Multimodal Communication)
- Communication that simultaneously uses multiple channels or modes—such as speech, gesture, facial expression, gaze, device output, and body movement—to convey meaning. AAC users are inherently multi-m…
- Music Therapy
- A clinical and evidence-based practice that uses music interventions to accomplish individualized therapeutic goals, including improving communication, social interaction, emotional expression, and mo…
- Non-Verbal Communication (Nonverbal Communication, NVC, Body Language)
- Communication through means other than spoken or written words, including facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, body posture, touch, tone of voice, and spatial behavior. Non-verbal communication …
- Person-First Language (People-First Language, PFL)
- Person-first language is a linguistic convention that places the person before the disability or condition, such as "person with a disability" or "person with autism," with the intent of emphasizing p…
- Phoneme (Speech Sound)
- The smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish one word from another. For example, the /b/ and /p/ sounds in "bat" and "pat" are different phonemes. American English has approximately 3…
- Pictograph (Pictogram, Picture Symbol, Graphic Symbol)
- A simplified visual symbol or image that represents a word, concept, or action, used as an alternative or supplement to written text. Pictograph systems such as Sclera, Beta, and Widgit are widely use…
- Pragmatic Language (Pragmatics, Social Language)
- The aspect of language that deals with how context, social norms, and communicative intent shape how language is used and interpreted in real social interactions. Pragmatic language skills include und…
- Prosodic Breaks (Prosodic Pauses, Prosodic Boundaries)
- Pauses or breaks in the flow of communication that convey grammatical, syntactic, or emphatic meaning. In sign language, prosodic breaks occur between signs and serve functions similar to intonation a…
- Prosody (Speech Prosody, Intonation Patterns)
- The patterns of stress, rhythm, intonation, and timing in speech that convey meaning beyond the literal words. Prosody communicates emotions, emphasis, questions versus statements, sarcasm, and conver…
- Protactile Language (Pro-Tactile, PT)
- A fully touch-based language developed by the DeafBlind community that redefines communication through physical contact, including taps, squeezes, and shared contact space. Protactile Language represe…
- Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA, Emotional Incontinence, Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder)
- A neurological condition characterized by episodes of involuntary, exaggerated, or inappropriate emotional expression — such as uncontrollable laughing or crying — that may not match the person's actu…
- Remnant book (remnant scrapbook, memory book)
- An AAC strategy that uses collected physical artifacts—such as ticket stubs, photos, business cards, and other tangible items—organized in a book or album to support communication for people with apha…