Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Midterm Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), including access methods, vocabulary organization, frameworks (SETT and UDL), assessment principles, scanning strategies, and speech output types.

Direct Selection

An access method where the user directly indicates a target using a finger/hand, foot/toe, head/nose, or eye gaze, requiring consistent physical reach and accurate target activation.

Positioning and Seating

Physical support for the trunk, head/neck, and feet assessed by an OT/PT, essential because poor posture or seating can impede AAC access even if the user understands the system.

ETRAN

An acronym for Eye Transfer Communication, which is a low-tech eye gaze communication system with letters and numbers arranged in color-coded groups around a clear frame with a center opening through which the partner tracks gaze.

Gail Van Tatenhove

A featured clinician whose educational video demonstrates the ideal clinical technique for a client using an ETRAN low-tech eye gaze communication system.

Fritzgerald Key

An organizational system originally used to teach word order to individuals with hearing impairments, applying color and word-class categorization on an AAC display to facilitate syntax and sentence generation.

Aided Communication

A form of communication that requires equipment or tools external to the user's body, such as a communication board, book, or speech-generating device (SGD).

Unaided Communication

A form of communication that requires no external equipment, relying entirely on the individual's body through methods like gestures and signs.

Low-Tech Backup

Alternative communication materials—such as communication boards, books, pictures, writing, gestures, or signs—available when a high-tech device is uncharged, broken, under repair, or unreadable in outdoor light.

Symbol System

A communication symbol framework that can be expanded and built upon by adding and combining symbols to create new meanings and novel messages.

Symbol Set

A closed, finite collection of individual symbols that is limited to the specific set provided and cannot be combined to generate new symbols.

Core Vocabulary

A small set of high-frequency words (e.g., "want," "help," "go," "more") that remains consistent across different users and environments and is functional in almost any communication situation.

Fringe Vocabulary

Personalized, situation-specific vocabulary items (e.g., "pizza," "teacher," "football") that vary across specific activities and environments, with final selection guided by the AAC user.

SNUG

An acronym for Spontaneous Novel Utterance Generation, which refers to the AAC user's ability to independently formulate unique, unpredicted messages rather than relying solely on pre-stored phrases.

AAC Layout Elements (Color, Spacing, and Order)

Design features where color categorizes grammatical word classes, spacing enhances visual and motor selection, and consistent ordering enables faster word location.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

An educational framework designed to eliminate barriers by modifying how information is presented, accessed, and expressed through three core principles: Representation, Expression, and Engagement.

SETT Framework

An assessment model that considers the Student/self, Environment, and Tasks first before selecting and feature-matching Tools last.

AAC Assessment Modification

The clinical adaptation of standard testing procedures so that motor, sensory, or speech access limitations do not obscure the client's genuine cognitive and linguistic capabilities.

Linda Burkhart

The specialist who developed structured, step-by-step switch scanning training strategies for teaching access methods to emerging AAC users.

Step 1 Scanning Strategy

The introductory switch training level established by Linda Burkhart where a single switch is used to build cause-and-effect understanding ("My movement makes something happen").

Step 2 Scanning Strategy

The switch training level developed by Linda Burkhart where a single switch is used across multiple locations and functions, utilizing an existing motor pattern ("I can intentionally use that movement for different purposes/locations").

Motor Planning in AAC

The strategy of starting with a larger ultimate grid layout (e.g., 25 locations) and hiding unlearned buttons, preserving consistent icon placement to build motor memory and automaticity as vocabulary is revealed.

Synthesized Speech Output

Computer-generated speech produced directly by an electronic communication device, ideal for flexible sentence formulation and open-ended novel messages.

Digitized Speech Output

Pre-recorded human speech replayed by an AAC device, useful for natural social expressions, interjections, and comments such as "Yay!" or "wow!".