How to start AAC at home

The hardest part isn't choosing the system. It's the first fortnight, when nothing obvious is happening and you start wondering whether it's working. Here's what that period actually looks like.

Everything below is what worked for us and what therapists consistently recommend. Your child's SLP knows your child and should overrule anything here.

Start with fewer words than feels right

The instinct is to load everything your child might ever want. Resist it. A young child who can't find anything on a crowded screen uses nothing at all.

A good starting set is small and mostly made of words that work everywhere:

• more — food, tickles, another go on the swing, the video again
• go — the car, the slide, start it
• help — the lid, the shoe, the zip
• all done — the meal, the bath, get me out
• stop — a real word, and one worth honouring immediately

Then add a handful of things this particular child cares about most. Their bottle. Their bear. The dog. Whatever they'd choose if they could.

Model it yourself, constantly

This is the whole method, and it's the part most families skip.

Modelling means you use the AAC while you talk. You say "more banana?" and you tap more. You say "all done!" and you tap all done. No quiz, no waiting for them to copy, no praise for it. You just use it, out loud, next to them, many times a day.

It's the same thing you did when they were a baby. You spoke to them for a year before they said a word back, and nobody thought that was strange. AAC works the same way. Children use what they see used.

Anchor it to the day, not to sessions

A toddler's day is wonderfully repetitive: breakfast, nap, park, dinner, bath, bed. That repetition is your curriculum. The same words come up at the same times, dozens of times a week.

You don't need practice sessions. You need the AAC to be within reach at meals, at the door, at bath time, and to use it yourself at those moments.

What the first two weeks usually look like

Days 1 to 3: exploration. Your child taps everything, repeatedly, apparently at random, and finds the sounds funny. This is normal and it's not a failure. They're learning that pressing causes something. Let them.

Days 4 to 10: watching. Often less activity, not more. They're observing you use it. Nothing visible is happening, and this is the point where most families quietly stop. Keep modelling.

Days 10 to 14 and beyond: first intentional use. Usually one word, usually the one attached to the thing they want most, usually at a moment of real motivation. It can be much later than this. Later is not a verdict on your child.

A few things that help

• Keep it available. AAC in a drawer is AAC that isn't used. It should be as present as their cup.
• Respond to everything. If they tap a word by accident, respond as if they meant it. That's how they learn it does something.
• Bring everyone in. The other parent, grandparents, the babysitter, the therapist. A system only one adult understands is a small system.
• Accept every form of communication. Pointing, signs, sounds, pulling you by the hand. AAC adds a channel, it doesn't replace the others.

If it isn't working

Before concluding the system is wrong, check the boring explanations first: is it physically in reach during the day, are you modelling it out loud, is the vocabulary too big to navigate, and does using it actually get your child something they want.

If you've been at it for weeks and genuinely nothing is landing, that's a conversation for your SLP. Sometimes the answer is a different system. Sometimes it's a different starting vocabulary. It usually isn't that your child can't do it.

Common questions

What words should we start AAC with?

A small set of high-use words that work across many situations, such as more, go, help, all done and stop, plus a few things your individual child cares about most. Starting small and tied to daily routines is the common approach for young children.

What is modelling in AAC?

Modelling means using the AAC yourself while you speak, so your child sees how it works before being expected to use it. It is the practice speech-language pathologists most often ask parents to do, and it works the same way as speaking to a baby long before they can answer.

How long before AAC starts working?

Longer than most parents expect. Children typically watch and explore before they communicate intentionally with a new system. Early exploration that looks like play or random tapping is a normal stage, not a sign the system is wrong.