AAC means augmentative and alternative communication. It includes any method that adds to, or stands in for, spoken words: gestures, signs, pictures, written words, or a speech-generating app or device. AAC therapy is the clinical work of choosing, teaching, and using those methods in real routines.
The Speech Clinic also makes SpeechSync AAC, an app families and therapists can use. This page is about therapy. The product page is about the app. A child does not need SpeechSync in order to be assessed for AAC, and using an app is not the same as receiving therapy.
Updated 29 September 2026. Educational information from The Speech Clinic Dubai. It describes common concerns and what an assessment may involve. It is not a diagnosis and does not replace an individual assessment.
AAC is considered when speech is not reliable enough for the child's daily communication. That can include children with significant speech delay, childhood apraxia of speech, autism-related communication differences, or other developmental profiles. It is also considered when a child understands more than they can say.
AAC is not a last resort that is only introduced after years of unsuccessful speech therapy. For some children it is a bridge while speech develops. For others it remains a primary way to communicate. The decision belongs in an assessment, not in a rule about age.
The speech-language pathologist looks at how the child currently communicates: speech, gesture, leading an adult, pictures, or behaviour. They also look at understanding, motor access, vision, attention, and the messages the child most needs — requesting, refusing, commenting, or social phrases.
A recommendation might be to model a few signs, to trial a simple picture system, or to trial a speech-generating app. It might also be that speech therapy alone is enough for now. Pediatric speech assessment describes the wider visit this sits inside.
Therapy teaches communication partners how to model the system during play, meals, and routines, and teaches the child to use it for real messages. The system is adjusted when vocabulary, layout, or access is not working.
Speech practice can continue alongside AAC. Introducing pictures or a voice output app does not mean the team has given up on spoken words. Families who want a product overview can read about SpeechSync. Families who want a wider discussion of communication tools can read AAC apps and communication technology.
An AAC system does not create language by itself, and it is not a promise that a child will begin speaking. Progress is judged by whether the child can get a message across more successfully, with less frustration.
If the main question is late spoken words rather than an alternative system, start with speech delay or a child who understands but does not speak.
AAC is introduced to give a child a way to communicate. It is not used to replace speech practice when speech practice is appropriate. Many children use AAC and spoken words together. It is not a promise that speech will increase.
No. SpeechSync is the clinic's AAC app. Assessment may recommend it, another system, low-tech pictures, signs, or no AAC tool yet. The product and the therapy decision are separate.
There is no single age cutoff on this page. If a child cannot meet daily communication needs with speech, an assessment can discuss AAC at whatever age that problem is present.
AAC therapy includes partner coaching. Families are shown how to model a small set of messages in routines they already have, rather than being handed a device without a plan.
If speech is not meeting your child's daily communication needs, an assessment can discuss whether AAC, speech therapy, or both should come next.
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