Using Augmentative Communication Systems at Home and in the Community

It's important for students to practice and use their system at home and in their community. Using their system outside of school reinforces the communication skills learned in school. Just like with any other skill, it's important to consistently be doing it to become more efficient in it. Having the device at home will allow students to communicate with their families, just like how they do in school. Families should be trained in using augmentative communication systems for students to fully benefit at home.

Here are some tips for guiding parents to promote the use of augmentative communication (page. 294):

• Provide direct instruction on the use of the system.
•  Indentify vocabulary that is relevant to the home.
• Teacher family members to provide opportunities for communication and to wait.
• Provide simple data and evaluation sheets for home and community use.
• Give parents permission to expand the child's communication.
• Keep it simple!

Using augmentative communication in the community can be challenging for students. Many people in the community are unfamiliar with augmentative communication devices. Teachers can create positive experiences for students by practicing using the communication device on planned field trips or at assemblies. Having these experiences will make the student feel more comfortable to use the device on their own in the community! It's very important for students to be able to communicate with people in the community because it allows them to become more independent and apart of society!


Dell, A., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive technology in the classroom. (2nd ed., pp. 3-22). Upper Saddle River: Pearson.