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Communication A to Z

Somebody hands you a leaflet that says AAC. A review mentions partner-assisted scanning. A ward asks whether your dad has a communication passport. Everyone else in the room seems to know what these words mean, and asking feels like admitting you're behind. You aren't. This library explains each one plainly: what it is, who it helps, how it works, and what you can do about it this week. Search by the word you heard.

Please note: This page is general information about communication and the ways people are supported to communicate. It is not an assessment, a diagnosis or speech and language therapy, and it does not know the person you have in mind. If you are worried about someone's speech, language or communication, ask a GP, a health visitor or a speech and language therapist. In an emergency, call 999; if you cannot speak, Relay UK on 18000 or the emergencySMS service reach the same operators.

22 topics filed under A, showing 1–10 (page 1 of 3).

A

AAC

Also called Augmentative and alternative communication, Alternative communication, Assistive communication

AAC is every way of communicating that adds to speech or stands in for it, from a pointed finger to a device that talks.

AAC assessment

Also called Communication aid assessment, Assistive technology assessment, AAC evaluation

Finding the right AAC system is a process of matching person, vocabulary, access method and setting, not a single appointment.

Access method

Also called Access technique, Selection method, Alternative access

The physical route between a person's body and their communication aid: touch, switch, eyes, head or voice. Get this wrong and nothing else matters.

Access to Work

Also called AtW, Access to Work grant

A government grant that pays for the communication support, equipment and interpreters a disabled person needs to do their job.

Accessible Information Standard

Also called AIS, SCCI1605, DCB1605

The legal duty on every NHS and adult social care service in England to ask how you communicate, record it, and act on it.

Action words

Also called Verbs, Doing words, Actions set

Verbs are the words that let a person do things rather than name them. Why go, stop, help, want and make matter more than any hundred nouns.

ADHD and communication

Also called Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and communication, ADD and communication

Interrupting, losing the thread, blurting and drifting: the communication side of ADHD, and the difference between not attending and not understanding.

Adult vocabulary

Also called Swearing on a device, Age-appropriate vocabulary, Slang in AAC

Swearing, slang and grown-up words. Removing them from an adult's device is censorship, and here is why it does harm.

Ageing with AAC

Also called Older AAC users, AAC and ageing, Growing older with a communication aid

Sight, hands and memory change with age. A system set up at thirty will not fit at seventy unless somebody changes it too.

Aided communication

Also called Aided AAC

Any communication that uses something outside the body, from a card in a pocket to a computer driven by the eyes.

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