A world of buzzwords

The world is full of buzzwords. These are words or expressions that have become fashionable in a particular field. Whether you train as a carpenter or study medicine you are bound to learn a lot of buzzwords. Soon enough you will be using them yourself and be part of the in-crowd. In this sense Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is just like every other field.

AAC buzzwords

The field of AAC grows all the time - in knowledge and in people. New people are always joining our AAC community. Creating and sharing a list or glossary of terms is practical and useful. Whether you are a parent, professional or AAC user, it is good to become familiar with the words that are often used in the AAC community.

Having a list of commonly used terms gives us a quick way to learn important key concepts in AAC. It gives an overview of all we know about AAC. It is a snapshot of best practice principles in the field.

Building AAC knowledge

One of the biggest barriers in the field of AAC, is knowledge. There are very few ways to actually study AAC. Whether you are a parent of a child that has difficulties speaking, a medical doctor or even a licensed speech language pathologist, it is likely that your training did not include much AAC content. Those new to the area of AAC may find all the jargon and concepts confusing without prior knowledge.

This AAC Awareness Month

To help us all get our heads around the common jargon we share, we have compiled a list of over 20 AAC buzzwords. This compilation includes definitions of commonly used terms such as presume competence, modeling and attributing meaning.

Throughout the month, buzzwords will be shared on the AssistiveWare and Proloquo2Go Facebook pages, as well as on AssistiveWare’s Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Each buzzword will be clearly explained with some key tips and reminders. Share our buzzwords within your teams.

Learning buzzwords is just the start

Knowing AAC buzzwords is a great start to learn about key AAC concepts. However, it should not end there. These buzzwords open a door into the field of AAC. From there you can gain more knowledge from our own Learn AAC resources as well as from AAC-oriented Facebook groups such as:

We will make sure that each buzzword we share on our social media also includes a link where you can learn more. Of course, we will be kicking off with the term AAC, in case you have been wondering what that is all about!