My 4-Year-Old Wasn’t Speaking: How We Finally Gave Him a Voice

My son was turning 4 years old, but due to a rare genetic condition, he had only ever spoken a handful of inconsistent words. He understood almost everything we said to him, he could follow simple instructions, and he got excited when we said his favorite things — “pool,” “bath,” and “cookie.”

We had been in speech therapy since 18 months old but nothing — I’m not going to list everything we tried, but believe me, we tried it all — had given my son the ability to speak. And he was clearly very frustrated that he wanted and needed so many things but couldn’t tell us.

We had just met with a new speech therapist, and she asked if we had ever tried Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). If you haven’t seen an AAC device, this is a high-tech communication device that uses symbols and words to communicate. The AAC user can use the pictures to “speak” through the device.

Example of AAC Gridboard
Example of an AAC in use. (This is Proloquo.)

Armed with an ancient iPad, our speech therapist had programmed some of my son’s favorite things into his AAC. We walked into the kitchen, and she showed him that if she pressed the button, “Ritz cracker,” it would say, “Ritz cracker,” and then we would hand him a Ritz cracker.

My son was beside himself. “RITZ CRACKER RITZ CRACKER RITZ CRACKER,” he said in rapid succession. I cried. He ate a sleeve of crackers.

Example of our early AAC use. (We got him that doughnut!)

Over the last year since we’ve had our AAC device, we’ve learned so much about him we didn’t know. He loved Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, counting, sea animals, and chocolate milk. He really wanted to go to the park. We also confirmed things we already knew but hadn’t heard him express — that he really loved cookies.

He was going to the park!

I can’t describe in short how much AAC has changed our lives. We still have a long way to go — AAC is a full language system, after all, no one learns a language overnight — but it has given my son such freedom to communicate his wants and needs. We are working toward communication just for communication’s sake, such as discussing his day or the weather or just commentary on the world.

We have had to overcome a lot. Not everyone in our lives embraces our son using technology to communicate, even though we don’t know if he will ever be able to speak. I have probably put in hundreds of hours myself editing the device to make it personalized to my son’s world, as well as modeling it.

Example of my son’s personalized TV page

I’m writing this to share our story and to bring awareness to AAC for those who many have never heard of it, as well as anyone whose child might benefit the way ours has. Common myths around AAC include:

Myth #1: Using AAC will hinder spoken language development and should not be used until the use of natural speech has been ruled out.

Fact: The introduction of AAC does not hinder the development of natural speech. In fact, AAC has actually been found to increase natural speech when therapy utilizes a multimodal approach of simultaneously targeting AAC and spoken communication

Myth #2: Young children are not able to use and understand AAC.

Fact: Early introduction of AAC can aid in the development of natural speech and language and can increase expressive and receptive vocabulary for children younger than age 3.

Myth #3: There are cognitive prerequisite skills for using AAC, and it is not appropriate for children with cognitive disabilities.

Fact: Development of language skills through AAC can actually lead to functional cognitive improvement. AAC intervention for children with complex communication needs helps children develop communication skills, promotes cognitive development, provides the foundation for literacy development, and improves social communication.

Asking for juice — the “yes :-)” made us laugh.

If your child is non-speaking or speech delayed and frustrated, I would highly encourage you to look into or ask your speech therapist about an AAC device. There are several avenues you can go down:

  • Ask your SLP about obtaining one through insurance.
  • If your child is receiving services through the public school system, you can get one approved and provided there, but it will take time. A con of this is the time, as well as the restrictions on a school-owned device.
  • An iPad you can buy yourself and an AAC app you can buy yourself — this is what we did. We bought an iPad and the TouchChat Word Power app. We didn’t want to delay our son’s ability to communicate once we knew it would work.

Get 50% Off AAC Apps in October

If you do want to buy an AAC, October is AAC Awareness Month and almost all of the top AAC apps are half off throughout the month. This includes:

PRC-Saltillo: PRC-Saltillo is offering 50% off TouchChat, LAMP Words for Life, and Dialogue apps from October 2–15, 2024. These apps are available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac and are available in the app store.

AssistiveWare: AssistiveWare is offering 50% off many of their AssistiveWare products from October 9–16, 2024. These include Proloquo, Proloquo2go, and more, and are available in the app store.


Please note: I am not a professional. I am just a mom trying to spread awareness. I do recommend asking your speech therapist if you are interested in starting this process. They will be able to point you in the best direction for your child. On the other hand, it took us until our third speech therapist to get started with an AAC, when I know now that my son would have benefited from it even earlier. Don’t be afraid to trust your gut or to take matters into your own hands. You are your child’s very best advocate.

Allison Lore
Allison Lore is a California native who is thrilled to be back in the year-round sunshine after a decade of living in the Washington, DC metropolitan region. She has a background in journalism, technical writing and marketing, and currently works as a proposal manager for a civil engineering firm. She relocated to Jacksonville in 2017 with her husband and son. Her passions include baking, coffee, reading and socializing with friends. Her toddler has taught her more than she ever thought she would know about the nuances of construction vehicles.

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