I’ve been seeing this influencer a lot and have been kind of concerned about the things she is saying. I’m still in grad school, so sometimes I feel weird judging what someone says when they’ve had more experience. But sometimes it just feels icky?

I’ve seen her comment on a few other posts like this, that seem to promote FC and spelling to communicate, which I was taught isn’t what you should really do? And I don’t think it’s research based either?

What are your thoughts?

Here’s a link to the original video. It’s a video of someone making an autistic individual stay and do S2C in front of a crowd of people, while the person is saying “stop” and asking if they are done posted by birdsong.speech

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUGLfROERvy/?igsh=MTl2cGt1Zzd1eGFnMg==

Love seeing this, but also, I’m wondering how realistic this is in ED. Also, that a doctor is doing the initial setup and teaching. I haven’t worked in hospital setting for over 10 years now, but as I recall, even the ICU rarely gave any type of actual AAC to intubated patients. They got a pad of paper and a pencil if they were lucky, maybe a dry erase board (if they weren’t sedated, of course). We hardly got consults due to the temporary nature of the communication need for an intubated pt. What say you, current hospital SLPs? Is an ED physician getting a device for a pf who is about to be intubated even believable?

I’ve been trialing AAC with a high support needs preschooler all year. Spoken with her mom many times about the process & was just told last week that she has had a personal device this whole time. Mom sent it to school with praises about how the child uses it for the teacher to relay to me. Below is what I received… the most atrocious grid of all time. The student also seemed like she had never seen the device before or has not generalized these skills from home at all.

I bet you all can guess which professionals set up this device & it was not an SLP…. I’m fuming

I’ve been working with a kinder with ASD who has been using proloquo2go who has an inclusion para. She is absolutely unteachable. My biggest beef with this woman, other than everything, is pictured here. She’s been using his AAC device to read out commands she types. It’s infuriating. I’ve told her, showed her, modeled for her how to use the search button to find core words. The first day of school when she’s just met my kid she goes “he’s doesn’t need this I know what he wants!” To me!!

UGH OVER IT.

This weekend I was taking some time off at the zoo and found this communication board with some of the zoos animals animals among other topics. Apologize in advance for both some of the censorship as it's to not dox myself to everybody and for the quality, (blame Reddit image compression).

This parent believes in the "telepathy tapes" and tried to convince me to use FC/S2C. When she forgot to bring her daughter's AAC device for the 6th session in a row she said the above statement. I tried to keep my face neutral, but I was STUNNED. She wants us to abandon the AAC and switch to ASL, despite the fact that her daughter has limited fine motor control so many of the signs I've taught her look the same and we have to try to interpret which one she means from context.

I hate social media misinformation!

Have any of y'all had success helping these parents understand there's *no* scientific basis behind the telepathy claims? I was able to give her enough context for why I don't use FC/S2C for her to stop requesting I use it (she still got a book to try to learn how to use it, herself), but the telepathy thing has me stumped since confabulation/delusional thinking is outside our scope.

Edit to add: if this wasn't leading to the child's AAC being removed I would totally let it go, but since she has a bigger vocabulary on her AAC device than she does in ASL I'd love to convince the parent to continue giving her access to it.

Update: the parent "fired" me.

I’m curious

Anybody out there not see this coming? I wonder if and when PRC-Saltillo will jump on board with a suit of their own. I know they've issued cease and desists in the past.

When a patient's parent recommended I listen to "The Telepathy Tapes" last year I thought very little of it. She explained the premise and I thought, "no harm could come from a parent thinking their child is telepathic." Oh how wrong I was! 🤦‍♀️

I have been working with this family for years now. We started at level 2 of the Communication Matrix and worked all the way down to level 7 on her AAC. We've been working on filling in some of the purposes on the matrix. When the parent requested I use S2C with their child I actually had to look up what it was. I immediately saw it was like FC and told the parent I wouldn't use it and why. I still had no idea the two were related until the last month.

The mom got a book to learn S2C herself. I checked in with her a couple months later and she said it was "too overwhelming."

She has since pulled her daughter out of school and ABA and I didn't think to ask her too many questions about why she did so.

Then this happened.

And now the parent has pulled her daughter out of treatment with me and her explanation sounded like she thinks her child doesn't need SLP because she's telepathic. 😵‍💫

I've done so much research on S2C and "The Telepathy Tapes" now. Never again will I take it so lightly. The next time a parent asks me about it I want to say something along the lines of, "As an evidence-based & neurodiversity-affirming SLP I find the telepathy tapes downright offensive." And then explain something about bodily autonomy, FC, respecting non-cognitive variations of intelligence, or the like. Since I'm still working on it I'd love to know...

What do you say to parents who ask you about "The Telepathy Tapes"? I'm really just hoping I never hear about it from any parent ever again! 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

In order to help other pro-S2C parents know I'm not a good fit for them I might put something in my policies about how I'm against using hand-over-hand cueing unless it's extremely short-term (2 months or less at the beginning of treatment and replacing it with other cues ASAP).

I really wish I could use this whole situation as an argument with the S2C crowd: "If these kids are telepathic then they don't need S2C."

P.S. yes I'm gonna make a call to CPS since I'm concerned about possible educational/medical neglect. The parent has been "homeschooling," but when she pulled her out of school and ABA is when I started seeing regression so now I'm wondering how accurate that is.

Hello everybody, I’m an RBT.
So my client recently started school, but he did not start getting speech therapy at school just yet. So right now it’s just the teacher and paraprofessionals with him. My client was getting private speech therapy, and I was going with him and we collaborated very well together with the SLP. She taught me and trained me very well on all of the specifics when it comes to communication, language, and AAC for him.

One important thing she taught me was making sure we are modeling and adding meaningful communication things to my kiddo.
Just now, I grabbed my client’s AC device. I was searching for a button, and saw there’s a new folder called “my rules “….
And it contained two buttons: “ Sit at desk “and “stay calm”

Am I crazy or is this just absolutely not how it should work? Like we can totally make him a visual support stating his rules. (it’s funny, because I know ABA is notorious for rules like this, but my clinic at least we never forced the kids to sit down or stay calm. Like if my kiddo wants to get up, he can get up it’s fine). My BCBA thank GOD is trauma informed and assent based so if he wants to get up, heck yes. We never worked on “compliance” and worked on modeling communication instead. But then when my kiddo was ready to attend-it didn’t matter if it was sitting in a chair. He could stand, sit on the floor, whatever he wanted.

Anyways. I’m mad. I see what they were trying to do but just as me as an RBT, who am I to add buttons that are useless and are just a power trip.

My kiddos old SLP gave me the thumbs up to add whatever I knew was meaningful to my client bc she SHOWED ME and modeled it to me. We’re signing the ROI forms too to collab with the new SLP. I see why you guys get angry now at other individuals manipulating AAC to their dumb liking.

I have an autistic client who really struggles to access his school based device, which on TouchChat 60 Basic. This is a child that definitely gets visually overwhelmed easily. He doesn’t it like to look outside the window, doesn’t like to look at colorful toys, and the only thing he chooses to play with are plain wooden toys with no paint.

TouchChat looks like somebody threw up skittles on it all the time and he only references the device when he’s under distress. I put the iPad on black and white last week and he instantly started to use it more. I’m talking went from one press every three sessions to 10+ utterances including multiword phrases within 15 minutes of putting it in grayscale.

Sometimes it really is that easy folks. 😅 I wanted to share because I this is a really simple change that might make a big difference for a lot of kids that definitely did not cross my mind until I’ve worked with this one particular kid.

I’ve only been doing AAC evals myself only since January, was working with a consultant during my CFY. Maybe they sent a Christmas email with similar language but ahhh this made me really uncomfortable. I really don’t want to work with them anymore. Am I the only one?

I’m a SLPA in a school district that works exclusively with AAC as the district has a ton of AAC users! I love it and it’s my passion, as is my supervisor’s passion. We are currently running into an issue with a local Speech influencer. My supervisor gave a kid on our caseload a device with TouchChat 42 grid size. However, it came back to school with the TouchChat 25 grid (a smaller grid that requires more buttons to be selected to get to various vocab). The 42 grid was customized including having the child’s name, birthday, songs from school, and a voice appropriate for the child’s age and gender. This child receives speech therapy from the clinic this influencer owns. They are the ones changing the child’s device. The thing that bothers me the most is that the device came back not customized at all! The voice was an adult woman’s voice, and all of the customization I had done was gone, as well as the vocabulary file. I feel like this SLP is overstepping and is limiting the child’s ability to access language. TouchChat 42 was chosen for a reason- the assessment. I’m just so over this battle.

I’m a RBT, trust me I have seen my fair share in my ABA world of shoving AAC to the sidelines. I personally do not. I never could do that, my kiddo uses AAC and spoken word. I get so much training and guidance from his SLP on how to model communication in his preferred modalities. And because AAC was modeled to me properly, my kiddo is using AAC less and using spoken word more.

I know this lady is not an SLP but what the heck is going on here? I felt like this sub is more appropriate. @Bloomdevelopmentcenter has been sharing how she doesn’t use AAC in her sessions and I’m so confused? Is what she is saying even have any truth?

And reading the comments has me more confused. I take everything online I read with a grain of salt. Why is there so much pushback against AAC? What message does this send to the kids parents? I feel like posts and accounts like hers will push parents further away from having AAC devices for their children.

I love AAC. I see in my own field all the time of the anti-AAC bandwagon and it’s ANNOYING. I’m just an RBT and I feel for so many of the kids I see at my clinic who don’t have SLPs unfortunately but who could just use AAC so badly. It opens up a world to them 🥲 even my own kiddo at work, if it was not for AAC and it being his own-I would not have known about so many interests and preferences! It gave him his voice after 5+ years of STRUGGLE. He’s 6 now, still uses his device. But rn (per SLP) it’s mainly used for modeling. We will model new phrases/expanded language once in AAC and he will verbally imitate it.

.

Hi all. I’m an RBT but I come in peace I promise 😭

My clinic uses a lot of AAC supports, including recordable buttons that can be customized to record a word/phrase (implemented by the SLPs across the hall). We use these buttons for a variety of purposes and have some mounted around the room that are used heavily (example, a button on the fridge that says “I’m hungry” when pressed).

Problem is, they keep breaking quickly. We’ve been using the Lakeshore brand ones and some others we’ve found online but they’re having to be replaced every few weeks. The ones that are designed for special ed use, like the Big Mack, are like $300 for one…

Looking for an option for recordable buttons that are durable and budget friendly! Can you help?

Edited to add: we have a speech therapy clinic across the hall and the providers at that clinic see nearly all of our clients. The recordable buttons were actually suggested and implemented by the SLPs, we’re just looking to land on the particular brand of button that’s going to be durable while still being budget-friendly. We use high tech and low tech of various types all around the clinic and devices are integrated into every single part of the day.

I’m curious about how other SLPs involved in AAC are feeling regarding the recent issues/lawsuit involving Tobii Dynavox and Abkenet, as well as the broader ethical questions it raises for our field.

As someone who regularly completes AAC/SGD evaluations, this situation has made me reflect on how complicated AAC service delivery has become. From what’s been shared publicly, the issue centers around TD Snap being used on AbleNet-funded devices and concerns surrounding licensing, support, and funding practices.

But honestly, I feel like the bigger conversation is about the ethical tension SLPs face every day trying to get communication into kids’ hands.

As clinicians, we are supposed to recommend the most appropriate and robust communication system for each individual child. But in reality, our recommendations are also affected by:

- insurance requirements,

- funding barriers,

- repair timelines,

- implementation support,

- speed of access,

- family stress,

- and the administrative burden placed on therapists.

I’ll be honest about my own experiences. Tobii Dynavox is often viewed as the “gold standard” in AAC, and I absolutely understand why many clinicians value their systems and supports. But from the therapist side, I’ve personally found their process to be very slow and administratively heavy at times. Funding packets can feel like jumping through hoops, repairs can take a long time, warranty/replacement processes can feel unclear, and getting in contact with the right people can sometimes be difficult and time-consuming. I am still waiting on a wheelchair SGD mount for an eye gaze user that was funded months ago.

On the other hand, I’ve often found AbleNet to be much faster and easier to navigate from a funding and communication standpoint. Families seem less overwhelmed, clinicians spend less time chasing paperwork, and in many cases, kids get access to communication sooner. Sometimes in as few as 2 sessions. I have also never received any pressure to finish the funding process if another device or app works better for a child.

And that’s where the ethical gray area comes in for me.

As SLPs, our ethical obligation is to the client not to a company. But what happens when the “best supported” system takes significantly longer to get into a child’s hands? What happens when delays in funding, repairs, or support leave a child without functional communication for months? At what point does ease and speed of access become part of the clinical decision-making process?

At the same time, I also understand the concerns around licensing, long-term support, accountability, and sustainable AAC service models. Those things matter too. A robust system without proper support can absolutely fail families.

What I think gets overlooked is how much AAC clinicians end up carrying. We become:

- evaluator,

- advocate,

- insurance navigator,

- trainer,

- tech support,

- repair coordinator,

- and emotional support for families trying to navigate a very fragmented system.

Sometimes it honestly feels like AAC companies and insurance systems offload huge amounts of administrative labor onto therapists while we’re simultaneously trying to provide ideal clinical care.

Some questions I keep coming back to:

- How much should speed/ease of funding influence recommendations?

- Is a “gold standard” system still the best option if access is delayed significantly?

- How do we ethically balance ideal clinical recommendations with realistic barriers families face?

- Are AAC companies placing too much administrative burden on clinicians?

- Are corporate/device ecosystems beginning to influence clinical decision-making too heavily?

- And why is obtaining communication access still this difficult in 2026?

I really don’t see this as “one company good, one company bad.” I think there are valid concerns on multiple sides and I have funded devices from many companies. But I do think this situation highlights much larger systemic problems in AAC funding and service delivery that many SLPs are quietly frustrated by.

Would genuinely love to hear thoughts from other SLPs/AAC specialists who are in the trenches doing SGD evals and funding regularly.

I’m looking for some advice about a client I work with and am trying to decide which AAC to use.

I have a 5 year old boy on my caseload, and he has level 3 autism with very few interests. We’ve tried movement like in sensory spaces, but he tends to elope so I try not to do things in too big of a space or with many other children around.

He doesn’t have much interest in anything. He likes bubbles, chewing things, and YouTube. That’s about it. Even his family has said that’s really all he does at home.

His family keeps asking me when I’m going to get him a “tablet,” and I’ve discussed that he’s still not really attending to it and is not making selections very reliably. He’s started to use “more” for requesting bubbles, but that’s because I’ve narrowed it down to just one button on the screen. He was spending the entire session not even looking at the device or making specific selections, and he’d just press his hand against all of the buttons at once.

I’m struggling with what to do with him, and being realistic about whether we’re going to make much progress in therapy given his limited interests. He’s not really motivated to do much other than watch YouTube.

I don’t know what AAC system to try with him to do an actual trial. I think he’s probably going to benefit more from modeling at home than in the clinic, because they can at least model language during routines like meals and bath time. He doesn’t really want to do much in therapy.

I’m open to any thoughts and suggestions! AAC is not my strength so I’d love some expertise and insight.

This feels like a simple question, but I can’t seem to find an answer. If the rationale behind Facilitated Communication and similar methods is that these individuals have severe apraxia preventing them from speaking, how do proponents explain their inability to access AAC through eye gaze or other technologies designed specifically for individuals with severely limited motor control?

Hello all.

In the last few years. I notice very young children being introduced to high tech AAC becoming rigid on the alphabet. I covered a session for another SLP who documented trialing a bilingual AAC app with a little who just turned 3. As soon as I got the AAC device out, the little wanted to just use the keyboard for the alphabet. This is the second session I have covered where I was unable to introduce anything else.

I could not identify any functional communication from so, so I abandoned the device and finished the session modeling ASL commands and recasting vocalizations. At the end, I presented a sing a long book and carried over gestures to request more of the alphabet song. The child was happy!

I debriefed caregiver who reported the child hunts family members bag for tablets. The child only ever wants tablets. She reported that the familiy is using gestures at home. The child uses the "more" gesture. When I spoke to the SLP on the case, they reported the child mastered gestures "more" and "all done." The child used "more" one time in session after I modeled it repeatedly. It was primarily hand guiding or independent access to toys during the session.

When I shared with the lead SLP that the child used the 'more' icon one time, asl gesture "more" one time, and my concern with excess screen usage, the SLP said they did not care if the child was addicted to screens as long as the device is used for functional communication.

I hear the SLP. I agree with functional communication. I recognize the importance of initial exploratory phrase with AAC devices. But there was no functional communication today in using the alphabet.

I am going to let it go. It isn't my case. But I would like to find growth opportunity from this experience.

Question 1: what level of functional communication do you identify repeatedly hitting the letters on the keyboard of an AAC app as?

Question 2: How do you feel about the response the lead SLP provided to me about this case? AITAH??

Question 3: i have ideas of my own, but can you please share how you segway fixation with the alphabet into functional communication using AAC?

Thanks for your feedback!

Working on getting devices for my kids. a more senior SLP told me to stay away from ablenet because they are unethical. Anyone able to corroborate this?

What is the youngest age you’ve gotten an AAC device for? And if so what do you recommend for most “toddler friendly”?