AAC Toolkit: Practical Tools for Inclusive Communication

Erasmus+ KA220-SCH project AAC-Inclusion (2025-1-RO01-KA220-SCH-000350555)

What is the AAC Toolkit?

The AAC Toolkit is one of the main results of the AAC-Inclusion project. It is a set of ready-to-use resources that helps teachers and parents support children who have little or no functional speech. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) includes all the ways a person can communicate besides speech: gestures, signs, pictograms, photographs, real objects, communication boards and digital devices with voice output. AAC does not replace speech and does not stop it from developing. It gives every child a reliable way to express needs, choices, feelings and ideas, and to take part in school and family life.

The Toolkit was developed by the project partners from France, Romania, Poland, Latvia, Türkiye and North Macedonia. It is structured, progressive and easy to use. Teachers and families can start working with it right away, without long prior training.

Why we created it

The Toolkit grew out of a needs analysis. Teachers and parents in the partner countries answered questionnaires about how much they know about AAC, what they do now, what is difficult for them and what tools they need.

Teachers reported four main problems:

• too little practical training, often perceived as too theoretical;
• difficulty fitting AAC into busy, mixed-ability classrooms;
• no ready-to-use materials such as visual cards, boards and templates;
• the need for consistent, standardised systems instead of scattered resources.

Parents described:

• a lack of reference points for understanding their child’s needs;
• difficulty managing frustration when communication fails;
• a strong need for continuity between home and school;
• the hope of receiving concrete, practical support.

The Toolkit answers these needs directly. It offers simple tools that can be used immediately, clear step-by-step guides, a shared visual language for school and home, and a framework for collaboration between teachers, families and specialists.

What the Toolkit contains

The Toolkit has nine connected components. Users can follow them in order, from understanding to practice, or go straight to the part they need.

1. AAC Fundamentals Guide. An accessible introduction to the forms of AAC: unaided (gestures, signs, facial expressions), low-tech visual (pictograms, cards, boards) and high-tech digital (tablets, apps, voice output). It explains the key principles of good practice: modelling, active waiting, positive reinforcement, repetition and generalisation across settings.

2. Visual Aids. Guidance on choosing and using pictograms, photographs, real objects and visual sequences. Materials are organised by function: needs, actions, emotions, places and people. Practical advice covers printing, laminating and organising the cards so they stay durable and always within reach. The project uses ARASAAC pictograms, an international reference, so the same symbols can be used in every partner country.

3. Communication Boards. Templates for three levels:

• simple boards for beginners making their first choices;
• intermediate boards that combine core words with topic vocabulary;
• advanced boards for building sentences.

4. Step-by-step Guides. Short practical procedures for real situations. For example, during a meal routine the adult presents the cards, models the word “DRINK”, offers a choice, waits and responds to the child’s message. Other guides cover managing frustration, gradually reducing prompts and using AAC consistently at home and at school.

5. Digital Tools. An overview of AAC applications and devices with voice output, with advice on when a digital solution adds value and how to combine it with paper-based tools.

6. Monitoring and Evaluation. Simple observation tools and a progress-tracking matrix. They help adults record how the child communicates, which functions they use (requesting, refusing, commenting, expressing emotions) and how independent they become, and they encourage everyone to recognise and celebrate every step forward.

7. School–Family Collaboration. Tools for building a shared approach, including a School–Family Liaison Notebook. Teachers and parents use the same symbols, share observations and agree on common goals, so the child experiences one consistent communication system.

8. Practical Activities and Scenarios. Activities that increase in difficulty:

• making a choice;
• a request game;
• a daily routine (hand washing);
• expressing emotions;
• a turn-taking game;
• building sentences.

Two complete scenarios, one at home and one in class, show how the tools work together in real life.

9. Training and Support. A training path for teachers and parents that combines short theory with practical workshops, case studies and peer exchange. It is closely linked to the AAC-Inclusion training modules available on the project platform.

Annexes

The Toolkit also includes printable resources:

• AAC Visual Cards (Core Pack);
• a visual map template;
• beginner and intermediate communication boards;
• a progress-tracking matrix;
• an example of a visual sequence;
• a list of recommended ARASAAC pictograms;
• a one-page quick guide for everyday use;
• a presentation of the ARASAAC platform.

Who is it for?

• Teachers in mainstream, inclusive and special education who work with pupils with communication difficulties, such as autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, speech and language disorders or multiple disabilities.
• Parents and families who want to support communication at home in a calm and consistent way.
• Support staff and specialists, including teaching assistants, speech therapists, psychologists and school counsellors.
• School leaders and teacher trainers who want to build an inclusive communication culture in their institution.

How to use it

Start with the Fundamentals Guide to understand the principles. Then choose a few motivating words and one daily routine, print the cards or a beginner board, and model them every day. Record what you observe with the monitoring tools, share it with the family or the school through the Liaison Notebook, and expand the vocabulary as the child progresses. The most important rule is simple: the communication tool must be available to the child all the time, in every setting.

From Toolkit to practice

The Toolkit is being piloted in partner schools and organisations. Feedback from teachers and parents will be used to refine the materials. Together with the training modules, the pictogram collection and the AAC Creative Lab, the Toolkit is part of a shared resource base meant to stay useful long after the project ends. All materials are free and published under a Creative Commons licence, so schools and families across Europe can use, adapt and share them.

Every child has something to say. The AAC Toolkit helps us listen.

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.