As an AAC user, I often find people don’t know how to treat me or how to talk to someone with a device. It often leaves them feeling uncomfortable and me feeling frustrated. I have put together some guidelines to help people communicate effectively with augmented communicators. Hopefully these guidelines will help them feel more comfortable.

• Just be yourself. A lot of times people will get nervous when they are talking to me the first time. I’m just like the average person when you are having a conversation with me – I just speak differently that you do. Don’t be nervous. I don’t bite.
• Talk to the user at an age appropriate level. I’m a 24 year old college student. Some people are fully aware of this fact, yet they still talk to me as if I have no idea what is going on. Try to find out more about me through conversation.  Although some people who use AAC devices have cognitive disabilities, I do not and if you speak to me, you’ll find that out.
• Talk to the user, not to the person who is with them. This happens to me a lot. People will ask my mom what I want to eat, or doctors will ask my attendants why I came to see them when I am right there. It’s like I’m invisible. I have a button programmed on my Vmax that says “not to be rude. But you can talk to me and not to…”
• Always ask if you can read their screen or if you can guess what the user is saying. Everyone is different with this. Personally, I like it when somebody I know does this so that we can have a faster conversation, but whenever I’m in a group or telling a story I like to type everything out myself. However, I know people who do not like it when someone tries to guess what they are about to say.
• If you are having a regular conversation, try not to praise the user. Sometimes when I ask people who I don’t know how they are doing, they will completely ignore the question and tell me I’m amazing. I totally understand that people who have never seen a DynaVox before think it is amazing, and it is. However, it’s still just my voice.