Everyone Communicates – the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Resource

The website Everyone Communicates is dedicated to people who are still waiting for a means to communicate more effectively. The intention and hope of the site is to help bring access to communication to more people so that someday soon everyone will have the opportunity to communicate effectively, and no one will have to spend days or years or a lifetime in silence.

As their name indicates, the group believes that everyone communicates, in one way or another. We also believe that communication is a basic need in life. When an individual does not have fluent, natural speech, it is urgent that other methods of communication, often called augmentative or alternative communication (AAC), be explored exhaustively.

"Being unable to speak does not mean that an individual does not understand, cannot learn to communicate, or cannot think and reason. It only means that the person has a barrier to communication. With access to a variety of methods, and with creative, attentive, and dedicated people providing support, people with communication impairments caused by a wide range of disabilities can work to develop effective communication."

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The methods and strategies Everyone Communicates employs to attain their goals include:

• Captioning
• Cued Speech
• Facilitated Communication
• Gestures, Body Language, Cues, Behavior
• Picture and Symbol Systems
• Sign Language
• Social Stories (for children), Social Articles (for adolescents and adults)
  Technology (No-tech, low tech, light tech, high tech)

The website offers a variety of AAC-related courses and online tutorials, as well as links to positive learning, behavior, and communication support resources.

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