What terms should we use for AAC and the people who use it? Results from a terminology survey

This study aimed to elicit and analyze the views and preferences of a variety of AAC stakeholders regarding terminology related to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and the people who use or could benefit from it. We used an anonymous online survey to ask nonspeaking AAC users, speaking AAC users, relatives of AAC users, and AAC professionals their preferences on 119 English terms related to AAC, AAC users, and communication disability. The survey also collected demographic information, including age, country, connection to AAC, and disability identity. A total of 556 participants completed the survey. We aimed to determine broad terminology preferences across stakeholder groups and identify areas of disagreement between stakeholders. By making comparisons between related terms and between stakeholder groups, we were able to achieve this aim. There were statistically significant preferences between terms within all groups of related terms. Stakeholder groups also frequently disagreed with each other about AAC terminology: between-group differences in the frequency with which respondents supported, disliked, and/or were unfamiliar with terms were present for 81 of the 119 terms. The preferences uncovered in this study can support respectful language guidance around AAC. Further work should ideally address terminology preferences among stakeholder samples that are less focused on the United States, more focused on marginalized cultural groups, include stakeholders with more limited language skills, and/or address terminology in languages other than English.