Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Tools and Strategies in Apraxia of Speech
Alissa Fineschi, Alessia Fuselli
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a motor-planning speech disorder that affects intelligibility, communicative participation, and the child’s emotional wellbeing. This article presents the clinical case of a 4-year-3-month-old child who was assessed through an integrated multidisciplinary approach. The evaluation revealed a profile characterized by highly inconsistent speech production, a limited phonetic inventory, praxis difficulties, and marked social anxiety, despite cognitive abilities in the normal range and good contextual comprehension. The proposed intervention adopts a combined approach: speech therapy focused on neuromotor-articulatory aspects, together with a structured augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) programme. Low-tech tools (a communication book, a communication passport, and a remnant book) and symbolic materials (visual scenes, symbol-supported books, and Symbook™ Penso& books) were proposed and integrated across all daily environments. A central role was given to training parents and teachers to promote the generalization of communication skills and reduce anxiety linked to communicative breakdowns. Expected outcomes include improved intelligibility, increased multimodal functional communication, enhanced emotional self-regulation, and an overall improvement in the quality of life for both the child and the family. This case supports the value of AAC as an essential component of rehabilitation pathways for children with CAS.
Keywords
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS); Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC); Multidisciplinary intervention; Functional communication; Quality of life (QoL).
