OpenAAC
Communication is for Everyone
Let's all help make that happen
Welcome to The OpenAAC Initiative
Everyone deserves to be able to communicate, but for some people it can take a little extra work. OpenAAC is an initiative to get AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) into the hands of as many people as can use it. We believe that AAC users should have freedom to control their own destinies, that life opens and expands with effective communication. We believe that best happens when the people around AAC users understand their communication strategies and how to best support their growth. It's important for everyone -- family members, therapists, app makers and others -- to respect the autonomy of AAC users and focus on helping them succeed.
As part of this effort, we work to create open standards for the AAC community, and open-licensed materials and tools to help raise the standard for everyone. By sharing resources with open licenses, we hope to get AAC into the hands of more people, and remove the financial barriers that stand in the way of communication for too many.
AAC Awareness
Many folks know little to nothing about AAC, or haven't met an AAC user in person. Part of our purpose at OpenAAC is to look for opportunities to increase community awareness of AAC so that when someone does run into an AAC user it can be a positive experience for everyone involved. We also regularly release community-focused materials to help everyone get on the same page.
It's hard to know where you're going, if you don't know where you've been. We worked with AAC users, therapists, families and experts around the world to collect insights into what happened in the world of AAC in 2023. We cover everything from what's new in AAC to what pop culture references happened to where people are sending folks for new training opportunities. Check out the report for yourself, and share it with others!
Support Resources
AAC implementations work best when both the AAC user and the team around the communicator are engaged, empowered and informed. Part of our mission is to create and share open-licensed materials that can help train and support people at every phase of their AAC journey.
One of the most effective tools we've created is the Communication Partner Profile, a self-reflection form any supporter of AAC can fill out to get an idea of how they're doing and where they can improve in supporting AAC users. Check it out for yourself, and feel free to share it with anyone who you think could benefit!
Try Our Self-AssessmentForm For Yourself
Standards and Certifications
AAC Certifications - To help maintain a minimum standard of quality and functionality, and to help make it easier for people to find high-quality AAC solutions, we maintain a certification process and directory of certified AAC. Feel free to browse the list to learn more about the quality solutions that exist in the world of AAC!
Unfortunately there are some low-quality apps that are peddled to the unaware, and sometimes app developers don't even realize how their design choices might affect AAC users and their ability to use their app, so we are happy to continue this work in order to maintain awareness and education around AAC.
Openness Manifesto
We are parents, therapists, vendors and developers who believe that users should be in control and be able to mix and match their AAC resources to create the experience that works best for them. There are different aspects of the AAC experience that can be improved to make that happen, as listed below. We need your help! Below are the initiatives we are advocating for, including ways that you can help us move forward!
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Open Systems
Communicators should have an option for a free, dynamic, flexible AAC system.
Current Grade: A-How to Help: Explore Open AAC systems -
Open Symbols
Therapists and education teams should be free to create and share classroom materials that use the same symbols available on AAC systems.
Current Grade: C+How to Help: Advocate for & use open symbols -
Open Exports
Users should be free to export their vocabulary sets if they need to switch to a different AAC system.
Current Grade: DRelated Standards: obf File FormatHow to Help: Demand Change from Vendors -
Open Vocabularies
Communicators should have access to free, robust, pre-made vocabulary sets that they can import into the system that works best for them.
Current Grade: CHow to Help: Demand Change from Vendors -
Open Lessons
Teachers and families should have access to free learning resources and ideas for modeling with and supporting communicator learning.
Current Grade: B-How to Help: Contribute Lesson Ideas! -
Open Assessments
Families and organizations shoud have access to assessment options that can help guide their supports without having to pay for access to helpful assessment tools.
Current Grade: CHow to Help: Share and Provide Feedback on Open Assessments! -
Open Research
AAC usage data should be available in a vendor-neutral format that can be safely colllected and used for industry research.
Current Grade: DHow to Help: Review and Share the Open Logging Format specification -
Open Integrations
Third party companies, web sites and developers should have tools that allow them to make their solutions available to AAC users in a standardized way.
Current Grade: FHow to Help: Help Develop Web Integrations -
Open Voices
Communicators should have access to a range of free, high-quality voice output options that they can personally identify with.
Current Grade: C-
Additional Resources
There are so many great projects around the world that are benefitting from open protocols and standards. Below we have gathered collections of open resources and tools that apply to the AAC community. If you notice we're missing something, please let us know right away!
Get Involved!
Our team is small but we have big plans. We can use your help, and it's easier than you think to contribute!