Augmentative communication is used whenever appropriate and is always encouraged to improve overall communication success and satisfaction, as well to provide an easy-access mode to practice grammar and early literacy skills – AAC may include gestures, manual signs, low-tech communication boards and visuals, and/or high-tech robust communication systems. If I feel a child would benefit from a robust augmentative or alternative communication system, I typically refer out for AAC evaluation to an SLP/team with the most experience in evaluating and trialing AAC systems so that the child and family have a system that works best for them and their child’s needs. Once AAC is established, I aid in teaching and modeling for parents how to employ aided language modeling (i.e., modeling with the child’s AAC system during everyday communication interactions and routines) and to increase opportunities for and likelihood for continued AAC use for as long as it benefits the child. Since motor-speech work is my primary focus, I encourage families to have a professional as part of the team to focus on AAC (especially if using low- or high-tech robust systems), so that we can all work together as a team to maximize a child’s overall communication success and access to language!