Aided Language Stimulation

A communication intervention technique in which a conversation partner models language on an AAC device while speaking, pointing to symbols on the learner's communication system as they talk. This includes describing their own actions, narrating the learner's actions, providing examples of target language, and expanding the learner's utterances with additional words to create more complete sentences. Research has shown aided language stimulation is effective in increasing semantic understanding of symbols, the number of communication turns, and syntax understanding complexity. Clinical recommendations suggest conversation partners should perform it in at least 70% of interactions, though achieving this frequency is challenging with traditional AAC tools that require extensive pre-programming of vocabulary.