Unaided AAC

The branch of Augmentative and Alternative Communication that relies solely on the user's body — gestures, facial expressions, vocalisations, manual signs, body orientation — without an external device. Unaided AAC is fast, always available, and naturally expressive; families, aides, and long-term communication partners often interpret it fluently. Its central limitation is that idiosyncratic body-based signals depend on shared understanding: unfamiliar partners (new caregivers, transportation staff, strangers in public) routinely fail to interpret them, which limits spontaneous participation in community life. Recent HCI work — including sensor-based gesture-to-speech systems like AllyAAC — aims to pair unaided AAC with aided-AAC speech output so that personalised gestures become intelligible to any listener.