Communication is a vital aspect of human beings, because it is an essential tool for interaction with the primary environment. It is a fundamental right supported by the declaration of human rights and our political constitution, but in the case of a disability, it is highly vulnerable, because they face great barriers when arranging communicative interaction in contexts, especially the primary one.
In Colombia, according to the 2018 census, there are 3,134,036 people with disabilities, of which 720,828,28 have serious problems communicating through speech, 501,445,76 do not interact with people around them, and 1,222,274,04 do not express clear and functional messages. However, these figures are unrealistic because this census did not cover the entire Colombian territory due to areas of difficult access. Given these communication barriers, Augmentative and Alternative Communication stands out as a strategy that provides a possibility for interaction and participation in school and family, improving their quality of life because it reduces segregation and increases the personal autonomy of the beneficiary. In our country, AAC is not a booming strategy; the resources it offers to facilitate the interaction of those who require it are unknown, therefore the shortage of expert professionals in this area is evident, and there are not even training spaces available for professionals who are interested.
At CE CAMILO, the AAC strategy has been implemented as a facilitator to eradicate the barriers to functional communication that PwD face every day, benefiting children and adolescents who lack oral language from training with expert AAC professionals. Through this strategy, users develop a better understanding of the world and what is in it, as well as evoke and infer learning and requirements according to their needs, interests and emotions. It also allows them to structure, classify and clarify their thinking and thus communicate their ideas through resources such as symbol systems, which can range from gestural signs that include gestures, manual signs and mimics, to graphic signs such as photographs, drawings, pictograms and letters. Also mentioned as a vital resource is the functional use of communication support products that can be classified as low technology, which are those of a conventional type, such as key chains, boards and pictographic notebooks that contain visual aids and are easy to make. High-tech devices are also mentioned, which are electronic devices that contain a voice processor to reproduce pre-recorded messages. Communication software is also highlighted within this group.
Encouraging AAC in natural environments, surrounded by sensitive and competent interlocutors with interesting activities will always be essential to achieve accessibility and participation for functional communicative interaction. So, now we will all be AAC!
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