Communication is more than the number of words a person says. A useful communication system lets someone influence what happens, protect their boundaries, get help, share information, connect with other people, and repair a message when the first attempt is misunderstood.
That system may include speech, vocalizations, gestures, signs, pictures, writing, a communication board, or a speech-generating device. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association describes AAC as a set of tools and strategies that can supplement speech or provide another route to communication. It recommends individualized, multimodal support and states that there are no prerequisite skills for AAC intervention (ASHA AAC Practice Portal).
Use this checklist to find missing functions and access barriers. It is not a language test or a substitute for assessment by a speech-language pathologist.
Mark what happens in real life
After printing the page, mark each item with:
- C — Consistent: the message works with familiar people in ordinary routines.
- E — Emerging: it works sometimes, with a prompt, or in only one setting.
- A — Access needed: the person does not yet have a reliable, available way to express it.
- N — Not relevant now: the item is not a current priority.
Write the communication form beside important items. “Asks for help with a two-word spoken phrase” and “asks for help by selecting an AAC button” are both more useful notes than a generic checkmark.
Communication access
- Has at least one communication form that other people understand
- Can reach or use that form throughout the day, not only during a session
- Has access to communication during distress, movement, meals, school, and community routines
- Can use a low-tech or unaided backup when a device is charging, unavailable, or impractical
- Has vocabulary for personally important people, places, interests, routines, and needs
- Encounters adults who pause, notice, and respond to communication attempts
An AAC device that stays in a backpack or on a high shelf is not functioning as access. ASHA advises that people who use AAC should have access to their communication tools and that systems should be flexible across settings and needs.
Consent, refusal, and boundaries
- Communicates “no,” “stop,” “not that,” or an equivalent refusal
- Rejects an offered item or activity without having to escalate
- Asks for a break, more space, less noise, or a different way to participate
- Indicates pain, discomfort, fear, or that something feels wrong
- Changes their mind after an earlier choice
- Encounters adults who honor safe refusals and distinguish them from a skill failure
Do not make compliance the price of communication. If “no” is taught but routinely ignored, the message will not become reliable.
Requests and daily needs
- Requests a desired item, activity, person, or continuation
- Asks for help with a specific problem
- Requests attention in a form that can work in the setting
- Communicates hunger, thirst, fatigue, temperature, or a bathroom need
- Chooses between realistic options
- Requests missing information such as “where,” “when,” “who,” or “what next”
Sharing information and social connection
- Draws another person’s attention to something interesting or important
- Comments, reacts, or shares an opinion without being quizzed
- Tells another person about a recent event in any understandable form
- Asks a question for information or connection, not only to obtain an item
- Starts or joins an interaction around a shared interest
- Ends or pauses an interaction in a clear, respectful way
Not every autistic person will prefer frequent conversation or conventional small talk. The goal is access to meaningful connection and information, not a performance of neurotypical social style.
Understanding other people
- Notices when someone is directing a message to them
- Understands the words, symbols, gestures, or visual information used in familiar routines
- Follows a practical direction when the language and environment are accessible
- Identifies when a message is unclear or too fast
- Uses context, a visual, or a demonstration to support understanding
- Has a way to ask another person to repeat, show, wait, or explain differently
Receptive language can be overestimated when a child follows routines, reads adult body language, or waits for a prompt. Check understanding with new but fair examples instead of repeating the same memorized sequence.
Repairing misunderstandings
- Tries the message again when the listener does not understand
- Uses another form, points, shows, spells, writes, or selects a different symbol
- Clarifies which person, object, place, or event they mean
- Indicates that the listener guessed incorrectly
- Persists long enough to communicate an important message
- Has communication partners who admit misunderstanding and help without taking over the message
Repair is a high-leverage skill because no communication form works perfectly all the time. It also protects autonomy: the listener’s first guess does not automatically become the person’s answer.
Flexible language across settings
- Uses a useful message with more than one familiar person
- Uses the message in more than one routine or location
- Combines known words, symbols, signs, or gestures in a new way
- Adjusts a message when the first wording does not fit
- Communicates with both familiar and less familiar partners using appropriate support
- Keeps access to core messages during stress or sensory overload
Communication-partner checklist
Progress does not depend only on the autistic person. Check the environment too.
- Adults allow enough processing and response time
- Adults model the available communication form without turning every interaction into a test
- Adults respond to gestures, body movement, vocalizations, and other meaningful attempts
- The same core messages are available at home, school, therapy, and in the community
- Prompts are planned and faded instead of becoming the real instruction
- Vocabulary includes refusal, regulation, relationships, interests, humor, and information — not only requests
Choose the next communication goal
Prioritize a missing message when it:
- prevents the person from getting help or protecting a boundary;
- repeatedly causes adults to guess what is wrong;
- would reduce frustration in a routine that happens most days;
- matters to the person and can be honored when used; or
- can work across several settings with the same accessible form.
Examples of stronger first goals include:
- communicates “stop” using speech, sign, gesture, or AAC during three familiar routines;
- asks for help before an adult completes the task for them;
- uses a backup communication board when the primary device is unavailable;
- repairs a misunderstood request by pointing, showing, or selecting another word;
- comments on a preferred activity without answering an adult question first.
“Will use four-word sentences” may describe length, but it does not state what the message does. Function gives the teaching plan a reason.
Track whether communication is becoming more useful
Once a week, review:
- Did the message work in a real moment?
- Did the listener respond in a way that made communication worthwhile?
- Was the system available before the person had to escalate?
- Is the person initiating more often or waiting for fewer prompts?
- Does the message work with another familiar partner or setting?
If a message appears only after “What do you say?” the prompt may be controlling the response. Pause longer, make the communication form easier to access, model without demanding imitation, and reinforce the natural result of the message whenever it is safe to do so.