AAC Resources: Pictograms, Tools, and Support for the Classroom
8 min read
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) opens up essential ways for non-speaking or minimally speaking students to participate, express themselves, and learn. Here is a practical directory of tools, visual libraries, and strategies for teachers, educational aides, and families from preschool through high school.
Who Can Benefit from AAC?
Augmentative and alternative communication supports students who cannot rely solely on spoken words to communicate. This includes autistic learners, children with severe speech or language disorders, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, or selective mutism.
Introducing visual symbols or communication apps does not prevent speech from developing, nor does it discourage speaking. Instead, it provides a functional bridge—allowing students to make choices, ask questions, signal discomfort or refusal, and actively participate in school activities.
Free Pictogram Libraries
Visual symbols are the building blocks of most visual schedules and low-tech communication boards. Several comprehensive libraries are readily available online:
ARASAAC is one of the most widely used free visual databases worldwide, featuring over 25,000 pictograms with a multilingual search engine and downloadable materials.
Sclera provides around 4,000 clear, high-contrast black-and-white pictograms that work especially well for students who benefit from clean, uncluttered visual cues.
Widgit and Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) are extensive commercial collections containing tens of thousands of symbols, widely recognized in clinical and school settings.
Software for Designing Visual Materials
Creating daily schedules, classroom visual instructions, or communication strips is much faster with dedicated software:
Picto-Selector is a free desktop application built specifically to design, format, and print visual schedules and grids using tens of thousands of indexed icons.
AraWord (from AraSuite) is a free word processor that automatically pairs typed text with corresponding pictograms, making written assignments and classroom instructions instantly accessible.
Cboard is an open-source, web-based communication board with built-in text-to-speech, usable on any browser without complex setup.
Tablet Apps for Everyday Communication
Digital AAC applications turn standard tablets into portable voice-output communication devices:
Free and accessible apps like LetMeTalk, MyAAC, and Niki Talk allow users to assemble picture strips and hear complete phrases spoken aloud via synthetic speech.
Comprehensive apps like Proloquo2Go, Snap Core First, and Avaz offer dynamic, research-backed vocabulary systems designed to grow with a student from single words to rich, complex conversations.
While low-tech visuals and shared classroom boards can be used freely by any teacher, an individual speech-generating device dedicated to a single student is usually selected and configured in close coordination with a speech-language pathologist and the student's support team.
Practical Approaches by Grade Level
Preschool and Kindergarten: Focus on concrete daily routines, visual transition cards, and expressing core needs (snack, restroom, break). Introduce one symbol at a time and model its use consistently during everyday activities.
Elementary School: Build subject-specific visual supports, adapt multi-step worksheets with illustrated text, and encourage classmates to interact with visual communication tools so inclusion is shared by the entire room.
Middle and High School: Transition toward portable tablet-based systems that respect age-appropriate dignity, expand social vocabulary for peer interaction, and encourage student autonomy in managing their device.
Keeping Support Strategies Organized
Between symbol printouts, app settings, speech therapy notes, and classroom observations, managing AAC resources can quickly become overwhelming. Keeping a shared digital folder or centralized profile ensures everyone working with the student—teachers, aides, therapists, and parents—uses consistent symbols and strategies from one school year to the next.
Frequently asked questions
- Will using AAC stop a student from learning to speak?
- No. Research consistently shows that AAC supports language comprehension and does not hinder verbal speech. For many children, reducing communication frustration actually encourages more vocalizations and verbal attempts.
- What is the difference between low-tech and high-tech AAC?
- Low-tech AAC includes non-electronic tools like printed symbol cards, visual schedules, communication books, and exchange systems. High-tech AAC refers to electronic tablets, specialized speech-generating devices, and eye-gaze communication systems.
- Can a teacher introduce pictograms without a formal clinical assessment?
- Yes. Everyday visual supports like visual agendas, classroom routine strips, and basic choice boards are universal educational tools that benefit many learners. Dedicated personal speech devices, however, are best configured in partnership with a speech-language pathologist.
Sources
Informational content. It is neither a diagnosis nor medical advice and does not replace professional care.
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