# Communication beyond speech: making room for gestures, pictures, and AAC

An introduction to different ways children communicate and how adults can respond without requiring spoken words.

> Communication can include speech, gestures, signs, pictures, writing, and communication devices. Respond to the meaning your child shares and keep their established communication tools available.

By Bloomly. General educational information, not individualized clinical advice.

## What does AAC mean?

Augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC, refers to ways of supporting or providing alternatives to speech. Options can include gestures, picture boards, and electronic systems. A speech-language pathologist can help assess and support individual communication needs.

## Respond to the message first

Imagine a child points to a cup. A response such as “Water, you want water” acknowledges the message. Requiring the child to say the word before responding turns a successful exchange into another demand.

If the message is unclear, say what you understood and offer a way to clarify. “Do you mean this one?” is different from pretending certainty. Leave time for a response and accept a correction.

1. Keep the child’s usual communication method within reach.
2. Make space for commenting, refusing, joking, and asking, not only requesting items.
3. Use the communication strategies recommended by the child’s support team.
4. Tell other caregivers how the child likes to communicate.

## An app preview is not an AAC assessment

A few symbols on a learning app do not tell you whether a communication system fits a child. Access method, vocabulary, motor needs, language, and communication partners all matter.

Bloomly is being built with a talk board for practicing communication within its experience. It should not be presented as a replacement for a child’s established AAC system or individualized professional support. Keep learning tools and essential communication access separate in your planning.

## Make conversations bigger than requests

Communication includes “that is funny,” “not that one,” “look at this,” and “I disagree.” During shared play, create room for those messages as well as requests for objects. Comment on what you are doing, pause, and let the child choose whether and how to join in.

For a shared book, the child might point to a surprising detail rather than answer your question. Follow that interest. If a message is misunderstood, model repair: “I thought you meant the blue one. Show me again.” The responsibility for understanding is shared by the communication partner.

## How Bloomly can complement existing communication support

Bloomly is being built to welcome words, symbols, and gestures within learning activities. Its planned talk board and stories about everyday needs can provide occasions to practice a message in a shared, playful context. A grown-up can respond using strategies that are already familiar to the child.

Essential communication access should remain available independently of a learning app. Bloomly’s role is practice and participation within its experience, not replacing a personalized AAC system. If you are considering how it might fit, share the planned features with the professionals supporting your child’s communication.

## Questions families ask

### Should I remove a communication device during a screen break?

A communication device serves a different purpose from entertainment media. Preserve the child’s ability to communicate and discuss practical arrangements with their communication team.

### Can a child use speech and pictures together?

Yes. Communication does not have to rely on only one method. Follow the child’s established approach and seek individualized advice when choosing or changing a communication system.

Join Bloomly’s waitlist for updates on a learning experience that welcomes different ways of communicating.

[Join the waitlist](/#early-access)