October is AAC Awareness Month, a time to shine a spotlight on Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) and the many ways it supports communication. One way to do this in your local community is by running an AAC information coffee morning. These sessions can be a relaxed but engaging way for families, parents, and others already aware of AAC options to deepen their knowledge and try things out in practice.
Where possible, invite AAC users to attend and share their experiences. Hearing directly from someone who uses AAC can be one of the most powerful ways to increase understanding and challenge misconceptions.
Below are some activity ideas and considerations to help plan an AAC coffee morning.
Activity Ideas
1. Coffee Station with AAC
Set up a Go Talk, Quick Talker, or even a simple paper-based communication chart at the tea and coffee station. Consider leaving out a highly requested word (such as “coffee”) while including words such as “tea”, “not”, and “different”. Participants must then find alternative ways to express what they want, highlighting the importance of vocabulary selection and robust language systems.
2. Symbol Quiz
Prepare a sheet of symbols — some transparent/iconic, others opaque/non-iconic — with the labels removed. Invite participants to guess the meaning. At the end of the session, revisit the quiz to see how many symbol meanings they retained. This activity encourages discussion about how easy (or not) it is to interpret symbols without context or teaching.
3. Myths of AAC
Print and laminate a set of common AAC myths and place them around the room or on tables. Use these as discussion points to spark conversation and address common misconceptions. Although not legally enforceable, the Communication Bill of Rights was updated in 2024 and can be included to discuss basic communication rights.
4. Create Your Own Communication Chart
Provide each participant with a 5×5 grid (25 spaces) to fill with the words and phrases most important to them. Then, challenge them to use the chart functionally:
- Greet someone
- Request a drink
- Comment on clothing
- Answer a simple question
- Ask about the weekend
- Express how they’re feeling
- Refuse something
- Direct attention (e.g., “look over there”)
- Share information (e.g., a birthday)
- Show social closeness (e.g., “I missed you”)
Ask participants to score how functional their chart felt (out of 10). Then discuss alternative ways they could have communicated those same ideas.
5. AAC Experience Stations
Set up a range of AAC systems — both low-tech and high-tech — around the room. Examples include:
- Symbol keychains
- Choice boards
- Objects of reference
- Communication books
- Big Mack / Step-by-Step
- Go Talk / Quick Talker
- iPads with different AAC apps
- Eyegaze AAC setup
Beside each station, provide short tasks:
- “Ask for the red paint.”
- “Tell me your favourite food.”
- “Describe the last film you saw.”
This gives participants the chance to try out a variety of AAC systems firsthand.
6. The Importance of Knowing the Symbol Set
(For more advanced groups.) Provide participants with a Japanese–English dictionary or a handout of Japanese words. Ask them to find translations such as happy, run, or friend. Discuss how difficult it is without prior teaching, and how world knowledge might help in interpreting symbols. Relate this back to AAC users: familiarity and learning are essential for success with any symbol set.
ハッピー
Happī
走る
Hashiru
友達
Tomodachi
Equipment Suggestions
To set up activities, you might use:
- AAC iPads (with and without switch access)
- Eyegaze AAC setup
- Low-tech AAC tools: Big Mack, Step-by-Step, GoTalk Button, Supertalker
- Selection of switches: Large, Small, Common (Buddy Button), and Specialized (Candy Corn Proximity Switch)
Final Thoughts
AAC coffee mornings are not about providing formal training — they are about creating a welcoming space to learn, share, and experience AAC in action. By combining discussion, interactive activities, and hands-on experience, families and community members can leave with a deeper understanding of what AAC is, how it works, and why it matters.
Enable Ireland’s National AT Training Service has also compiled a list of AAC resources that you may find useful.