A well-chosen AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) app can become a natural part of a child's day within the first weeks — we saw this in the pilot programme where real families used Kalbeja every day.
The key is fit: a tool works when it matches the individual child and the individual family — their language, their daily life and the child's abilities. There are dozens of apps out there, so it is worth knowing what to choose by.
Below are eight criteria that the international AAC literature (Beukelman & Mirenda; ASHA; Light & McNaughton) and our own experience of building a product together with families and a special educator show to be the most important. This is called “feature matching” — matching a tool's features to the individual child.
1. The app's language
The first and most important criterion. An AAC app must be in the language of the child's environment. For a family living in Lithuania — Lithuanian.
A child whose language is still only forming needs to link the symbol “šuo” with the Lithuanian sound “šuo”, not with the English “dog”. Otherwise the child is not learning to speak, but to translate — and translation is an extra cognitive load for a child for whom the language process is already hard.
International AAC apps (Proloquo2Go, TouchChat, Avaz and others) are excellently built — in English. That makes them unsuitable as the first tool for a child in Lithuania.
2. The ability to add your own photos and voice
The AAC literature (Light, 2003; AssistiveWare) is very clear: personal photos and the parents' natural voice are significantly more effective than generic symbols and a synthetic voice — especially for a young child.
A child who sees their own dad on a card, rather than an abstract man, grasps the link between symbol and meaning much faster. A child who hears their mum's voice, rather than a synthetic one, responds more strongly emotionally and learns faster.
The question to ask of any app: “Can I add MY OWN photos? Can I record MY OWN voice? How long does it take and how easy is it?”
3. Vocabulary structure: core and personal words
Research (Banajee, Dicarlo, Buras Stricklin; PrAACtical AAC) has shown that about 80% of everyday speech consists of “core” words (core vocabulary) — “I”, “you”, “more”, “again”, “go”, “want”, “no”, “yes”, “help”.
The other 20% are personal words (fringe vocabulary): “mum”, “milk”, “Mikis the lamb”, “Grandpa Petras”. These words are unique to every family.
An app must support both types. If it only has fixed categories with no way to add the name of your child's favourite toy — it will not stay useful for long.
4. Training for parents, not just a tool for the child
This is perhaps the most overlooked criterion. An app without a methodology is a tool without instructions. Parents get a card system, but nobody tells them how to weave it into daily life, how to teach the child, how to encourage spontaneous use.
The meta-analysis by Kaiser and Roberts (2013) shows that parent involvement and knowledge of the methodology are among the strongest predictors of a child's language development. An app that teaches the parents is worth more than an app that merely has more features.
The question: “Are there lessons, a guide, explanations of how to start? Are they in our language?”
5. Fit for the individual child
In SLP (speech-language pathologist) practice this is called “feature matching” (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013). The app must match the child's:
- motor abilities — card size, spacing between cards, touch sensitivity;
- vision — contrast, size, clarity of the image;
- cognitive development — is it right for the starting stage (3–6 cards) or for an expanded system (several dozen);
- sensory needs — are there too many colours, animations or sounds that would distract the child.
The same solution that suits one child can be too complex for another. That is why a specialist is usually indispensable in the selection process.
6. Parents must be able to edit it themselves
An app that only a specialist configures once a quarter will not be used daily. A child's vocabulary changes every week: a new toy, a new place, a new outing. If a parent cannot quickly add a card themselves, the card will not get added.
The international AAC organisation ISAAC stresses the principle of family control: the tool belongs to the child and the family, not to the specialist.
The question: “Can I add a new card with a photo and voice myself, in a few minutes, without any help?”
7. Safety and personal data protection
An AAC app collects sensitive data: photos of your child, voice recordings, everyday situations. EU rules (GDPR) require clarity about how this data is handled.
Ask before you buy:
- Does the data stay only on the device, or is it sent to the cloud?
- Can all the data be deleted at any time?
- Can the data be exported and moved to another device?
- Is the privacy policy clear and understandable?
8. Price and sustainability
Price is not a feature. Price is a trade-off. A cheap app with no methodology that the child abandons after a week is more expensive than a better alternative the child uses for a year.
Still, the pricing model matters:
- One-time purchase — simpler for the budget, but often no updates;
- Subscription — ensures the app keeps developing, but consider whether the fee is sustainable for your family;
- Free versions — almost always limited; look at what you will get later for an additional fee.
Finally — one piece of advice above all
Before choosing an app — talk to a specialist. A special educator or speech and language specialist who already knows your child can assess which tool best matches your child's individual profile.
The best AAC app is not the one with the most features. The best one is the one the child uses every day, the one the parents understand and know how to maintain.
The instrument of success is not the app. The instrument of success is the family using it.