Promote society’s pragmatic competence in AAC for inclusivity of People with a Learning Disability
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Updated: 2 days ago
Naomi Umeda | 25th August 2o26 | Opinion Piece
In this opinion article, Naomi Umeda addresses society’s inadequate pragmatic competence in Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC). She suggests ways to reduce the resulting insufficient communication equity for people with a learning disability (LD people).
My professional experience demonstrates that there is insufficient communication equity for LD people in society, and that should change. Our society needs to have greater competence in AAC to aid the communication of LD people.
LD people’s communication needs
I work with LD students with various communication needs, impacting their life skills, in a special needs education (SEN) provision. They often require support for processing spoken language (e.g. extra processing time and limited auditory memory and comprehension) and expressive communication (e.g. limited speech clarity and/or expressive language) with varying degrees.
In my practice, I promote AAC for LD students and their communication partners such as families and staff.
AAC refers mainly to visual language. Different terms exist for the main elements of AAC, such as visual aids, supports or language. For the purposes of this article, I use the terms AAC and visual language in a broad sense.
Some major AAC is speech supported signs such as Makaton, symbols, photos, communication boards, books, and apps. AAC such as pictorial and written language and gestures overlaps with what society is already using but LD people need more to support their communication.
LD students need AAC since it can facilitate comprehension (it can give them more time to process information, and concrete ideas) and expression.
Communication is key to relationship building and community participation for everyone. LD people’s successful communication usually depends on their communication partners’ ability to adapt their language with AAC: that is, how supportive the communication environment is
Pragmatic perspectives on AAC
Pragmatics is the branch of linguistics dealing with language in use. There are different understandings of it. Recently more attention has been given to its application to different communication modes such as non-verbal communication (e.g. gestures). This is beneficial for LD people since AAC is different from conventional language.
According to Taguchi (2024), pragmatic competence is about context dependent linguistic adjustments. This can be equated with code switching behaviour in a broader sense (Small, 2024).
Perkins (2005) proposes an evolving pragmatic competence model of interactions between linguistic, cognitive and sensorimotor processes which take place both within and between individuals.
Combining these perspectives, pragmatic competence can be interpreted as including code switching involving very complex and interactive processes.
I saw an LD student try speech and then switch to AAC, appreciating his listener’s perspective, and his listener, who had AAC knowledge, said “Are you trying to say xxx?”, which the student confirmed using AAC. Both effectively adapted their communication by switching codes, speech and AAC. The LD student’s communication was pragmatically successful owing to joint efforts.
This example highlights the interactivity of the model. For successful communication, pragmatic competence is required on both sides of interactions and if there is an imbalance in competence, the more competent side needs to use further linguistic or cognitive resources to compensate for it. For this reason, society needs to be competent in supporting LD people to ensure communication equity.
The current status of society’s pragmatic competence in AAC
Since the Equality Act 2010, the UK government has been issuing standards and guidance to promote accessible and inclusive communication, mainly targeting public organisations. As a result, some have begun to implement LD friendly communication strategies including easy read information and staff mandatory training. Recently, major SEND reforms were proposed in the Schools White Paper 2026 requiring mainstream education to promote more universal inclusive practice for SEND students. Society is heading towards inclusive communication but I do not see AAC such as symbols and Makaton used in public places. Some people in the community say they have difficulty understanding some of our students, but do not try to adapt communication, e.g. an LD student could not complete his shopping because a shop assistant did not understand him. He was not equipped to manage the situation but the shop staff did not use AAC to support him.
I frequently encounter anxiety among LD students and their families about how they will cope when they leave SEN provisions, where they usually receive competent support via AAC, because they feel that LD accessible provision is lacking elsewhere. AAC support is the key to community access for LD people but societal provision is inadequate.
Other anecdotal evidence supports a need for AAC in our community. Last year, a BBC news article featured communication symbol boards successfully introduced in Lyme Regis. Mr Wood, who proposed the project to his Town Council following a request from a colleague who has a disabled relative, reported good public feedback leading to his local hospital ordering similar boards to assist their patients. Other BBC articles report communication boards being provided in response to public requests, suggesting there is perception of a need.
Society is more aware of AAC but doesn’t always have pragmatic competence to utilise it. This needs improvement to ensure LD people’s communication equity, since their successful communication can depend on how competent we are in supporting their communication, in other words, having knowledge about AAC and its application such as switching codes (e.g. speech and AAC) when communicating with LD people.
The cultural norm is that speech is considered the prime mode of communication. This can make it harder for us to use AAC to support LD people and can cause worry for some LD people and their families utilising AAC because they fear that they may stand out. This culture should change.
Suggestions for improving society’s pragmatic competence in AAC and facilitating a positive cultural change for LD people
There are already some AAC awareness initiatives taking place but there are opportunities to address inadequacies in communication equity via the mainstream education, press coverage, TV, films etc. within diversity awareness promotion. A BBC news article supported a positive impact of press coverage, reporting that after a contestant in a highly popular dance competition used sign language on live TV, interest in learning it increased.
Considering the government’s SEND reform proposals, more LD students may be integrated into mainstream education in the near future, requiring education provisions to start adapting to use AAC ASAP.
More government guidance about accessible communication focusing on AAC is needed, targeting all areas where organisations communicate with the public, not just social and health care provisions. It should not just be lists of recommendations: society needs to learn how to apply them in a concrete way, perhaps by showcasing good AAC practice such as the public boards created in Lyme Regis.
At the same time, research is needed to establish how much our society is currently AAC competent and identify and address deficiencies, taking account of LD people’s views.
Further Reading
Mencap, Communication with people with a learning disability [n.d.],
https://www.mencap.org.uk/learning-disability-explained/communicating-people-learning-disability [accessed July 14th 2026]
About the Author
Naomi Umeda is a Speech and Language Therapist currently working for Buckinghamshire NHS Trust. She offers therapy interventions for Further Education College Students with a learning disability. She is a qualified therapist both in Japan and in the UK. After working for Cochlear in Japan, she gained an MSc in Language Pathology at the University of Reading and has since been practising in the UK.