Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Speech Production for Individuals with ASD: A Systematic Review.

This review evaluated the effects of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) on speech development in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); replicated, updated, and extended the systematic review by Schlosser and Wendt (American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 17:212-230, 2008). Twenty-five single case design articles and three group design articles published between 1975 and May 2020 met inclusion criteria related to participant characteristics, intervention type, design, and visual analysis of dependent variable outcomes. Overall, AAC resulted in improved speech production; however, speech gains that did occur did not surpass AAC use.