As part of Pride Month, our Product Manager for Education, Kim, explores how we can better support LGBTQIA+ AAC users beyond simply providing the right vocabulary.
In my last blog, I explored why it’s so important for AAC systems to include language around gender, identity and relationships. I talked about how having access to these words opens the door to connection, confidence, and belonging.
So we have the words, now what?
What can we do to support LGBTQIA+ AAC users? To answer that, we first must think about their reality. Figuring out who you are and learning to express it is deeply personal but doing that through an AAC device comes with added unique challenges.
Think about how closely many AAC users interact with the people around them every day. For lots of reasons, whether for care, education, or just navigating daily routines, other people are naturally right there in their immediate environment. Having that kind of close support is important, but it often means that personal privacy is much harder to maintain.
Changing that doesn’t mean pulling away support. It just takes a few simple actions to protect their space.
Here are four things we can start doing right now to support AAC users this Pride month.
Protect the right to private conversations
Most of us take private conversations for granted. Think about friends meeting up at a café to chat about their week or catching up over a drink after work to share private thoughts. Because AAC users often have an adult nearby for support or care, they don’t always get that boundary.
We can help by intentionally learning when to step back. It might mean moving to the other side of the room during social times, giving friends the space to just hang out at lunchtime, or making sure their screen stays completely personal to them. By stepping out of the conversation, we are ensuring they have the privacy they need to communicate freely.
Create opportunities for community culture
People need to see their own experiences reflected in the world around them. If a person only ever sees their identity as a set of symbols on a device, it remains abstract. They need to see that a vibrant, joyful queer disability culture exists in the world.
You can open that door by introducing them to creators who live at this intersection. Look up the work of the late author and activist Alice Wong, who founded the Disability Visibility Project and edited incredible collections of essays focused on queer disabled love, intimacy, and community.
Share the work of global speaker Spencer West, a gay man who uses his platform to share his life and push for better physical accessibility at Pride festivals. Introduce them to mainstream creators like comedian Rosie Jones or YouTuber Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, who both share authentic, joyful insights into their daily lives as queer disabled women.
You can also point them toward grassroots organizations like ParaPride, a charity focused entirely on making Pride spaces physically accessible or help them find inclusive local groups. It turns a list of words on a screen into a community they can actively step into.
Allow room for exploration and changing minds
Figuring out who you are involves a lot of trying things out. We look for the words that feel right to describe our relationships, our gender, and our identities. Working things out takes time, and trying out a new word or a pronoun is a natural part of that process. It doesn’t mean that’s how it will stay forever.
Because we are keen to respect and validate what an AAC user communicates, it can be easy to over-analyse a new word or turn a simple exploration into a formal declaration. We can support them best by keeping the pressure low. It is about creating a relaxed environment where someone can freely try out different words, see how they feel, and change their mind without ever needing to justify themselves to the adults around them.
Normalize the language through modeling
If identity vocabulary is only ever used when the AAC user selects a cell, those words can start to feel loaded. We need to use these words too. When we use this vocabulary ourselves, we show that it is a normal part of everyday communication.
We can do this both verbally and directly on a device. Pick up a backup system or ask to use theirs to model the language. Select a character’s pronouns when reading a book or watching a TV show together. Model words like pride or festival when chatting about an event happening nearby. When we model this language, we show the communicator that their relationships, questions, and identity, are completely safe and welcome.
Supporting an LGBTQIA+ AAC user is all about being a true ally. When we intentionally create spaces for privacy, introduce vibrant disability culture, and model identity language, we show them that every part of who they are is welcome. It is about ensuring they have the space to lead their own lives, exactly as they choose.
This Pride month let’s celebrate the brilliant, diverse voices of AAC users everywhere. Let’s get out there, do better, and give them the space to lead their own conversations, share their own stories, and own who they are. Happy Pride!