Here's a search that happens thousands of times every month: a parent types "best AAC app for Android" into Google. What they find is mostly reviews of apps that don't actually run on Android. Forum threads from 2018. Suggestions to just buy an iPad instead.

That's not good enough. Around 72% of the world's smartphones run Android. Many families using AAC tablets are on a $60 Amazon Fire or a mid-range Android — because that's what they could afford, or what they already owned. Those families deserve real options.

Why Are Most AAC Apps Apple-Only?

The AAC field grew up on iPad. When the first iPads launched, they were revolutionary for AAC — a large touchscreen at a consumer price point, when dedicated AAC hardware cost $6,000 or more. The biggest AAC developers built for iOS first, and most of them have stayed there.

That's a legitimate business decision. iOS is a more controlled platform, which makes accessibility features more predictable. But it has left an enormous gap: the majority of the world's families don't own iPhones or iPads as their primary device. For lower-income families in particular, Android and Amazon Fire are often the only realistic options.

What to Actually Look For

Not all "AAC apps" on the Google Play Store are what they claim. Here's what genuinely matters:

How CommBoards Compares on Android

CommBoards was built cross-platform from the start. It runs on iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire — including older and lower-spec devices. Here's an honest comparison:

What CommBoards Doesn't Do (Honesty Matters)

We're not going to pretend CommBoards does everything the major iOS apps do. The leading Apple-only apps have years of clinical research behind their vocabulary systems, deep SLP community integration, and extremely sophisticated language scaffolding tools. If your family has an iPad and budget for a $249 app, those products are genuinely excellent.

CommBoards is different. It's simpler, faster to set up, dramatically cheaper, and works on the device you already own. For a family just starting with AAC — or a family for whom an iPad and a $249 app simply isn't possible — that's not a compromise. It's exactly what they need.

The Bottom Line

If your family uses Android or Amazon Fire and you need an AAC app, CommBoards is the most complete option available today. It's not the only AAC app on Android, but it's the one built specifically with AAC families in mind — not as an afterthought port from iOS.

Try it free. If it works for your child, the full unlock costs less than most competitors charge just to download their app at all.

When your child is diagnosed as nonverbal or minimally verbal, the world hands you an enormous amount of information very quickly. AAC comes up almost immediately — from therapists, from other parents, from the internet. And it can feel completely overwhelming.

This guide is written for parents, not clinicians. It won't use jargon without explaining it. It won't assume you have an iPad, a speech therapist on speed dial, or $250 to spend before you even know if something will work for your child.

The Most Common Question: Will AAC Stop My Child from Talking?

No. This is the fear that stops many families from starting AAC — and the research is clear. AAC does not reduce speech. There is strong evidence that it supports the development of speech. Giving a child a way to communicate reduces frustration, which often removes one of the key barriers to speech development.

The idea that using an AAC tool is "giving up" on speech is not just wrong — it's harmful. It delays communication for children who need it now.

When Should You Start?

Earlier than most families think. There's no minimum age for AAC, and no developmental threshold a child has to reach first. If your child is struggling to communicate their needs, AAC can help right now.

The phrase you'll hear from most SLPs is "there is no readiness criteria for AAC." You don't wait until a child is "ready" any more than you wait until they're "ready" to be spoken to.

What to Look For in an AAC App for Autism

Children with autism often have strong visual processing skills — this is why picture-based AAC tends to work well. Beyond that, here's what actually matters:

• Familiar faces and voices. An app that lets you use photos of real people and places your child knows — their bedroom, their favourite snack, your face — makes a meaningful difference in engagement from day one.
• Simple, one-tap navigation. Some AAC apps require navigating through multiple layers of menus to say a single word. For a child who's just starting out, this creates frustration before communication even happens.
• Works on the device you already own. The best AAC tool is the one that's always available. If it only works on an iPad that stays at home, it's not helping at the supermarket or in the car.
• Parents can configure it themselves. Many families don't have regular access to an SLP. An app parents can set up and personalise means the child has access to AAC today — not in six months when the next appointment comes around.

The Honest Truth About Price

The most well-known AAC apps cost $150–$300. For some families, that's accessible. For many, it's not — especially when you don't yet know if your child will engage with a particular app at all.

CommBoards starts free. The default boards are available immediately with no payment. If your child engages, you can unlock full customisation — custom photos, your own voice recordings, unlimited boards — for $6.99/month or $99.99 as a one-time lifetime purchase. That lifetime price is still less than most competitors charge for a single download, before you've tested whether the app works for your child.

What If My Child Won't Engage?

This is normal, especially at first. Some children take to AAC immediately; others need weeks or months before it becomes meaningful. The key is consistency without pressure. Keep the device available, model its use yourself, and don't treat every interaction as a test.

If engagement remains low after a genuine sustained effort, speak to an SLP who specialises in AAC. They can observe how your child communicates and suggest adjustments — different vocabulary, different layout, different access method.

You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone

There is a large, warm community of AAC families online. Searching for AAC parent groups on Facebook will turn up several active communities where parents share boards, strategies, and honest experiences. These communities are often more practically useful than any article — because they're written by parents who have been exactly where you are.

You don't need an AAC background to set this up. You don't need to wait for an SLP appointment. This guide will take you from zero to a working, personalised AAC board — on any device — in about 10 minutes.

Step 1: Download and Explore the Default Boards

Download CommBoards from your app store — it's free on the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore. When you open it for the first time, you'll see a set of default boards ready to use immediately. No setup required.

Spend five minutes here before doing anything else. Tap through the boards with your child — don't put pressure on them to use it, just explore it together. Notice what they respond to. This tells you a lot about where to focus your personalisation.

Step 2: Identify Your Child's Core 10

Before creating any custom boards, ask yourself: what does my child most want to communicate right now? Not what you want them to say — what they actually want. For most young children, this list includes:

• A favourite food or drink (specific — not "food" but "biscuit")
• A favourite toy, game, or TV show
• Key people — mum, dad, a grandparent, a sibling
• Key feelings — happy, sad, hurt, tired, scared
• Key requests — more, stop, help, go, no

Write down your top 10. These become your first custom board, and they're the vocabulary that will get used most in the first weeks.

Step 3: Take the Photos

Open your camera and photograph each item on your list. Real photos — your child's actual cup, their actual favourite toy, the actual faces of the people they know. A slightly blurry phone photo of a real biscuit is more meaningful to a child than a polished illustration of a generic snack.

Step 4: Build Your First Custom Board

In CommBoards, create a new board and give it a name. Add each item from your Core 10 by tapping the "+" button, selecting your photo, and recording yourself saying the word. Use your normal voice at a normal pace — not slowly, not dramatically. The goal is for the voice to sound like communication, not like a lesson.

Arrange the most important items in the top-left positions — this is typically where eyes go first, especially for children who scan from left to right.

Step 5: Introduce It Without Pressure

Put the device where your child can reach it. Don't instruct them to use it. Don't create a "session." Just have it available.

For the first few days, your job is to model. When you want a drink, pick up the device and tap "water." When you're helping with something, tap "help." When you're happy, tap "happy." Do this naturally, as part of normal conversation. Not as a demonstration — as actual communication.

Step 6: Iterate Weekly

After a week or two, notice which buttons your child taps most. Which ones do they ignore? AAC vocabularies are not fixed — the best ones evolve with the child.

This iterative process is how communication boards grow from 10 symbols to 50 to 200 — organically, based on what the child actually uses.

What If It Doesn't Click Immediately?

It usually doesn't — and that's completely normal. Most families need 4–6 weeks of consistent, low-pressure exposure before they see regular spontaneous use. Ten minutes of natural daily modeling is more valuable than an hour-long "AAC session" once a week.

Back Up Your Boards

Once you've built boards your child uses, protect them. CommBoards supports iCloud backup and restore on paid plans. Enable this — losing a carefully built board set is devastating and completely avoidable. If you're on the free tier, export your board configuration periodically as a backup. The process takes two minutes.