Despite AAC being many-faced/interdisciplinary scientifically and practically with its own about 40 years history, it is dominantly seen through the methodology of communication as a central phenomenon and, specifically, the development/implementation of “communicative instruments” for those who have special communicative needs.

At the same time methodology of ACC has its cost dimension, which has its fundamental presence in each AAC case in the forms of time, space, individual tools and values. Special needs require support/help and demand for external resources. Environmental response, hopefully provided by a welfare system, becomes a natural and important substitutional societal effort for those with special needs (children and adults). The AAC-effort in its cost dimension has its multilevel structure, where macro-, mezo- and micro- levels are representing specific “life world contexts”, and are often leading families of AAC users to social and economic impoverishment. Such issues of support as service accessibility, quality, regularity, etc. are key aspects of this support and are costly for many societies internationally. AAC, as a communicative tool (low or high technology), comes with a price even though its form might be unclear.     

All the ECER AAC networking countries have ratified main international documents regarding the rights of children and people with disabilities, professional ethics for establishing national platforms of values toward those who need extra societal resources for human being existence etc, stressing AAC needs. What solutions could be found to diminish the gap between the “declaration” and its “implementation”?   The presentation is aiming to focus on the discussion around this question.