AAC communication participation log

How to use this tool

Use this AAC participation log to learn how communication opportunities, initiations, responses and access supports can be recorded together.

• Describe the activity, setting, partner, communication modes and access conditions.
• Record observed minutes, defined opportunities, initiations and responses using one-act-per-opportunity rules.
• Select a comparable context and review counts and rates before exporting.

Fictional example and how to read the result

In a fictional 10-minute window, 3 initiations and 2 responses give 5 recorded acts, or 0.5 acts per minute. A refusal can be a meaningful communication act.

The log describes entered participation and access conditions. It does not rank communication modes or measure overall communication competence.

Keep participation and access visible

Speech, gesture, sign, pictures and devices can all be recorded without a ranking. Include refusals, requests for breaks, comments and repair of misunderstood messages according to the person’s chosen goals.

Define an opportunity and classify each recorded communication act once as an initiation or a response. The counts describe participation; they do not rate a device, prescribe communication goals or indicate communication competence.

• State the activity, partner, purpose and available access supports.
• Keep opportunity rules consistent within a series and avoid counting the same act twice.
• Rates use observed minutes; pooled rates add counts and minutes within identical contexts.
• A zero-minute entry has no calculable rate. Counts must be zero in that entry.

What to enter in each field

• Chart series label (optional): Optional: enter an existing series label exactly to select its first compatible context for the graph. Leave blank to use the first context. All other contexts remain separate in the report.
• Observation date: Use the date of this observation. Imported dates must be real YYYY-MM-DD dates, for example 2026-10-01. Dates order the graph; points remain equally spaced.
• Series label: Use an anonymous label for a repeated observation context. Keep activity, partner, access, modes and opportunity rules consistent within it.
• Activity: Describe the meaningful activity being observed, such as choosing a snack. Changed activities stay in separate contexts.
• Setting: State the observation setting, such as a small group. Use consistent labels for comparable observations.
• Partner condition: Describe the partner condition, such as familiar partner, without names. A changed partner condition is reported separately.
• Available / used communication modes: List available and used modes, such as gesture, speech or a communication board. No mode is ranked above another.
• Communication supports and access: Describe access supports, such as a board within reach and partner wait time. Changed access conditions remain separate.
• Communication purpose: Define the purpose and eligible opportunity rule, including choice, refusal or a break when appropriate. Count each act once.
• Observed minutes: Enter actual observed minutes, including decimals such as 7.5. A zero-minute record must have zero counts and has no rate; blank is not an observed zero.
• Defined opportunities: Enter a whole count of eligible opportunities under the stated rule. Initiations plus responses cannot exceed this count.
• Initiations: Enter a whole count of acts classified as initiations under your rule. Enter 0 only when observed; do not count an act again as a response.
• Responses: Enter a whole count of acts classified as responses. Initiations + responses divided by observed minutes gives acts per minute.
• Outcome / experience note: Optional: note the person’s experience or whether a message was acknowledged, without identifiers. This is context, not a competence rating.

Original fictional example and data fields

Use the editable blank CSV or local import to collect your own de-identified entries. The example below is fictional.

Professional sources and permissions

Original worksheets and arithmetic support recording and planning. Follow the official publisher routes for standardized instruments.

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