ABSTRACT
These beliefs persisted until, in the late 1960s, they were refuted by research evidence. Speech came then to be seen as an accessory to lan guage rather than a critical component.4.5 Furthermore, the implementa tion of augments to speech was found in many cases to encourage speech; in no case did it diminish speech.6-8
As described by Yoder and Vanderheiden,9 augmentative communica tion as we know it today can trace its evolution to developments in three separate areas which have converged in the last fifteen to twenty years. The first of these was the development, in a number of countries, of early language and communication boards, with the first comprehensive de scriptions appearing in the literature in the 1950s.
