NCT07581483Not yet recruiting
Reciprocal Innovation to Optimize Low-Tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) for Individuals
Reciprocal Innovation to Optimize Low-Tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) for Individuals With Complex Communication Needs and Their Caregivers
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 12 May 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
Many people with autism and other developmental conditions have difficulty speaking or do not use speech and need other ways to communicate. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) includes tools such as picture boards, communication books, and gestures that support communication. In low-resource settings and underserved rural areas in the United States, high-tech AAC devices are often too expensive or difficult to access, and trained specialists are limited. Low-tech AAC options are more affordable but are often not used successfully because tools may not match the individual's abilities or daily environment, caregivers and providers may lack training, and stigma or low awareness may discourage use. These challenges can lead to AAC abandonment and social isolation. Rural Virginia and western Kenya face similar barriers, including limited AAC expertise, inconsistent assessment, and insufficient training for families, educators, and community providers. This project uses a shared learning approach that combines western Kenya's experience implementing low-tech AAC in new settings with rural Virginia's expertise in individualized assessment, training, and scalable service delivery. The goal is to better match individuals to appropriate low-tech AAC systems and support communication partners to use them effectively.
- Status (registry)
- Not yet recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 500 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 28 Apr 2026
- Start date
- 1 Jun 2027
- Primary completion date
- 1 Jun 2030
- Lead sponsor
- Indiana University
- Diseases
- Autism
- NCT number
- NCT07581483
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Planned participants: 500
- From 1 Jun 2027 to the primary completion date, 1 Jun 2030
- 2 sites in 2 countries
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Age
- Communication partners younger than 18 years of age
- Communication partners of children younger than 3 years or older than 14 years
Other
- Communication partners of children who use fluent spoken language
- Inability to communicate in the required study languages
- Inability or unwillingness to provide informed consent
Who the study is looking for
- Communication partners (e.g., caregivers, parents, teachers, community health workers, or aides) aged 18 years or older
- Primary communication partner of a child aged 3 to 14 years
- Child has a documented diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or a related neurodevelopmental condition
- Child is minimally verbal or non-verbal
- Able to communicate in English (U.S. sites) or English or Swahili (Kenya sites)
- Able and willing to provide informed consent
Age in the registry: 3 years to 14 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (2)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Eldoret | Kenya | Unknown status |
| University of Virginia Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Charlottesville | United States | Unknown status |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.