June arrives and school ends. The speech therapist is gone until fall. The structured routine that supported your child's AAC use for nine months disappears overnight. And by September, your child has lost ground.
This is summer regression. It's real, it's common, and it's preventable.
The good news is that you don't need to run a home therapy program all summer. You need a plan, some daily habits, and an understanding of what causes regression in the first place.
Why Summer Regression Happens
Summer regression isn't unique to AAC users. Research on "summer slide" in academic skills has been documented for decades (Cooper, Nye, Charlton, Lindsay, & Greathouse, 1996). Children lose skills when they stop practicing them, especially skills that haven't been fully mastered yet.
For AAC users, several factors combine during summer to create the perfect conditions for skill loss.
Loss of structured communication opportunities
During the school year, your child has built-in communication demands throughout the day. Circle time, requesting materials, answering questions, social interactions with peers, transitions between activities. Each of these creates a reason to use the device.
Summer removes most of those demands. Home routines are more relaxed. There are fewer structured activities. Communication needs are often anticipated by family members who know the child well, which means the child doesn't need to use the device to get what they want.
Fewer communication partners
At school, your child communicates with teachers, aides, speech therapists, and peers. Each of these partners interacts differently, which pushes the child to use their AAC system in varied ways.
Over summer, the communication circle often shrinks to immediate family. Family members who know the child well may rely on gestures, facial expressions, and context rather than the device. This is natural. But it means the child gets fewer opportunities to use AAC.
Reduced modeling
When the SLP models AAC during therapy and the teacher models during class, the child sees the system being used by others regularly. Over summer, modeling often drops because the primary caregivers are the only ones around, and they may not model as consistently without professional support. If you're unsure how much AAC modeling to aim for, even a few minutes a day makes a difference.
The device goes in a drawer
This happens more than people admit. The school year ends, therapy pauses, and the device slowly migrates from the kitchen table to a shelf, then a drawer, then a closet. By July, nobody has used it in weeks.
What the Research Says About Skill Maintenance
The broader research on skill maintenance offers useful principles for AAC.
Schlosser and Lee (2000) reviewed studies on communication skill maintenance and found that skills are more likely to be maintained when they are practiced in natural contexts with real communicative consequences. In other words, drill-based practice during summer is less effective than embedding communication into daily life.
Sigafoos, O'Reilly, and Lancioni (2009) found that AAC skills maintained best when:
- The skills were used frequently (daily or near-daily)
- The skills were practiced across multiple settings (not just at home)
- Multiple communication partners interacted with the child using AAC
- The communication attempts received consistent, meaningful responses
This tells us exactly what a summer maintenance plan needs to include: daily use, varied settings, multiple partners, and responsive adults.
Building a Summer AAC Plan
You don't need a detailed schedule. You need a framework that keeps AAC alive in your child's daily life. Here's one that works.
Step 1: Set a daily minimum
Decide on a realistic daily minimum for AAC use. This isn't about minutes of therapy. It's about moments of communication.
A good target for most families: at least five intentional AAC interactions per day. These can happen during meals, play, outings, or routines. Each one takes seconds, not minutes.
Five interactions might look like:
- Choosing breakfast ("want cereal or toast?")
- Requesting a toy or activity ("what do you want to play?")
- Commenting during play ("that's funny!" or "big tower!")
- Making a choice at snack time ("more crackers?")
- Saying goodnight ("night night" or "all done with the day")
That's it. Five moments spread across the day. They add up.
Step 2: Identify summer routines
Summer has its own routines, even if they feel less structured than the school year. Map AAC onto the routines that already exist. (Our guide to daily routines for AAC practice covers this approach in detail.)
| Summer routine | AAC opportunities |
|---|---|
| Morning (waking up, getting dressed) | Choose clothes, say good morning, describe how they feel |
| Meals and snacks | Request foods, describe taste, say more/all done |
| Outdoor play | Comment on weather, request activities, describe what they see |
| Water play (pool, sprinkler) | Cold, fun, more, splash, stop, again |
| Screen time | Choose show, describe what's happening, all done |
| Bedtime | Recap the day, choose a book, say goodnight |
You don't need to hit every routine every day. Pick two or three and make them your focus for the week. Rotate as needed.
Step 3: Expand the communication circle
This is the hardest part for many families, but it's also the most impactful. Your child needs to communicate with people other than you.
Extended family. If your child visits grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins over the summer, brief those family members on the device. Our guide on explaining AAC to family has scripts that help. Show them three words they can model. "You don't need to be an expert. Just use 'want,' 'more,' and 'all done' during snack time."
Summer caregivers. If your child attends day camp, summer school, or stays with a babysitter, make sure the caregiver knows the device exists and how to support basic use. Write a one-page cheat sheet with the most important words and where to find them.
Peers. Playdates with other kids are gold for AAC practice. The child has to communicate with someone who isn't a mind-reader. Model for both children. "Tell your friend what you want to play. Tap it on the app."
Step 4: Add summer vocabulary
Summer brings new contexts that might not be well-represented in the device's current vocabulary. Check for and add words related to your child's summer activities.
Pool and water play: swim, splash, cold, wet, pool, jump, float, towel
Outdoor activities: hot, sun, bug, grass, park, swing, slide, bike, run
Summer foods: ice cream, popsicle, watermelon, lemonade, barbecue
Camp or summer programs: counselor, friend, game, craft, lunch, outside
Having the right words available means the child can participate in conversations about what they're actually doing, not just the same mealtime and bedtime routines.
Daily Routines That Keep AAC Active
Here are specific, low-effort daily habits that maintain AAC skills over the summer.
The morning check-in
Every morning, take thirty seconds to use the device together. "Good morning! How do you feel? What do you want to do today?" This establishes that the device is part of the day from the start.
The choice board habit
For every meal and snack, offer a choice using the device. Hold up two options. Model both on the device. Wait for the child to select one. This takes ten seconds and creates a genuine communication exchange.
The activity transition
Before switching activities, model "all done [current activity]" and "want [next activity]" on the device. Transitions are natural AAC moments, and they happen many times a day.
The bedtime recap
Before bed, recap the day together using the device. "Today we went to the park. We had ice cream. You played with cousin. That was fun." This builds narrative skills and gives the child a model for talking about past events.
The observation game
Once a day, during a walk or car ride, point to something and model a comment. "Look, a dog! Big dog." "That car is red." Commenting is a communication function that gets less practice than requesting, and summer is full of things to comment on.
Community Activities With AAC
Getting out of the house is important for both skill maintenance and generalization. AAC needs to work everywhere, not just at the kitchen table.
The library
Summer reading programs are free, and libraries are (usually) quiet and predictable. Your child can request books, comment on pictures, and interact with the librarian using the device. "I want that book. The one with the dog."
The pool or splash pad
Water and electronics don't mix, so plan ahead. Use a waterproof case if you have one. If not, keep the device at a designated dry spot and use it before and after water play. "Ready to swim? Was the water cold?"
Farmers' markets and outdoor events
Similar to the grocery store, outdoor markets are full of things to name, choices to make, and people to interact with. Let your child request samples, comment on what they see, and greet vendors.
Playdates
Structured playdates with one or two peers are ideal for summer AAC practice. Keep the group small, choose a familiar activity, and model for both children. "Tell your friend what you want to build. Tap it."
Working With Summer Caregivers
If someone other than you will be caring for your child this summer, they need to know about the device.
What to share with camp counselors
- Your child's name and how they communicate
- A photo of the AAC home screen
- The five most-used words and where to find them
- What to do when the child uses the device (respond to what they said, don't just say "good job")
- What to do when the child gets frustrated (offer the device, model "help" or "stop")
What to share with babysitters
Same as above, plus:
- How to charge the device
- Where the device lives (it should always be in the same spot)
- That the child should have access to the device at all times, not just during "communication time"
What to share with family members
Some family members will be enthusiastic. Others will be skeptical or uncomfortable. Keep the ask simple: "When you're with him, just use these three words on the device during snack time. That's all." Low expectations lead to more follow-through than a 20-minute training session that overwhelms people.
When Regression Does Happen
Despite your best efforts, some regression may occur. That's okay. Here's how to handle it.
Don't panic. Skills that were learned before summer are still in there. They may need to be reactivated, but you're not starting from zero. Research on relearning shows that previously acquired skills are recovered faster than new skills are learned (Schlosser & Lee, 2000).
Ramp up gradually. When school resumes, don't try to recover everything in the first week. Start with the most functional vocabulary and rebuild from there.
Communicate with the SLP. Share what you observed over summer. Which skills held? Which slipped? This helps the therapist prioritize fall goals effectively.
Extend grace to yourself. Summer is hard. Parenting is hard. If the device gathered some dust in August, that doesn't make you a bad parent. It makes you a human. Pick it up, charge it, and start again.
Summer Is an Opportunity
Here's the reframe. Summer isn't just a threat to AAC skills. It's also an opportunity. The lack of school structure means more flexibility. More time for play-based communication. More chances to use AAC in community settings that don't exist during the school year.
A child who uses AAC at the pool, at the farmers' market, at a friend's house, and at the dinner table is a child who is learning that communication happens everywhere. That's a lesson no school day can teach as well as a summer day can.
Download SabiKo free and keep communication going all summer. It works offline, so it's ready at the pool, the park, or anywhere your summer takes you.
References
- Cooper, H., Nye, B., Charlton, K., Lindsay, J., & Greathouse, S. (1996). The effects of summer vacation on achievement test scores: A narrative and meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research, 66(3), 227-268.
- Schlosser, R.W., & Lee, D.L. (2000). Promoting generalization and maintenance in augmentative and alternative communication: A meta-analysis of 20 years of effectiveness research. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 16(4), 208-226.
- Sigafoos, J., O'Reilly, M.F., & Lancioni, G.E. (2009). Maintaining AAC use in individuals with developmental disabilities. In G. Bentley & M. Barker (Eds.), Augmentative and Alternative Communication (pp. 101-118). Nova Science Publishers.