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Should My Child's AAC Use Photos or Symbols?

VOIS Team · 11 September 2026

When parents start building an AAC board, one of the first questions is often what the pictures should look like.

Should you use a photograph of your child's actual cup, or a simple symbol of a cup? Is a real photograph easier to understand? And what do you do with a word like help, which is not particularly easy to photograph?

There isn't one right answer for every child.

What matters most is whether the image is clear, familiar and meaningful to the person using it.

When a photograph works well

A photograph can work really well when it represents something specific in your child's own life.

A photo of Mum, Dad, Gran, their own school bag, their favourite yoghurt or the family dog can be very concrete. The child is not being asked to work out what a generic picture represents. They are seeing the actual person or object they know.

Photos are not automatically easier

But photos are not automatically easier.

A photograph taken in a busy kitchen with lots of other objects in the background may be more confusing than a simple symbol on a plain background. The same applies if the picture is dark, blurry or taken from an unusual angle.

So if you are using photographs, keep them simple.

Try to make the important person or object the main focus of the image. Use a clear background where possible, and avoid unnecessary clutter.

When symbols make more sense

Symbols can be useful for a different reason.

Some words are ideas rather than things you can easily photograph. Words such as:

• help
• more
• stop
• want
• again
• finished

can be difficult to capture clearly in one photo.

A consistent symbol or illustration may make more sense, especially if your child already uses the same symbol system at school or with a speech-language therapist.

That consistency can be helpful. If a child already recognises a particular symbol for stop, there may be no need to replace it just because a photograph is available.

You don't have to choose

This is why the choice does not really have to be photos or symbols.

For many children, a mixture can work well.

You might use real photographs for the people, foods, toys and places that are specific to your child's life, while using symbols for more abstract core words.

The important part is that the child understands what each image means and can find it when they need it.

Where VOIS fits

This is where VOIS can be useful.

VOIS allows families to build communication using real photographs from the child's own world, together with familiar voice recordings and the language spoken at home. That can make highly personal words feel more recognisable and relevant.

But the goal should never be to use a photograph simply because it is a photograph. If a symbol is clearer for a particular word, or your child already understands and uses it successfully, then that may be the better choice.

AAC should fit the child. Not the other way around.

The best image is not necessarily the most realistic one. It is the one your child understands and can use to communicate.

This article provides general educational information and is not a substitute for individual advice or assessment from a qualified speech-language therapist or healthcare professional.