American Academy of Pediatrics Issues Clinical Report on Prescribing Assistive Technology to Help Patients GaAmerican Academy of Pediatrics Issues Clinical Report on Prescribing Assistive Technology to Help Patients Gain Communication Skillsin Communication Skills

Children with medical conditions that result in having limited or no ability to speak or express themselves can benefit greatly from use of assisted technology, or devices that can help with listening, mobility, speech and vision, according to a clinical report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics.  The report, “Children Prescribing Assistive Technology: Focus on Children With Complex Communication Needs,” focuses on the pediatrician’s role in prescribing these devices, called augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) systems. The clinical report is published in July 2025 Pediatrics (published online June 16), and discusses the variety of assistive technology devices, each of which offers various levels of support depending on the child’s needs, ranging from screen-readers to listening devices to wheelchairs. AAP emphasizes that, when prescribing assistive technology, it is important for the primary care physician to collaborate with other specialists, such as speech language pathologists and school personnel. About 10% of children aged 3-17 years had speech or other language disorders, of which a subset likely had needs for AAC, according to the 2021-2022 National Survey of Children’s Health. Some conditions that may result in speech or language disorders include cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder or deafness. Use of assisted technology devices improves academic and social performance while also allowing a child greater chances of independence and employment later in life, according to the report. Yet access remains a key issue, especially those in states with limited Medicaid funding. Clinical reports created by AAP are written by medical experts, reflect the latest evidence in the field, and go through several rounds of peer review before being approved by the AAP Board of Directors and published in Pediatrics.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.