Last updated 2026-08-10 | By Little Words Editorial | How we check our work
Process note: every product fact, price, and clinical statement below was re-checked against the manufacturer, store, ASHA, Medicare, and IDEA pages in the Sources list on August 10, 2026.
Quick answer: The images on AAC devices are called graphic symbols, drawn from libraries like SymbolStix, PCS, and the free ARASAAC, Mulberry, and Global Symbols sets. Line-drawn symbols carry abstract core words like more and stop, while personal photos work best for people and favorite things. Whatever set your child sees, consistency across home, school, and therapy beats artwork style, and adults modeling the symbols is what teaches them.
What are the images on AAC devices actually called?
Clinicians call them graphic symbols; parents say pictures or icons; both are right. A graphic symbol is any image standing in for a word, phrase, or idea on a communication system. ASHA's practice portal takes the broadest view, listing symbol types as widely as "facial expressions, gestures, objects, photographs, drawings, auditory symbols," alphabet-based symbols, and 3-D or tactile symbols. [1] On a screen, you will mostly meet two kinds: line-drawn symbols from a commercial or open library, and photos your family adds.
Three layers get mixed up in most articles, so keep them separate: the symbol set is the artwork library; the vocabulary system decides which words appear where; the app or device runs both. Brands live at each layer, which is why comparing "PCS versus TouchChat" is a category error: PCS is artwork, TouchChat is an app that ships a different library. Our AAC buttons guide covers the layer underneath the artwork.
What are the main AAC symbol sets, and how do they compare?
The names you will actually meet, with what we could verify on August 10, 2026:
| Symbol set | Style and ownership | Where you meet it | Cost reality |
|---|---|---|---|
| SymbolStix | Clean stick-figure style, commercial | TouchChat HD ships nearly 40,000 SymbolStix symbols [2] | Included with the app you buy |
| PCS (Picture Communication Symbols) | Classic drawn style, commercial, from Tobii Dynavox | Tobii Dynavox software and school materials; available as a paid add-on in some other apps [2] | Included with, or added to, licensed products |
| ARASAAC | Free pictogram library | LetMeTalk ships more than 9,000 ARASAAC images; Cboard draws on it too [3][4] | Free in the apps that use it |
| Mulberry and Global Symbols | Open-license sets | Free tools like Cboard [4] | Free |
| Your own photos | Real images from your life | Supported by most systems, including AbleNet's free SoundingBoard app [5] | Free |
Which is best? The one your child sees everywhere. A child whose school materials, therapy room, and home tablet all show the same artwork gets hundreds of extra exposures a week to the same visual language. Changing sets mid-intervention costs relearning, so do it only with a reason and a plan.
Are real photos better than drawn symbols?
Not as a rule, and this surprises most parents. Photos shine for specific, concrete things: your child's actual cup, the family dog, grandma. They fail for the words that carry conversation. There is no photograph of "more," "stop," "want," or "help," and those abstract core words are the ones ASHA identifies as making up about 80% of everyday communication. [1]
Photos also carry visual noise: backgrounds, lighting, and stray objects that pull a toddler's eye away from the meaning. A clean line drawing puts the concept front and center. The practical split that works: drawn symbols for core words, personal photos for the fringe words where a real image is genuinely clearer. AbleNet's free SoundingBoard app is a low-risk place to try that mix, since it supports its own symbol library and your photo roll side by side. [5]
Do autistic children read AAC symbols differently?
Individual differences swamp any group rule here, which is exactly why ASHA assigns symbol and system selection to an SLP-led assessment rather than a chart. [1] Some autistic children lock onto specific visual details, which can make a consistent symbol set a superpower and a redesigned one a setback. Some respond first to photographs of their real things before generalizing to drawings. The honest answer is a trial: watch which image type your child orients to, and let the evaluating SLP test both before the vocabulary gets built. Our AAC for autism hub covers the wider decision.
One caution against overbuilding on photos alone: a device filled with pictures of preferred snacks and toys can label but cannot converse. Keep abstract core symbols in the build from day one, whatever artwork carries the nouns.
How many images should show on the screen at once?
Match the display to your child's pointing accuracy today, with a plan to grow. Real, verifiable reference points: AbleNet's QuickTalker FeatherTouch boards come in 7, 12, and 23 message locations at $265; its free SoundingBoard app builds boards up to 20 locations; dynamic apps like TouchChat HD resize grids as skills grow. [6][5][2] Fewer, larger targets help imprecise fingers land; more cells shorten the path to a bigger vocabulary. That tension is a motor question first, which is why display size belongs in the AAC evaluation, not in a shopping cart. [1]
Whatever the count, keep positions stable. A child finds "go" by motor memory long before reading the artwork, and reshuffling a grid quietly deletes that learning. Our AAC icons guide covers labeling and layout details.
Can you add your own photos, and when should you?
Almost every modern system allows it, including the free options. [5] Use that power for fringe vocabulary: people, pets, places, favorite foods, the exact backpack. Skip it for core words, where a photo cannot express the meaning and a consistent drawn symbol plus a stable position does the teaching.
Two practical tips from device setups that survived toddlerhood. Crop photos tight, one subject filling the frame, because background clutter is the enemy of fast recognition. And when a photo stands for a person, pick one where the face is big and forward; a wide shot of grandma across a kitchen reads as "kitchen" to a two-year-old.
What is aided language stimulation, and why does it decide everything?
Aided language stimulation, often just called modeling, means adults touch the symbols while speaking naturally: tap "more" as you say "want more?" at snack time. The child watches meaning and image pair up across hundreds of real moments before anyone expects them to produce. ASHA frames AAC as multimodal practice and reports that "AAC use may help improve natural speech when used in a multimodal approach," which retires the fear that symbol use replaces talking. [1]
Without modeling, the fanciest symbol library is wallpaper. With it, even a 9-cell board becomes a language. Our modeling guide and the through-the-day routines show the mechanics.
How much do symbol-based devices cost, and who pays?
All figures checked August 10, 2026:
| Option | Price and funding | Access and eligibility | When not to choose it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free apps with open symbol sets (Cboard; SoundingBoard) | $0 on hardware you own | Start today; Cboard is GPL v3 free software in 40 languages [4] | Consumer tablets are excluded from Medicare's dedicated-device benefit [7] |
| Paid symbol apps (TouchChat HD $149.99 plus tax; Proloquo2Go $299.99) | One-time App Store purchases [2][8] | Deep vocabularies and symbol libraries on an iPad | Buy only after a free tier or SLP-guided trial rules the fit in |
| Fixed-grid devices (AbleNet QuickTalker FeatherTouch, $265) | Retail purchase [6] | Durable recorded-message boards of 7 to 23 locations | Fixed slots cannot grow into sentence-building |
| Dedicated speech-generating device | Insurance-billed durable medical equipment, HCPCS E2500 to E2599; Medicare beneficiaries pay 20% after the Part B deductible [7][9] | SLP evaluation, physician visit, and written order required [7] | Do not wait on paperwork to start symbol exposure with a free app |
| School-provided device | No cost to the family when the IEP team documents the need, under IDEA's assistive technology regulations [10] | Request an assistive technology evaluation in writing | Usually school property; negotiate home use so symbols stay consistent across settings |
Funding detail lives in our AAC funding guide and the school-provided device walkthrough.
Where can you download or print free AAC symbol images?
Two honest routes. For screen use, install a free app that licenses an open set: Cboard bundles Mulberry, ARASAAC, and Global Symbols artwork legally and prints to nothing, while LetMeTalk carries its ARASAAC library fully offline. [4][3] For paper boards, the open-license sets publish directly on their own sites; ARASAAC, Mulberry, and Global Symbols all distribute individual images families can print for personal communication boards. Check each set's license page for its attribution terms before reusing images in anything public.
Low-tech printed boards are not a lesser option, either. A laminated core board survives bathtubs and beaches where tablets cannot go, and our low-tech AAC guide shows how families run both together.
When should a child start with symbol images, and is there a speech risk?
Start when communication needs outrun speech, not at a birthday. ASHA's guidance does not gate AAC behind an age or a prerequisite skill list; it frames AAC as support that "supplements or compensates" for impaired speech-language production, and reports AAC use "may help improve natural speech when used in a multimodal approach." [1] In plain terms: symbols give a child a way to say things now, and the evidence points toward symbols helping rather than hindering talking. If your child is under three, your state's early intervention program can fold symbol-based AAC into services at no cost. For the fear itself, our explainer on whether AAC stops a child from talking walks through it gently.
What this page can and cannot tell you
This page can tell you what the symbol sets are, what verified prices look like, and which habits make symbols stick. It cannot tell you which image type, display size, or system fits your child; ASHA places that assessment squarely with speech-language pathologists, and a real evaluation with device trials answers in an afternoon what internet research cannot answer in a month. [1]
Little Words is a voice-first speech practice app, not an AAC system, and practice tools supplement therapy rather than replace it. Our practice-vs-AAC explainer keeps the two jobs straight, and the AAC basics hub holds the rest of the groundwork.
Frequently asked questions
What are the pictures on an AAC device called?
Clinicians call them graphic symbols. They come from libraries such as SymbolStix and PCS on the commercial side, and ARASAAC, Mulberry, and Global Symbols on the free, open-license side. Most systems also let families add their own photos alongside the library artwork.
Are photos better than drawn symbols for my child?
Photos work best for specific, concrete things like family members and favorite objects. Drawn symbols carry the abstract core words, like more, stop, and want, that make up about 80% of everyday communication and cannot be photographed. Most successful setups use drawn symbols for core words and personal photos for personal things.
Which AAC symbol set is best?
The one your child sees consistently across home, school, and therapy. Consistency builds recognition faster than any difference in artwork style, so match whatever your child's school and SLP already use, and avoid switching sets mid-intervention without a plan.
Can I get AAC symbol images for free?
Yes. Cboard is free software that legally bundles the Mulberry, ARASAAC, and Global Symbols sets, and LetMeTalk ships more than 9,000 ARASAAC images offline. The open-license sets also distribute printable images on their own sites for personal communication boards, subject to their attribution terms.
How many symbols should be on the screen at once?
As many as your child can physically target with accuracy, and no more. Real products span the range: fixed boards of 7 to 23 locations, free app boards up to 20, and dynamic apps whose grids resize as skills grow. Display size is a motor-access decision that belongs in the SLP evaluation.
Will using symbol images delay talking?
No. ASHA reports that AAC use may help improve natural speech when used in a multimodal approach. Symbols give a child a working way to communicate now while speech keeps developing, and adults modeling the symbols while talking supports both.
Sources
All sources below were opened and checked on August 10, 2026. Prices and library figures are quoted as listed on that date.
- ASHA, AAC Practice Portal (accessed 2026-08-10): symbol types from photographs and drawings to tactile symbols; AAC supplements or compensates for impairments in speech-language production; core vocabulary makes up about 80% of everyday words; AAC use may help improve natural speech in a multimodal approach; SLP central role in assessment.
- PRC-Saltillo, TouchChat HD - AAC (accessed 2026-08-10): $149.99 USD plus tax; nearly 40,000 SymbolStix symbols; PCS symbols available as a separate in-app purchase.
- Apple App Store, LetMeTalk (accessed 2026-08-10): free; more than 9,000 ARASAAC images; works without an internet connection.
- Cboard project repository (accessed 2026-08-10): free software under GPL v3; Mulberry, ARASAAC, and Global Symbols credits; 40 languages.
- Apple App Store, SoundingBoard by AbleNet (accessed 2026-08-10): free app; boards up to 20 message locations using AbleNet symbols or your own photos.
- AbleNet, Speech Devices store (accessed 2026-08-10): QuickTalker FeatherTouch 7, 12, and 23 at $265.00 each.
- ASHA, Medicare Coverage Policy on Speech-Generating Devices (accessed 2026-08-10): SGDs covered as durable medical equipment under HCPCS codes E2500 through E2599; SLP evaluation, physician visit, and written order required; benefit excludes devices useful to someone without a speech impairment.
- AssistiveWare, Proloquo2Go (accessed 2026-08-10): USD $299.99 on iOS.
- Medicare.gov, Durable Medical Equipment coverage (accessed 2026-08-10): after the Part B deductible, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount.
- IDEA regulations, 34 CFR 300.105 Assistive technology (accessed 2026-08-10): assistive technology must be made available when required as part of the child's special education, related services, or supplementary aids and services.