How to set up Proloquo2Go for a beginner AAC user

Last updated 2026-07-11

The fastest path with Proloquo2Go is to start with the built-in Crescendo vocabulary, set the grid size to whatever your child can reliably hit (usually 15 to 25 buttons for a beginner), turn on the access restrictions so nothing gets deleted or scrambled, and model on the device 25 to 50 times a day without turning it into a quiz. Do that consistently and most families see their child start communicating on purpose somewhere between 4 and 12 weeks in.

Proloquo2Go is a symbol-based augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app from AssistiveWare that runs on iPad and iPhone. Kids and adults who are non-speaking or minimally verbal use it to select symbols, pictures paired with text, that the app then speaks aloud. It's a one-time purchase of $249.99 on the App Store, though pricing shifts, so check the current listing before you budget ^[1].

Families use it across a wide range of ages and diagnoses: autistic children with limited speech, kids with childhood apraxia of speech, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and other conditions where a high-tech AAC system helps ^[2]. It isn't a last resort for kids who will never talk. ASHA's position statement is direct on this: AAC does not slow speech development, and it may actually support it ^[3].

If your child was just recommended for AAC, here's how to set things up starting from the first screen. If you haven't bought a device yet and want context on the different types available first, the overview of AAC devices is a good place to start.

Start with Crescendo, not a blank vocabulary

Crescendo ships with Proloquo2Go. AssistiveWare built it specifically for new AAC learners, and it's what most speech-language pathologists recommend for beginners. It keeps the most-used core words, "more," "go," "want," "stop," "I," "you," on a consistent Home screen, which matters because motor learning depends on buttons staying in the same place every time ^[4].

Don't build a vocabulary from scratch yourself. It takes dozens of hours and tends to produce inconsistent layouts that work against the motor learning your child needs.

When you first open the app, it asks you to create a user. Choose Crescendo from the vocabulary picker, then pick a starting stage: Basic (around 12 to 15 buttons per page), Intermediate, or Advanced. Most beginners should start at Basic. The goal isn't to keep the vocabulary small forever, it's to give your child a layout they can move through reliably and grow from there.

Parents often want to hand over a huge vocabulary from day one because they want to give their child everything. But the motor learning research on AAC points the other way: a smaller, consistent set of buttons a child can navigate on their own beats a 100-button grid they can't reliably hit ^[4].

Choosing the right grid size

Grid size just means how many symbol buttons are visible on screen at once, and Proloquo2Go lets you set this per user. Most beginners do best somewhere between 12 and 30 buttons per screen, but the real test is simple: can your child touch the button they're aiming for without hitting the one next to it?

A rough practical guide:

You can change this any time under Settings > Users > (user name) > Vocabulary, so it's not permanent. Start smaller than you think you need. Watching a child miss-tap the wrong button over and over gets discouraging fast, for both of you.

For kids with significant motor differences, a physical screen guard with cutouts for each button cell can cut down errors a lot. It's a cheap foam or plastic grid that sits over the iPad screen, and SLPs who specialize in apraxia of speech or other motor-based communication differences often recommend one.

Lock the settings before you hand it over

This is the step most families skip, then regret a week later when the vocabulary's been deleted or the pages rearranged. Proloquo2Go has a built-in Editing Lock, reachable through Settings > Lock (the padlock icon). Set a 4-digit PIN and lock the app before your child gets hold of the device.

With Editing Lock on, the child can use the system normally but can't get into settings, delete buttons, or rearrange pages. You unlock it temporarily to make edits, then lock it again.

A second layer is iOS Guided Access. Go to the iPad's Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access, turn it on, and set a passcode. Triple-clicking the Home or Side button (depending on the iPad model) activates it, which stops your child from leaving the app entirely. This matters in therapy sessions and at mealtimes, when accidental Home button presses happen constantly.

Use both. Editing Lock and Guided Access are independent safeguards, and together they cover more of what can go wrong.

Modeling matters more than any setup choice

Aided language stimulation, sometimes called modeling or aided input, means the adults around a child use the AAC device themselves throughout the day, without requiring the child to do the same ^[5]. You touch "more" when you want more of something. You touch "stop" when you pause a game. You touch "like" while watching a show together. The child watches you move through the device hundreds of times before anyone expects them to try it themselves.

This is, bar none, the most evidence-backed strategy for getting a new AAC user communicating. A 2014 study by Drager and colleagues found significant gains in symbol comprehension when communication partners used aided language stimulation consistently ^[5]. The hard part isn't the app. It's the sustained effort from parents, teachers, and caregivers. Aim for 25 to 50 models a day across your normal activities. That sounds like a lot, but it works out to roughly one model every 20 to 30 minutes of waking time. You're not stopping to "do AAC" as a separate task. You reach for the device while you're already talking and tap the word that matches what you just said.

Try not to use the device only to quiz your child ("What do you want? Pick something."). That turns it into a test instead of a way to talk. Use it to comment, refuse, joke, describe, everything you'd do with spoken language.

Adding vocabulary that's personal to your child

Crescendo's core vocabulary is solid out of the box, but every child has their own fringe vocabulary: specific people, places, foods, characters, activities that matter to them. Adding these early keeps the device motivating.

To add a new symbol: unlock editing, go to the relevant page (for a child who loves trains, that might be the "things" or activity page), long-press an empty cell, choose Edit Button, then add a label, choose or photograph a symbol, and record audio or use text-to-speech.

A few practical tips: use real photos for fringe vocabulary when you can, since a photo of the actual family dog means more than generic clip art. Keep the core vocabulary and navigation consistent, and only add new buttons on fringe or topic pages, never the Home screen. AssistiveWare also has a free Symbol Library built into the app, and you can use Boardmaker symbols or the built-in SymbolStix set instead if you prefer. Resist adding fifty fringe words in the first week. Add three to five highly motivating items and model those instead. A small vocabulary that actually gets used beats a huge one nobody touches.

If an SLP is also working with your child, check in with them before changing the layout structurally. A mismatch between the home and school setup is a common source of frustration for kids.

Beyond direct touch: other ways to access the app

Most kids who are new to AAC just tap the screen, and for a lot of them that's all they'll ever need. But Proloquo2Go also works with other access methods, which matters for children with limited hand control ^[6].

Switch scanning is the main alternative. The app highlights buttons one at a time, or row by row, and the child presses an external switch when the button they want lights up. You can connect one or two switches over Bluetooth or through the headphone jack, and AssistiveWare supports this through iOS's built-in Switch Control feature.

Eye gaze is another option, though it needs separate hardware like a Tobii Dynavox camera. Proloquo2Go can run on some eye gaze setups, but purpose-built eye gaze devices usually come with their own AAC software instead.

For most children new to AAC because of autism or a speech delay without motor involvement, direct touch is the right place to start. If your child has a known motor condition, ask the evaluating SLP or occupational therapist to do an access assessment before settling on a configuration. And don't overlook the physical setup: the device needs to sit somewhere stable and reachable, whether that's a wheelchair mount, a table stand, or just a sturdy case that props the iPad up at a good angle.

Running AAC at home without turning it into therapy

You don't need formal sessions for this to work. AAC sticks best inside ordinary activities rather than drills, though a few go-to routines help if you're new to this and not sure where to start.

Bring the device out before the activity begins, so it's clear this is a communication tool and not something that only shows up for "work." Then follow your child's lead: if they're building with blocks, narrate on the device as you play. Touch "fall down" when the tower falls, "more" before adding another block. Create small openings for communication by pausing before handing over something they want, waiting a few seconds with an expectant look rather than asking a question outright. If nothing happens after five or ten seconds, just model the word yourself and move on, no pressure attached. Respond to everything, even an accidental button press, as if it meant something: "Oh, you said ball! Here's the ball." That's how a child learns the device gets real reactions from real people.

A steady routine, say fifteen minutes of AAC-supported play after dinner a few nights a week, works better than occasional long sessions. If your child is also getting speech therapy, ask the SLP to show you one activity per session that you can repeat at home. And if you're still deciding whether AAC is the right path at all, don't wait on it: the early intervention system in your state offers free evaluations for children under three.

How soon will a beginner start communicating with it?

It varies a lot, and there's no clean population-level data specific to Proloquo2Go. What research does show is that consistent aided language stimulation tends to produce measurable gains in symbol comprehension and use within three to six months of steady use^[5][7]. Some children make their first clearly intentional selection within days. Others take months. A few take longer still.

Progress tends to move faster when adults model consistently across every setting, not just in therapy, when the device stays within reach at all times, when the vocabulary includes things the child actually wants to say, and when there's no pressure to perform. It slows down when the device only comes out during "speech time," when adults ask constant questions instead of modeling, when vocabulary changes too often and resets motor learning, or when parents compare progress to a sibling or peer who doesn't use AAC.

If you're six months in with consistent effort and seeing nothing change, bring that back to the evaluating SLP. Sometimes the vocabulary needs adjusting, sometimes the access method does, and sometimes the picture is more complex, as in autism spectrum speech therapy cases where several approaches get layered together. But the single best predictor of success isn't the app. It's how often the people around the child model language. That part is on you.

Do you need an SLP to set it up?

Technically, any parent can download Proloquo2Go and set it up alone, and AssistiveWare's own tutorials are genuinely solid. But an SLP who specializes in AAC brings things no tutorial can: a real feature-matching evaluation to confirm the system fits the child, an access assessment, vocabulary customized to how the child communicates, and a plan that ties together home, school, and therapy^[3].

Many insurance plans and school districts actually require a formal AAC evaluation by a licensed SLP before they'll fund a device. That usually means standardized language testing, a look at current communication methods, a trial period with candidate devices, and a written report.

If cost or access to an in-person SLP is the obstacle, online speech therapy has grown a lot, and many teletherapy SLPs now specialize in AAC. AssistiveWare also offers free training called "AAC Learning Journey" for families and professionals.

Here's the honest tradeoff: a device bought with no SLP involved, paired with consistent modeling at home, will still beat a perfectly configured device from an SLP that sits in a bag twenty-three hours a day. Both together is ideal. But if you can only manage one, daily modeling at home wins.

What if your child ignores or refuses the device?

That's normal in the first few weeks, especially for kids with no prior AAC experience. The device is unfamiliar, and nobody's shown them yet that it actually gets them what they want.

A few things tend to help. Never force it: guiding a child's hand to the device against their will is discouraged in AAC practice and tends to build negative associations, so keep modeling yourself instead. Put the device everywhere, not only at the therapy table, or the child will learn that's the only place it belongs: bring it to breakfast, the couch, the car. Treat everything as communication, even pushing the device away. You can say "Oh, all done? Okay," and model "all done" on the device yourself. The message is that everything they do counts and you're paying attention. And ease off the demands: if you've been saying "tell me what you want, use your talker," stop entirely for a few weeks and just model with no expectation of a response. It feels backwards, but it reliably cuts down on avoidance.

Some kids also just don't like the default text-to-speech voice. Try switching it in Settings > Speech: AssistiveWare offers several voice options, and some children respond much better to one over another.

Keeping home and school in sync

Consistency across settings is one of the strongest predictors of progress with AAC. If the vocabulary layout at school doesn't match the one at home, the child is essentially learning two separate motor maps, which slows everything down.

For school-aged children, the AAC system is often written into the Individualized Education Program (IEP), which should spell out which vocabulary system is used, who maintains the device, how often vocabulary gets updated, and what training communication partners receive^[8]. Under IDEA, schools are required to provide AAC devices when they're deemed necessary for a child to access their education, though what qualifies and how it's handled varies by district^[8].

Ask the school SLP or special education coordinator for a shared implementation plan. At the very least, home and school should be using the same vocabulary version (Crescendo at the same stage, for instance) and agree on how new words get added. AssistiveWare also allows vocabulary backups through iCloud and its own cloud system, worth using since devices break, get lost, or need to be wiped, and a backup means months of customization aren't gone with them.

Many children who use AAC also rely on echolalia, and the piece on echolalia is worth reading if you want to understand both and respond to them well together.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Proloquo2Go cost?

Proloquo2Go costs $249.99 as a one-time App Store purchase (as of 2024; check the current listing since prices can change). Many insurance plans, Medicaid waivers, and school districts will fund the app as part of an AAC evaluation and recommendation. AssistiveWare also has a free trial version called Proloquo2Go Lite that lets you try the core features before committing.

What iPad is best for Proloquo2Go?

Any iPad running iPadOS 16 or later works. The standard 9th or 10th generation iPad is the most common choice because it balances cost and screen size. For younger children, a 10.2-inch screen is usually easier to handle than the larger Pro models. Use a protective case with a handle or kickstand. Screen size matters more than processing power for AAC use.

Can Proloquo2Go be used without wifi?

Yes. Once the app and vocabulary are downloaded, Proloquo2Go works entirely offline. No internet connection is needed for daily communication use. You need wifi for updates, cloud backups, or downloading new symbol sets, but the child's communication is never dependent on a network connection. This is one reason families prefer dedicated AAC apps over web-based tools.

Is Proloquo2Go appropriate for a 2-year-old?

AssistiveWare lists no minimum age. Children as young as 18-24 months have been introduced to high-tech AAC successfully, and research supports early introduction. The key is grid size (use the smallest, 9-15 buttons) and heavy adult modeling with zero demand. A 2-year-old cannot be expected to use the device independently; the goal at that age is exposure and early associations between symbols and their meanings.

Does using Proloquo2Go mean my child will never talk?

No. ASHA's official position is that AAC does not prevent speech development and may support it. Multiple studies have found no negative effect of AAC on spoken language, and some report improvements. AAC is a bridge, not a ceiling. Many children who begin using high-tech AAC as their primary communication mode do develop spoken words over time, while others communicate primarily through AAC long-term. Both outcomes are valid.

What is the difference between Proloquo2Go and TouchChat?

Both are symbol-based AAC apps for iPad. Proloquo2Go uses AssistiveWare's Crescendo vocabulary and SymbolStix symbols by default. TouchChat uses WordPower vocabulary and can run PCS (Picture Communication Symbols) from Boardmaker. SLPs who trained on one system tend to have stronger implementation support to offer for that system. Both have comparable evidence bases. The choice often comes down to which your SLP knows best.

How many words should a beginner AAC user's device have?

Start with the smallest Crescendo stage that covers the child's communication needs, usually 12-25 buttons on the main screen. Research on aided language stimulation and motor learning supports beginning with a consistent core vocabulary of 20-40 high-frequency words rather than a large fringe vocabulary. Add fringe words gradually based on the child's specific interests. More buttons are not better if the child cannot move through them independently.

What is core vocabulary in AAC and why does it matter?

Core vocabulary refers to the small set of words that account for the majority of what people say across all situations: words like 'more,' 'stop,' 'go,' 'want,' 'help,' 'I,' 'you,' and 'like.' Research shows roughly 200-400 words make up about 80% of what people actually say day to day. AAC systems like Proloquo2Go's Crescendo vocabulary put these words on a consistent home page so the child builds reliable motor patterns for the most communicatively powerful words first.

Can two children share one Proloquo2Go app?

Yes. Proloquo2Go supports multiple users on one device, each with separate vocabulary, grid size, and settings. However, for school-aged children who take their device between home and school, a shared device creates scheduling and access problems. If possible, one device per user is ideal. Families often purchase a single iPad for home use and coordinate with the school district for a second device funded through the IEP.

How do I know if my child needs AAC or just more speech therapy?

These are not mutually exclusive. AAC is recommended when a child's communication needs are not met by their current speech alone, regardless of whether spoken language is developing. An SLP can evaluate this. In general, if a child cannot reliably communicate wants, needs, or basic social messages through speech, signs, or other means, AAC is worth exploring immediately. Waiting for speech to develop before introducing AAC has no evidence basis and can delay functional communication by months or years.

Does Proloquo2Go work for kids with apraxia of speech?

Yes, and it is commonly used for children with childhood apraxia of speech who need an alternative or supplementary channel while motor speech therapy progresses. The motor learning principles in Proloquo2Go, specifically the consistent placement of core vocabulary across all pages in Crescendo vocabulary, align well with the motor learning demands for kids with apraxia. More detail on this is in the guide to childhood apraxia of speech.

How do I back up Proloquo2Go settings so I don't lose customization?

Go to Settings > Users > (user name) > Backup Vocabulary. You can back up to iCloud or to AssistiveWare's own cloud service. Do this every time you make significant changes. Also enable automatic iCloud backup for the entire iPad in iOS Settings > your Apple ID > iCloud > iCloud Backup. If the device is lost or damaged, you can restore the entire vocabulary onto a new device within minutes rather than rebuilding from scratch.

Sources

1. AssistiveWare, Proloquo2Go product page (App Store): Proloquo2Go costs $249.99 as a one-time purchase on the App Store
2. ASHA, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) overview: AAC is used across diagnoses including autism, cerebral palsy, and apraxia of speech
3. ASHA, AAC Practice Portal: ASHA position: AAC does not inhibit speech development and may support it; SLP evaluation is the standard of care for AAC recommendation
4. Beukelman, D. & Mirenda, P. (2013). Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Supporting Children and Adults with Complex Communication Needs. 4th ed. Paul H. Brookes Publishing.: Motor learning in AAC depends on consistent button placement; smaller grids support reliable motor pattern development in beginners
5. Drager, K. D. R., et al. (2014). Effects of aided AAC modeling on the expression of multi-symbol messages by preschoolers who use AAC. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 30(2), 136-147.: Aided language stimulation produced significant gains in symbol comprehension and use; consistent modeling shows measurable gains within 3-6 months
6. AssistiveWare, Access methods for Proloquo2Go (support documentation): Proloquo2Go supports direct touch, switch scanning via iOS Switch Control, and partner-assisted scanning
7. Romski, M., et al. (2010). Randomized comparison of augmented and nonaugmented language interventions for toddlers with developmental delays and their parents. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 53(2), 350-364.: AAC intervention showed gains in symbol use and parent-rated communication within months; AAC did not inhibit speech development in the toddler sample
8. U.S. Department of Education, IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 34 CFR 300.105: Under IDEA, schools must provide assistive technology including AAC devices if determined necessary for a child to access their education
9. AAP, Policy Statement: Role of the Pediatrician in Supporting Communication Development: AAP supports early referral for communication delays and recognizes AAC as a valid communication support across developmental conditions
10. Ganz, J. B., et al. (2012). Meta-analysis of single-case research studies on aided augmentative and alternative communication systems with individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42(1), 60-74.: Meta-analysis found aided AAC systems produced consistent communication gains for individuals with autism across studies
11. Zangari, C. & Van Tatenhove, G. (2009). Supporting more advanced linguistic communicators in the classroom. In G. Soto & C. Zangari (Eds.), Practically speaking: Language, literacy, and academic development for students with AAC needs. Paul H. Brookes.: Core vocabulary of approximately 200-400 words accounts for roughly 80% of everyday communication across speakers