Written and maintained by CASRAI Editorial Board
Last updated
General information only, not medical advice. Choosing a communication method for a particular person is a clinical decision made with a qualified professional.
Short answer
A communication board is a board of pictures, symbols, photos or words that a person points to in order to share a message. The Health Service Executive (Ireland) describes it as “a board with pictures that helps people share messages.” It belongs to the wider field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Less often discussed: the US Food and Drug Administration classifies the device type itself, and a nonpowered board and a powered communication system fall into different classes.
Definition and scope
The Texas Education Agency’s assistive technology library defines a communication board as a platform, “whether physical or digital,” of symbols, pictures or photos, ranging “from basic, handcrafted boards to sophisticated computerized programs.” The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) describes AAC as “an area of clinical practice that supplements or compensates for impairments in speech-language production,” and says people who use AAC have an impairment or limitation in speech, language, reading and/or writing.
Three common search phrases mean closely related things:
What is a communication board?
A board that presents pictures, symbols, photos, letters or words so a person can point to them and share a message. The HSE places it within “total communication,” which also includes gestures, signs and words.
What is a picture communication board?
A communication board whose choices are pictures. ASHA’s AAC Practice Portal names “picture communication boards and letter boards” as examples, and notes that fixed (static) displays are most common in communication boards or low-tech speech-generating devices.
What is a communication aid?
The broader term for any tool that supports communication. In ASHA’s vocabulary, an aided AAC form is one that requires “some form of external tool, either electronic or nonelectronic,” so a communication board is one kind of aid. An unaided form “does not require an external tool.”
How boards are used in practice
The sources agree that a board is one part of a person’s communication, not the whole of it. The HSE notes that every child is different and that boards sit alongside pictures, gestures, signs and words. The Texas Education Agency says the choice of board should match the student’s needs, goals, skills and tasks, that use may be lifelong or temporary (for example after a medical procedure), and that communication partners may need training.
ASHA states that speech-language pathologists play “a central role in the screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment” of people who may use AAC, and that assessment is comprehensive, transdisciplinary, and culturally and linguistically relevant. For the wider profession, see what speech-language pathology is.
Types: how two vocabularies line up
Two sets of terms describe the same family of products from different angles. ASHA describes how the communication is delivered; the FDA describes the device type for regulatory purposes. Each row below is taken from the cited source.
| Term | Source | What the source says |
|---|---|---|
| Unaided AAC | ASHA | Does not require an external tool. |
| Aided AAC, nonelectronic (“light-tech” or “low-tech”) | ASHA | Requires an external tool that is nonelectronic. |
| Aided AAC, electronic (“high-tech”) | ASHA | Requires an external tool that is electronic. |
| Nonpowered communication system (21 CFR 890.3700, product code ILP) | FDA | A mechanical device intended for medical purposes that assists a patient in communicating when physical impairment prevents writing, telephone use, reading or talking. Class I. |
| Powered communication system (21 CFR 890.3710, product code ILQ) | FDA | An AC- or battery-powered device intended for medical purposes that transmits or receives information for people who cannot use standard communication methods because of physical impairment. Class II. |
The ASHA rows and the FDA rows are not the same classification. In practice a nonelectronic board will usually be the kind of item the nonpowered regulation describes, but the regulation turns on intended medical purpose and on whether the device is powered, not on the words “low-tech” or “picture.”
Where it matters for labs, clinics and supply decisions
The FDA classification, as checked on 2026-10-30:
- Nonpowered systems (21 CFR 890.3700) are Class I, subject to general controls. The regulation exempts them from premarket notification (510(k)), subject to the limitations in 21 CFR 890.9, and from most quality-system requirements apart from records and complaint files (21 CFR 820.35).
- Powered systems (21 CFR 890.3710) are Class II, subject to special controls. They are also exempt from premarket notification, subject to 21 CFR 890.9.
- The openFDA device classification database (last updated 2026-10-19) lists these as “System, Communication, Non-Powered” (ILP, Class 1, Physical Medicine panel) and “System, Communication, Powered” (ILQ, Class 2).
For anyone documenting equipment or comparing product records, this means the powered/nonpowered distinction changes the regulatory class, while the question of which board suits an individual is a separate, clinical one that the sources assign to an assessment led by speech-language pathologists. To see how exemption differs from clearance or approval, read FDA clearance versus approval and 510(k) versus PMA; the agency itself is covered under FDA (Food and Drug Administration).
Common misunderstandings
- “A board is only a board.” The Texas Education Agency’s definition spans physical and digital formats, from handcrafted boards to computerized programs, so the same label can cover very different tools.
- “Low-tech means lesser.” ASHA treats nonelectronic and electronic aided forms as parts of one field of practice; it describes them by how they are delivered, not by rank.
- “One board fits everyone.” The HSE states that every child is different, and the Texas Education Agency ties selection to the individual’s needs, goals and skills.
- “A board replaces other communication.” The HSE places boards within total communication alongside gestures, signs and words.
Related assistive communication topics on CASRAI include FM systems and CaptionCall.
FAQ
What is a communication board?
A board of pictures, symbols, photos or words that a person points to in order to share messages, used as part of total communication (HSE Ireland, checked 2026-10-30).
What is a picture communication board?
A communication board whose choices are pictures; ASHA lists picture communication boards among aided, nonelectronic AAC forms (ASHA, checked 2026-10-30).
What is a communication aid?
Any external tool, electronic or nonelectronic, that supports communication. ASHA calls these “aided” AAC forms.
How does the FDA classify a communication board?
A nonpowered communication system is Class I under 21 CFR 890.3700; a powered one is Class II under 21 CFR 890.3710. Both are exempt from 510(k), subject to 21 CFR 890.9.
Sources
- 21 CFR 890.3700, Nonpowered communication system. law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/890.3700 (checked 2026-10-30).
- 21 CFR 890.3710, Powered communication system. law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/890.3710 (checked 2026-10-30).
- openFDA device classification database, regulation numbers 890.3700 and 890.3710 (data last updated 2026-10-19; checked 2026-10-30). api.fda.gov/device/classification.
- ASHA Practice Portal, Augmentative and Alternative Communication. asha.org (checked 2026-10-30).
- HSE Ireland, Communication board. hse.ie (checked 2026-10-30).
- Texas Education Agency, Assistive Technology Library, Communication board. at.tea.texas.gov (checked 2026-10-30).
