Information and Communication Technology Services for Augmentative and Alternative Communication: a Croatian Perspective

A certain level of communication skills plays an important role in life. However, people with various disabilities may require aid in satisfying their complex communication needs. This paper briefly details legislative and technical background for supporting augmentative and alternative communication services for Croatia’s residents with disabilities. Regarding the inclusion policies enacted in Croatia in the last half of a decade, we claim the significant future need for systems and mobile services for augmentative and alternative communication based on information and communication technology. In order to make such services usable and useful for disabled people, it is inevitable to make efforts in multidisciplinary research and development, and build affordable and mobile solutions which input and output functionalities satisfy both independent and assisted living programs for people with disabilities.