“Before We Start Talking…” - One Gentleman’s Take on AAC Etiquette

“Please don’t read the text until I'm finished. Better yet, let me use the speaking function once I'm finished. This would make things easier for me. Impatient people are very hard to talk to. My spelling the words in a sentence is not a game to guess the next word. I understand that you’re only trying to help speed things up, but it is usually just frustrating and rude to me.

Wait until I am able to answer your question before jumping to the next. Realize that I can only write words at a much slower rate than you can speak. Please make sure that I am done talking to you before you leave. Many times I am typing one last thing before someone leaves and it never gets heard. 

Sometimes my eyes get tired and I can't control the cursor anymore. Likewise, some drugs, pain, tears and pressure just trying to speak quickly make it difficult. The more you know the reasons, the better chance you'll know that I'm not just not ignoring you.