Augmentative and alternative communication: scope and peculiarities of terms and concepts in Brazil.

BACKGROUND Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is expanding in our country, however it is still not a widely recognized practice. Although the term 'Augmentative and Alternative Communication' is well defined in the international literature, in our country there is no official and/or accepted version. AIM To review the terms used in Brazil and to discuss their implications, taking as a reference the policies and recommendations of Isaac--International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. METHOD A review of national Journals was made, consulting Lilacs and SciELO database, until the year of 2007. RESULTS The following versions were found: Comunicação Alternativa e Suplementar, Comunicação Alternativa, Comunicação Suplementar e/ou Alternativa, Sistemas Alternativos e Facilitadores de Comunicação, Comunicação Suplementar, Comunicação Alternativa e Ampliada. CONCLUSION It is important for a given version/term, besides being adopted by its own use, to maintain the original intended sense and to be in consonance with recommendations/policies of the field it belongs, such as those proposed by Isaac. This is a relevant discussion for the consolidation and strengthening of AAC in Brazil and also for the establishment of descriptors in the field of Health Sciences.