AAC apps for adults: after a stroke, with aphasia or ALS, and for autistic adults

What makes an app right for an adult

• Pictures, words and topics that fit an adult’s life: work, money, the doctor, family, a joke
• Fast ways to say the things they say every day: saved phrases, word prediction
• A voice that suits their age, and ideally their accent
• A way to keep their own voice in it, if they are losing their speech
• Settings for hands that tire or shake, or another way in: switches, eyes or head

A speech-language pathologist also weighs how comfortable the person is with technology and how well they read and spell, before and since the illness.¹ Our guide to AAC for adults covers the conditions themselves; this page is about the apps.

If the person can spell: ALS, MND, after surgery

For someone who can spell, typing lets them say anything at all, not only what is on a button, and word prediction saves letters. People with ALS sometimes use voice banking, which stores their own voice “for future use in computer-based speech synthesizers”,² or message banking, recording phrases in their own voice to play back later.³ Both need recordings of the person’s own speech, so they are done while speech is still clear; our guide to AAC for adults covers planning early.

Speech Assistant AAC

Typing and phrase buttons, with a free basic version and a one-time payment for the rest; no internet needed.⁴

• Talks with Typing and phrase buttons⁴
• Runs on Android; iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch⁵
• Price (US) Basic version free; extra features $10.99 once on Google Play ($24.99 on the App Store)
• Without internet Yes: it “does not require an internet connection”
• Last update on Google Play Oct 23, 2026

Spoken

Next-word prediction, and in Premium, prediction that learns from how you talk and a choice of lifelike voices.⁶ Those voices need the internet.⁷

• Talks with Typing with word prediction⁸
• Runs on Android, iPhone, iPad and Apple Silicon Macs⁹
• Price (US) Free to speak; Premium $12.99 a month, $99 a year or $249 for life on Spoken’s website. Store prices differ: its in-app purchases on Google Play run $6.49 to $249.99¹⁰
• Without internet Partly: its high-quality voices need internet; offline it switches to the phone’s own voice¹¹⁷
• Last update on Google Play Sep 24, 2026

Predictable

A single purchase on Android and Apple devices, from Therapy Box; some languages use online prediction and voices.¹²

• Talks with Typing with word prediction¹²
• Runs on Android phones and tablets, iPhone and iPad
• Price (US) $159.99 once (Google Play and the App Store)¹³¹⁴
• Without internet Partly: some languages use online word prediction and online voices
• Last update on Google Play Aug 11, 2026

On an iPhone or iPad, Proloquo4Text is a typing app that its listing says works without an internet connection.¹⁵ It isn’t on Android.

If the person has aphasia

Aphasia affects language: speaking, understanding, reading and writing. People with aphasia can learn “other ways of communicating, such as through gestures, pictures, notebooks, and/or electronic devices”, and “speech-generating applications on mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets can provide alternative ways to communicate”.¹⁶ The professional guidance pairs low-tech tools, like photos and communication books, with high-tech devices.¹⁷ A speech and language therapist can help find the ways that work.¹⁸

In an app, that usually means picture buttons with the written word, ready-made phrases, and the person’s own photos of family and places. Spelling may not work, because aphasia can affect writing too.

TalkTablet PRO

Pictures and typing, sold as a single purchase on Android, Apple devices and Windows tablets, and named on Google Play for “Autism & Stroke”. Its listing says it needs no internet connection.¹⁹

• Talks with Pictures and typing¹⁹
• Runs on Android, iPhone, iPad and Windows tablets
• Price (US) $199.99 once on Google Play; extras in-app
• Without internet Yes: “an internet connection is NOT required”
• Last update on Google Play Oct 26, 2026

Tap AAC (ours)

Picture pages and a keyboard in one app, with the person’s own photos and voice recordings on any button, so family names and places can be one tap. Our printable boards are inside the app as talking pages, among them pages for talking to the doctor, pain and intensive care, and Word Guesses offers the words most likely to come next.²⁰ It can’t make a synthetic copy of a person’s voice; recording their own words onto buttons is the closest it comes.

• Talks with Pictures, typing and Word Guesses²⁰
• Runs on Android phones, tablets and Chromebooks, Android 8.0 or later; no iPhone or iPad version²¹
• Price (US) Free for 30 days, then $29.99 once²²
• Without internet Yes: its voice, Bella, is part of the app
• Last update on Google Play Oct 24, 2026

Autistic adults

Autistic adults who use speech may find it intermittent, unreliable or not enough, depending on the setting and on what is being said; they report using everyday tools such as texting and handwriting as well as communication apps on a phone or tablet.²³ Worth checking in an app: how fast it is to open and say something, whether it looks grown-up, and whether it runs on the phone that’s already in the pocket. Typing apps such as Spoken (free to speak) and Speech Assistant AAC (a one-time payment) open fast on a phone; if words are hard on some days, an app with pictures as well as typing covers both. Our guide to AAC for autistic adults covers using AAC at work and in public.

The apps side by side

AAC apps adults use on Android (October 30, 2026)

More help choosing

• Apps for trach, ventilator and surgery patientsWhen a breathing tube, a trach, surgery or voice rest takes the voice for a while.
• Make Android say what you typeLive Transcribe, call features, and text-to-speech or AAC apps, and which fits which need.
• AAC for adultsAfter a stroke, with ALS or MND, and in the hospital.
• AAC for autistic adultsPart-time speaking, shutdowns, and AAC at work and in public.
• Talking with someone who has aphasiaTwelve tips for family and friends.

Sources

Read on October 30, 2026. Google Play listings are named by app ID (the “id=” in their web address).

1. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (Practice Portal). Professional guidance for speech-language pathologists. Accessed October 30, 2026.
2. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH). Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). NIH health information, last reviewed March 13, 2026. Accessed October 30, 2026.
3. The ALS Association. Voice preservation: voice banking and message banking (handout, PDF). Patient handout, 2025. Accessed October 30, 2026.
4. Google Play. Speech Assistant AAC listing (nl.asoft.speechassistant). Price, in-app purchases, last update and listing text, United States, checked October 30, 2026.
5. Apple App Store. Speech Assistant AAC. Price, last update and listing text, United States, checked October 30, 2026.
6. Spoken. Spoken Premium vs. free. The maker’s help page. Accessed October 30, 2026.
7. Spoken. What is a fallback voice?. The maker’s help page. Accessed October 30, 2026.
8. Google Play. Spoken – Tap to Talk AAC listing (com.spoken.app). Price, in-app purchases, last update and listing text, United States, checked October 30, 2026.
9. Spoken. Will Spoken work on my device?. The maker’s help page. Accessed October 30, 2026.
10. Spoken. Does Spoken cost anything?. The maker’s help page. Accessed October 30, 2026.
11. Spoken. Do I need to be connected to the internet to use Spoken?. The maker’s help page. Accessed October 30, 2026.
12. Therapy Box. Predictable. The maker’s product page. Accessed October 30, 2026.
13. Google Play. Predictable listing (com.tbox.predictable_4). Price, in-app purchases, last update and listing text, United States, checked October 30, 2026.
14. Apple App Store. Predictable. Price, last update and listing text, United States, checked October 30, 2026.
15. Apple App Store. Proloquo4Text AAC. Price, last update and listing text, United States, checked October 30, 2026.
16. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH). Aphasia. NIH health information, last updated April 16, 2025. Accessed October 30, 2026.
17. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Aphasia (Practice Portal). Professional guidance for speech-language pathologists. Accessed October 30, 2026.
18. NHS. Aphasia. NHS health information, page last reviewed 1 April 2025. Accessed October 30, 2026.
19. Google Play. TalkTablet PRO Autism & Stroke listing (com.gusinc.talktableta). Price, in-app purchases, last update and listing text, United States, checked October 30, 2026.
20. Tap AAC. Everything Tap AAC does. Our own feature list for the version on Google Play.
21. Tap AAC. Support. Our own answers about devices, backups and the internet.
22. Google Play. Tap AAC listing (com.tapaac.app). Price, trial and listing text, checked October 30, 2026.
23. Zisk AH, Dalton E. Augmentative and Alternative Communication for Speaking Autistic Adults: Overview and Recommendations. Autism in Adulthood 1(2), 93–100, 2019. Abstract and lay summary on PubMed. Accessed October 30, 2026.
24. Google Play. Avaz AAC listing (com.avazapp.international.lite). Price, in-app purchases, last update and listing text, United States, checked October 30, 2026.
25. Avaz. Pricing of the Avaz AAC app (help centre). The maker’s help page. Accessed October 30, 2026.
26. Avaz. Do I need an internet connection to run Avaz?. The maker’s help page, modified June 12, 2025. Accessed October 30, 2026.
27. Google Play. CoughDrop AAC listing (com.mycoughdrop.coughdrop). Price, in-app purchases, last update and listing text, United States, checked October 30, 2026.
28. CoughDrop. How much does CoughDrop cost?. The maker’s help page, updated March 19, 2024. Accessed October 30, 2026.
29. CoughDrop. How do I use my CoughDrop boards when offline?. The maker’s help page. Accessed October 30, 2026.