War and refugees: the welcome contribution of Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Technologies for school


The growing immigration wave of populations fleeing wars, famines and poverty highlights the need to create tools for welcoming children to schools in countries unknown to them. Language can represent a great barrier to inclusion and integration, causing children to suffer especially for the lack of communication means. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is based on the use of symbols to share meanings, and it is a resource for both children with disabilities and foreign children. The article analyses the best free resources that can be useful for building games and language learning activities for every child in Italian schools; knowledge of these opportunities is essential for school staff’s updating and for educators’ pre-service training.