If your 2-year-old isn't talking — or isn't talking enough to be understood — an AAC app can give them a working voice this week. Here's what starting looks like at exactly this age.
At two, typically developing toddlers explode from ~50 words to 200+, and start two-word combinations. A two-year-old who is not yet using words — or lost the ones they had — deserves support now, not a "wait and see" year.
Keep it tiny: 3–6 big cards for the highest-power messages — "more", "all done", "hug", "help". Your job is modeling, not testing: tap "more" yourself as you hand over more banana. No quizzes, no hand-over-hand.
The first win at this age is usually cause-and-effect joy: the card talks! Celebrate any intentional tap, even "wrong" ones — intent is the skill, accuracy comes later.
Tala is free to start — 10 ready-made boards with whole-phrase cards, one natural voice per language in 29 languages, offline audio, set up in about 90 seconds. Worried AAC might slow speech down? The research says the opposite. Wondering if 2 is the right age? There is no minimum age for AAC.
No — research supports starting picture-based communication from 12–18 months. Two is a great age: young enough to prevent years of frustration, old enough to tap with intent.
Yes — exploration is stage one. Keep modeling the real use yourself during real moments (snack, tickles, bath) and intentional taps follow, usually within weeks.