  Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques are being used more frequently
to improve high-tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), but many
of these techniques are integrated without the inclusion of the users'
perspectives. As many of these tools are created with children in mind,
autistic adults are often neglected in the design of AAC tools to begin with.
We conducted in-depth interviews with 12 autistic adults to find the pain
points of current AAC and determine what general technological advances they
would find helpful. We found that in addition to technological issues, there
are many societal issues as well. We found 9 different categories of themes
from our interviews: input options, output options, selecting or adapting AAC
for a good fit, when to start or swap AAC, benefits (of use), access (to AAC),
stumbling blocks for continued use, social concerns, and lack of control. In
this paper, we go through these nine categories in depth and then suggest
possible guidelines for the NLP community, AAC application makers, and policy
makers to improve AAC use for autistic adults.
