Conclusions This research study explored attitudes and personal development, including self-esteem and personal identity, in nine adolescents using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Participants discussed several variables that would influence their self-esteem, attitudes, and personal development. Common variables among study participants included: social and emotional support, victimization and bullying, positive peer relationships, type of AAC device used, listener reactions and responses, barriers to participation, and attitudinal and physical barriers. These variables, clinical implications, study limitations, and suggestions for future research will be discussed in the following sections. Social and Emotional Support For many (89%) of the study participants, the social and emotional support they received from their non-disabled peers significantly influenced their personal development and overall self-esteem. Those who felt supported by their peers tended to have a positive self-image and higher levels of self-esteem. This finding supports the theory that, during adolescence, the development of personal identity and self-esteem is strongly influenced by peer relationships. Victimization and Bullying The most surprising finding was that victimization and bullying were associated with low self-esteem and poor self-image. The longer the victimization and bullying continued, the less popular the student was among his peers and the lower his self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. This was evidenced by their use of negative personality adjectives (e.g., bad, stupid, shameful, weak, etc.) to describe themselves. The discovery of a link between students with disabilities, victimized...... half of the paper ......research on this topic is warranted. Specifically, further research with a larger sample is needed to determine whether the study findings are accurate and applicable to the general population of adolescents who use AAC. Additionally, this study included participants diagnosed with CP, dysarthria, and VAoS; however, people with other diagnoses who may require an AAC system were not considered. Therefore, further research is needed to explore the personal development of adolescents with different diagnoses. Further research is also needed to determine whether self-development varies with the type of AAC system used (e.g., low- or high-tech). Finally, the second research question regarding variations in personal development based on the severity of the disorder was not answered. Therefore, further research is warranted to answer this research question.