People with aphasia and clinicians alike, often favor restorative interventions because augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions are thought to impede neural recovery. However, recent case studies suggest that AAC interventions may improve aphasia. The purpose of this study was to compare the influence of a novel AAC and traditional restorative (TR) intervention on linguistic recovery and neural reorganization. Results suggest that a novel, personalized AAC intervention for people with aphasia can indeed aid in language recovery and neuroplasticity. When compared to traditional restorative intervention, people with chronic aphasia (> 12 months post-stroke) who received AAC treatment demonstrated a greater reduction in aphasia severity and improvement on standard dissension measures. This session will summarize the study and the clinical implications of these findings.