Approximately one-third of individuals with autism are nonspeaking: They cannot communicate effectively using speech. Some traditional accounts suggest that these individuals cannot talk because they lack the symbolic capacity for language. And yet, recent studies have shown that these individuals' cognitive abilities are vastly underestimated by standardized tests, and that difficulties with motor skills and movement contribute to their difficulty with speech. One consequence of the traditional accounts of nonspeaking autism is that life skills (rather than academic content) tend to be emphasized in schooling. Without access to meaningful academic content, their educational and vocational opportunities are significantly limited. This research addresses feasibility of using educational applications designed for Augmented Reality (AR) head mounted devices (HMDs) for this population. Prior studies suggest that such applications can better accommodate some of the unique characteristics to the target population e.g., their tendency to move constantly as a sensory regulation mechanism and their lack of fine motor skills, than tablet or desktop based applications. However, there is a lack of existing studies that have implemented and evaluated such applications, which is a gap my works seeks to explore.In the first phase of my research, I developed an AR-based educational application called HoloType. The application was developed after extensive consultation with the nonspeaking community (nonspeakers who have learned to communicate by typing, their communication partners, parents, and occupational therapists). The usability of this application was evaluated via a pilot study involving a nonspeaking autistic young adult. Feedback from the user was used to redesign the system to improve its usability. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first study to develop an AR-based educational application in close collaboration with a nonspeaking autistic individual. The next phase involved a more extensive study where the refined version of HoloType was tested on 5 individuals (including the pilot study user). Results show that most participants were able to use the app and their performance on educational tasks such as comprehension and spelling were consistent with their performance doing similar tasks with a human educator. In consultation with a communication partner whose caseload consists of nonspeaking autistic students, I also designed a version of the application that allows both an educator and a student to share a common AR educational experience. Overall, my research suggests good potential for the use of AR HMD-based educational applications for this population. My work also offers best practice design and process recommendations for building and testing AR-based educational apps for this population.