Aalia Patel graduated from the University of Cape Town in 2018, with a Bsc. in speech-language pathology. She is based at the Centre for Autism Research and Education (CARE). Her work at CARE, with children on the spectrum, sparked an interest into the world of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), and she went on to further her studies at the University of Pretoria. She completed her Masters in AAC in 2023.