What to Consider When Building a Communication Book

In the midst of a technology boom in augmentative alternative communication (AAC), we sometimes overlook the value of good old-fashioned no-tech tools like communication books. Building a communication book might seem intimidating, but just requires a bit of thought and time. The results will greatly benefit you and your students. What is a communication book? A communication book is a form of AAC allowing the user to communicate by pointing or looking at specific sections of various pages. Communication books often contain pictures or picture symbols accompanied by a word or label. To build a communication book using symbol icons, you must have access to picture communication software, such as Boardmaker or SymbolStix. Why build a communication book? You can use visual language supports to aid verbal speech. You can create a customized, comprehensive, low-tech, inexpensive communication system for a complex communicator. You can build books with materials accessible to many speech-language pathologists. How big should it be? The size of your book depends on three things: Number of icons per page (icon field number) Size of icons Number of pages If you want a student to carry this book around independently, consider the student’s size, strength, mobility and other things they carry during the day to determine the most practical size limit. Icon field number When determining how many icons to include per page, consider: The student’s cognitive level. Students with ...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Autism Spectrum Disorder Language Disorders Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs