AAC Vocabulary Selection: Communicating Beyond Requesting
When selecting vocabulary for an emerging Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) user, many individuals first think of words the individual needs to express their wants and needs. On a vocabulary selection inventory, parents may provide an extensive list of their child’s favorite toys and snacks as words to include on their child’s AAC system. While we cannot undermine the importance of words that allow an individual to request, it is essential to consider additional communicative functions (e.g., refusing, commenting, describing, directing actions and attention, asking and answering questions) when selecting vocabulary.
Why is it important to focus on communicative functions beyond requesting?
Think about all the ways in which you use language throughout the day.
Greeting your family upon waking up in the morning
Engaging in small talk about the weather while waiting for your coffee
Yelling, “Wait for me,” as you run for the bus (I’m far too familiar with this one!)
Complimenting your coworker on their new outfit
Describing your vacation to the beach
Asking a friend how they are feeling
Commenting on a bug in your apartment
Negotiating with a potential client at work
Commenting on a book you read with your child
Now imagine sitting down to dinner with your family and only being allowed to use your language to express your wants and needs (i.e., make requests). It’d be a pretty boring dinner if all you could say was, “I want food/beverage” or “I need to use the bathroom.”
We combine words into novel and flexible utterances for a variety of communicative functions on a regular basis. That’s the beauty of language! It is imperative to provide our AAC users with vocabulary that allows and empowers them to do the same!
What type of words allow a child to communicate for a variety of communicative functions?
Core vocabulary! Core vocabulary words are a set of 200-400 high-frequency words that are consistent across speaker, age, and topic. They can be used across contexts and consist of varied parts of speech (e.g., pronouns, prepositions, determiners, adverbs, etc.). They account for about 80% of the words we say on a daily basis.
Examples of core vocabulary words include “Go,” “It", “Turn,” “Down,” “In,” and “My.” Let’s think about the word “turn.” It can be used to direct actions (e.g., “Turn the page,” “Turn on the water”), comment (e.g., “My turn,”), and describe actions occurring in one’s immediate environment (e.g., He turned around.”). All core vocabulary words can be used for many communication functions, which is why they are so powerful to include on an AAC system.
On the contrary, words like “doll” or “baseball,” are primarily used to make requests. Words used for requests are considered fringe vocabulary, or words specific to an individual or context. Fringe vocabulary are often nouns and therefore, it is difficult to combine them into multi-word utterances. Imagine making a full sentence with a bunch of nouns. It’s not possible!
How do we support kids in using their AAC System for communicative functions beyond requesting?
Aided Language Input: We teach kids how to use their AAC system by using their AAC system! Aided language stimulation is a communication strategy in which a communication partner uses a communicator’s AAC system as they interact with the communicator verbally. Also referred to as aided language input or modeling, aided language stimulation is how we teach kids to use their AAC system. If we want to teach children how to use their AAC system for a variety of communicative functions, we need to use their device for a variety of communication functions. Some examples include:
Commenting on the food you’re both eating: “I like it,” “Yum!”
Directing attention toward an item of interest: “Look at that!”
Directing action with a motivating toy: “Let’s make it go!”
Follow your child’s lead: What you may find motivating and exciting may not be the same as what your child finds motivating and exciting! Kids learn best when we follow their lead and immerse ourselves in what they are playing with. If a child is motivated by sensory play (e.g., light-up toys, koosh balls, swing, etc.), let’s model use of their AAC system with the sensory toys they find most fun. If your child is a pro at requesting these toys, brainstorm ways you can use each toy to model a different communicative function. If you’re playing with a sensory swing, you can model “Go,” “Stop,” “Fast,” and “Slow” to direct actions or “Like” to comment.
Expectations: It’s important to remember that when we model AAC system use, we do so without an expectation for the child to subsequently imitate what we modeled. It takes time for an individual to learn how to use their speech-generating device, mod-tech system, or low-tech system for functions beyond requesting. We should model without expectation of an immediate response and practice patience.
So this leaves us with one more important question:
How can we start to select vocabulary that encourages a child to use their AAC system for the aforementioned functions?
Perhaps it all starts by reframing the vocabulary selection process. Instead of focusing on a child’s favorite toys or foods, let’s focus on words that empower a child to communicate for more than just a request. What if we modify common vocabulary inventories to be based on communicative function rather than favorites? More to come on this soon!
