We were thrilled to collaborate with Positive Partnerships to create a series of videos showing young people with complex communication needs using their AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) systems out and about. They’re chatting at home, school, and out in their communities.

These videos are available under Creative Commons, so can be shared and used for training in your workshops or at your events with appropriate citation.

Below are a few of the videos. CLICK HERE to view all 18 videos.

We hope these videos highlight how a robust communication system can provide your young person with autonomy, belonging, connection and opportunity!

Copyright Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment 2008 to present, unless otherwise indicated. This material was downloaded from the Positive Partnerships website (https://www.positivepartnerships.com.au) on 10 March 2022 and was not modified. The material is licensed under CC BY 4.0. The Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Autism Spectrum Australia and Positive Partnerships do not endorse any product or service that uses this material, make any representations as to the quality of such products or services, or is affiliated with or sponsors the provider.

In 2020, Two Way Street client Reagan started a small courier business. Affectionately known as ‘Ray’ amongst friends and family, Reagan’s business was cleverly named ‘DeliveRay’. Reagan is a fun-loving young man who is a big fan of long walks, chilling out watching YouTube and visiting the RSPCA with his Day Options program. Reagan communicates using body language, vocalisations, some key word sign and the Proloquo2Go application on an iPad. Proloquo2Go is a symbol based Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app for  iOS devices. You can find out more about Proloquo2Go via the Assistiveware website here. 

The idea for Reagan’s business started when Reagan’s family heard about the Community Living Project (CLP). A family friend had recently started a micro enterprise business with support from CLP. Reagan, his family, a team of volunteers and the Community Living Project met, created goals and a business plan. From there, a board member gave the project to his students, using their design brief to create a business logo. Following this, the family hired Henry, a Personal Assistant (PA). Henry went shopping for a uniform with Reagan and had an embroidery studio sew the logo on their shirts. Reagan’s mum created a flyer and visual supports for Reagan to assist with his new routine. Reagan’s long-term support worker Indianna also assisted in this process.

Reagan and his PA deliver goods every Friday to local businesses. This started with a hot cross bun delivery to a workplace and expanded from there. Reagan communicates using his iPad with Proloquo2Go, to interact with the community and form relationships with clients. Reagan greets staff/customers, introduces Henry (PA) and himself and shares information about DeliveRay’s Services by means of words and messages stored on his communication device. The flow on effect of this, has meant Reagan now greets people with greater independence during social outings. Henry has reported that people have been in awe of Reagan’s use of AAC and how positive it has been in sharing other forms of communication with people. Reagan recently commented that working with support worker Henry makes him feel “happy” and that his favourite part is saying “good morning” to his customers.

Reagan’s mum Chrissa and dad Garry recently shared that “Reagan is now at the stage where he eagerly gets up on a Friday, with a sense of purpose, puts on his uniform, then checks his morning schedule and marks off what he needs for work.  His PA reports back how super positive Reagan is during his interactions with the community and how proficient he is becoming using Proloquo2Go. As Reagan delivers on a Friday, every afternoon ends with Reagan and Henry having lunch together…usually at a pub. We love that Reagan and Henry have built a strong relationship and work well as a team and Reagan has work goals, creating a positive place in our community. Henry has also demonstrated a strong willingness to learn how to use Proloquo2Go and support Reagan”.

In 2021, Reagan and his family relocated meaning DeliveRay is still operating but on a smaller scale. Reagan and his team are now exploring new opportunities for his business. Well done to Reagan and his fantastic team, you are paving the way for people who use AAC in our community! 

As it’s AAC Awareness month, we thought it was time for me to take a wander down and revise “Word on the Street”.  My word is “Connection” I thought that would be easy! But nothing has jumped out at me, that was until the morning after our recent KYDX expo! I hope you all managed to connect with our Two Way Street booth, it was kind’a hard to miss our brightly decorated booth!

For those of you who have known me a long time, you’ll know that I prefer to use my natural speech. I guess it’s because I grew up before the era of communication devices. In fact, many of my childhood memories are of connecting with speech therapy, and learning how to sound letters such as “T” and “t” along with “Sss”! Having a device didn’t even occur to my parents, or if it did, I wasn’t aware of it – my natural speech has just been my default connection.

However, using my natural speech has made life a little tricky, especially when it came to employment.  I got my first communication device in 2010, as part of a pilot program. It was also where I first connected with the fabulous Two Way Street director, Janelle.

I have to confess that remembering to use the iPad, to speak for me was difficult to change the default pattern of using my natural speech.  I would make my presentation with it, but the minute they were done, I reverted to my natural ways! I hadn’t yet made the connection that using my iPad for everyday communication might help with everyday connections with people.

One of my roles at Two Way Street, is as a Communication Access Consultant and Trainer.  Communication Access is somewhat new to SA, and aside from the fact that I am paid for that particular role, my personal reason for being a Communication Access Consultant is to make life a little easier for others in our AAC Community.

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To be honest with you, there are days when having a communication disability is the absolute pits! I go from having a valued and respected role within society to being called a “good-girl” by a 25-year-old in a blink of an eye!  But what is important is that we don’t give up on being out there, connecting with people and making a difference.

Written by: Margie Charlesworth

A sense of belonging is at the heart of inclusion.  At Two Way Street, we believe this to be true.  Inclusion is about more than a place, about more than just being in the same room as your peers.  Inclusion is about a sense of belonging, about not only being accepted but about being valued and appreciated for who you are.

For students with complex communication needs, this also means being valued and appreciated for how they communicate, and that their voices are heard just as clearly as those of their peers.  So how do we develop a sense of belonging for students with complex communication needs in inclusive schools?

To start with, we need to ensure that students with complex communication needs are able to connect with their peers and educators.  When students with disability start school, there is often a lot of focus on how they will access the curriculum.  But what is arguably more important is ensuring that from the outset, students with complex communication needs are able to form connections within the school community, and build and maintain relationships as they progress through their grades.

Some simple strategies to assist with building connections may include:

• Adding the names of educators and peers into the student’s communication system (before they start school if possible) – this can be added as a link in the ‘people’ pages
• Setting up a ‘quick chat’ page, with messages directed to peers (such as, “can I play?”), so that AAC users can quickly and easily initiate conversations and play with their peers
• Providing educators and other adults within the school community with strategies that will support them to successfully interact with the child (e.g., providing the student additional processing time when needed, allowing ‘wait time’ when interacting with the student, talking to the student the same way they talk to their same age peers)
• For educators, from the first day of school, facilitating discussions about the different ways that people communicate and highlighting that everyone communicates in lots of different ways (e.g., nodding and shaking your head, pointing, writing this down, smiling)
• For parents, sending a letter to the parents of students in your child’s class, to provide a simple explanation about how your child communicates; this allows parents to answer any questions that their children may have at home with simple, factual information

An important component of belonging is the sense that you are accepted and valued by your community.  For students with complex communication needs, the presence of AAC within the environment sends the message that their language is important, and valued within the school community.  As a speech pathologist working in schools, I find that this works best when symbolic language, perhaps in the form of an aided language display (ALD), is embedded into classroom routines and activities that already exist.  This way, AAC becomes an enhancing component of existing activities, rather than an additional activity that educators have to fit into their day.  Here are just some examples of how AAC can be embedded into the school community (all of these examples are from inclusive kindergartens or schools in South Australia).

Embedding AAC tools within the environment is an important starting point in developing a sense of belonging for students with complex communication needs.  The next step is to support other people in the environment to use the communication tools during interactions.  This should include everyone from the teachers, teacher aides, school administration staff, and perhaps most importantly, peers.  When other people use a child’s communication system (or other AAC tools) while interacting with them, it implies to the student with complex communication needs that how they communicate is important, that their voice is valued, and that they belong.

Running a formal peer training session can be a useful strategy in supporting students to develop familiarity with their peer’s communication system, and building their confidence in interacting with their peer.  It is important to note that peer training sessions should be developed and run in collaboration with the student with complex communication needs and their family.

Activities in peer training sessions can include:

• A whole class discussion about all the different ways that people communicate
• Watching a video featuring a Person using AAC, such as:
  • For kindergarten / junior primary school students: Play School: Callaghan Visits the Library https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J64r9MBRt4g 
  • For upper primary / high school students: Lost Voice Guy at the Britain’s Got Talent Finals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2YJYVYYhfI 
• Small group activities, which may include:
  • Playing a group game while using an aided language display (e.g. Simon Says).  Students can practice a specific communication skill, such as modelling key words while giving instructions or providing partner-assisted scanning to allow another student to communicate  a message.
  • Going on a ‘word hunt’, where students have to find specific words / messages in (a copy of) their peer’s communication book or device.  The messages that are included in the ‘word hunt’ should be relevant and useful in supporting peer interactions (e.g. ‘greeting and manners’ words, sharing an opinion).  Once they have completed the word hunt, the students can also just explore the system to find other words then try using the words they have found in role plays or conversation.
  • Designing a communication board for the school environment.  This assists students to understand that communication happens all the time, and that they can be advocates for communication accessibility at their school.  A relevant and often highly motivating activity is for students to design a communication board for their school playground.

When students feel as though they belong, they feel accepted and valued by their community.  It is therefore the shared responsibility of individuals within a particular community to embrace each and every child for who they are, and to recognise their own unique strengths.  For students with complex communication needs, this also means valuing how they communicate, by building a school community that understands and embraces AAC.  This will allow students with complex communication needs to be who they really are; to belong, in their school communities.  Because, to quote AAC user Sara Pyska, author of Inside My Outside,

“the feeling of being yourself with someone is priceless”.

To download free Aided Language Displays visit  https://twowaystreet.com.au/online-learning-and-products/ 

For more examples of children who use AAC in inclusive settings, visit https://vimeo.com/showcase/8678812 

For more information about building peer relationships for for beginning communicators in inclusive primary school settings, visit https://spaace.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Building-Peer-Relationships-2021.pdf 

Let’s find more of those autonomy marbles…

The Merriam Webster Online Dictionary defines autonomy as:

 the state of existing or acting separately from others. 

Autonomy is one of the key psychological needs that drives human behaviour – it both empowers and motivates us. Within a society, we can’t always be autonomous. We are supposed to follow or comply with rules and social norms at least some of the time. Some of us seek more autonomy and choose activities that are less structured, some may even choose to resist or protest. Others may be happy to comply, or prefer to go along with someone else’s agenda some of the time. Governments the world over allow their citizens different levels of autonomy and communities, schools, workplaces and families balance autonomy and compliance all of the time. Though it is important that we comply with rules and social standards in many ways, it is autonomy that lays the foundation for motivation, engagement, and self determination. Think about the type of person you are and how often you exert your autonomy or comply with rules or standards throughout your daily life.

Now think about the person you know who has CCN (complex communication needs).

Autonomous communication is crucial to our overall autonomy. Gayle Porter (2018) describes communication autonomy as communicating according to our own intentions or, put more simply, the individual is able to say what I want to say, to whoever I want to say it to, whenever I want to say it, however I choose to say it. Consider how many times a day a person with fluent verbal speech is able to say what they are thinking, and the variety of those messages throughout our day as they interact with others.

Now think about the person you know who has CCN.

Sometimes our communication is less autonomous, and takes the form of answering questions posed by others (such as when we visit the doctor or dentist), other choosing from a list of options that someone else has prepared (eg. menu items at a restaurant, or which movie we will see at the cinema). What percentage of your daily communication would you say is like this? For me it’s easily less than about 5%.  

Now think about the person you know who has CCN. 

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Most of us are okay with these less autonomous interactions because they are such a small percentage of our messages.  As well, we often pair a compliant message with an autonomous one to make sure we maintain control of what happens to us. Here are some examples:

• Doctor:  Where does it hurt? 
• Patient: Well on my foot mostly but also my leg gets really itchy. But it only happens sometimes. 

• Waiter – What can I get for you?
• Diner: Does the salad have eggs in it? 
• Waiter: Yes it does.
• Diner: Ok, I’ll have the stir fry instead. 

• Friend: Do you want to go for a coffee?
• You: Sure. When?
• Friend: This Afternoon. What time suits you?
• You: Well, I have to go for a run first, so is 4pm OK”

 Now think about the person you know who has CCN. 

Being able to say what we are thinking helps us feel calm and safe that we can influence what happens to us. Sometimes other people might try to predict what we are going to say and jump in before us. While this could be fun or beneficial if we are playing charades, or have just taken a bite of food,  it is mostly frustrating and disempowering.

Now think about the person you know who has CCN.

Erin Sheldon (2019) described autonomy and compliance as either sides of a balance scale. She explained that whenever we are being compliant, we are not being autonomous and vice versa. Adding to one, takes away from the other. We are not autonomous when we comply with rules, or even when we have to choose from the menu at a restaurant. Of course we have a choice, but we must choose something that the restaurant has made available to choose.

In terms of building communication autonomy, I like to think of the autonomy and compliance scales as having a bucket on each side and throughout the day we drop marbles into each bucket.

Though all of us collect compliance marbles throughout the day, we also gather a big pile of autonomy marbles to balance them out.

Written by: Janelle Sampson

References:

Porter, G. PODD Communication Books Introductory workshop manual © 2018

Erin Sheldon Communication for choice and control – July 11, 2019 in goodthingsinlife.org

It is great to see that more community places are coming on board with AAC and accessible communication. Maybe you’ve seen some of those cool communication boards in your local playground like the one below that we developed for the City of Playford Fremont Park Playground, in South Australia. Don’t forget though that Communication is a Two Way Street. A playground board is a wonderful tool for accessibility, but it’s only good if it gets used. Otherwise it’s just a nice decoration. We decided to put together some extra information and tips to make playground boards even better! What are they?

• An activity (ie. playground) specific communication board. The playground board has been designed to include a range of words and messages that are ‘predictable’ in a playground setting.
• A representation of the way that some people in our world communicate. This shows that those who created the playground acknowledge and respect this form of communication. It also creates awareness of this form of communication and may prompt people to learn more about the use of symbol-based communication boards.
• An added prop to enhance interaction for others who might also need it, such as young toddlers.

Who are they for?

• Playground boards were designed to be used by a child/person who is not able to successfully communicate their message with speech. This might be someone with a communication disability, a small child or someone who does not speak the same language as their peers.

• Playground boards can also be used by anyone at the playground and can be part of the game or just a different way to say things.

How to use them: The idea of the boards is that a child/person might point to the symbols to ask for, talk about, or direct activities. Below are some examples of the kinds of things you could say by pointing to the symbols on the playground board. Then their friend or parent, could use the symbols to answer them or take a turn about something else. It’s just like talking with symbols. An important note is that if you do have verbal speech, you can still talk while pointing to the symbols. Using the symbols just helps to get the message across clearly, or can be an alternative to speech if someone has a communication disability. If your child can’t independently go over to the board and point to the symbols, you might like to try some of these ideas:

• Point to (and/or read out) the messages and ask them to tell you ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when you get to the one they want to say. After they choose one, ask if they are done or want to add another word, otherwise you might only get half of the message.
• To speed things up, you might point to a column at a time first, then the individual messages. Watch this video to learn more about scanning the communication board.
• Maybe it would help if you take a photo of the board so that you can carry it around with you at the playground. That way you have it handy all of the time.
• If you are going back again, then print a copy of the photo, or download a copy of the playground board from the playground website if it’s available.
• If your child uses their own communication book or device, you could add some of the vocabulary from this board if you don’t already have it, or even make a page for this playground if you visit regularly. This is a great option because then you can talk about the playground before and after you go there too! It’s always great to tell others about the fun you’ve had or what you’re going to do first when you get there.

Extra Tips:

• Use the board yourself to talk to your child.  Doing this will help them learn how it can be used for lots of different messages (see examples below). It also shows them that it’s a good way to talk about things and to help them learn what all of those symbols mean.
• Don’t make them use the board if you already know what they are saying. This board is designed to enhance communication, not make them tell you something you already know.
• Encourage other children to use it with your child. There is nothing more motivating than seeing other children valuing and using something that you need to use. Your child will likely want to copy the messages they see others saying, or at least feel like they are not the only one using this board.
• The other benefit of encouraging other children to use the board is that they will always come up with more interesting messages. Children are not only good models for physical activity, but also for fun and interesting things to say.
• If your child is just beginning to use communication symbols, just show them 1 or 2 word messages rather than having to point to all of the words in a sentence.

Example messages: The playground board has a range of words and messages so that your child can say some of the predictable things they may be thinking when they are at the playground. Below are some examples of things they might be able to say or that you could show them how to say. Interaction is not just about asking for something. Lots of times children can do that just by pointing to the place in the playground. This board also gives them the opportunity to say other types of messages such as those listed below in orange.  Under each message type, are some example messages. The blue text shows words that you might find on a playground board such as the one in the photograph. We’ve also created 2 levels (Beginner and More Advanced) depending on the complexity of language you need to use.

Beginner (point to 1 or both of the symbols for the words in blue) then just say the other words.	More advanced You can show them how to combine words on the board. (point to the symbols for the words in blue) then just say the other words.
Talk about what they did or want to do
I bounced on the trampoline	I bounced on the trampoline
I want to go on the slide	I want to go on the slide
We had a BBQ.	We (I/me and you) had a BBQ.
Can you play the music	Can you play the music
Ask a parent or friend to watch them
I (me) can do it (watch me)	I can do it.
Can you see me? (Look! )	Can you see me? (Look!)
Let’s go basketball.	Let’s (you, me) go basketball.
I want you to look/(see).	I want you to look/(see).
Ask a question about something
Where is the slide?	Where is the slide?
What do I do on this?	What do I do on this?
Uh-oh. I don’t know how to climb up.	Uh-oh. I don’t know how to climb up.
Can you help?	Can you help?

Direct others
Can you bounce me?	Can you bounce me?
Stop the swing. I don’t like it.	Stop the swing. I don’t like it.
Can you help me go to the pond?	Can you help me go to the pond?
Can you push me (go) fast.	Can you push me (go) fast.
Tell you what they think
I like it. It’s fun.	I like it. It’s fun.
I don’t like (it) the trampoline. It’s scary.	I don’t like (it) the trampoline. It’s scary.
The music is too loud. I don’t like it.	The music is too loud. I don’t like it. Stop.
Enhance the activity
Go faster	Go faster
More climbing	More climbing
My turn again (more)	My (me)  turn again (more)
Stop. Go. Stop. Go.	Stop. Go. Stop. Go.
Interact with others
Do you want a turn?	Do you want a turn?
I’ll help you.	I’ll help you.
Let’s play.	Let’s (You me) play.
Where are you going?	Where are you going?
Talk about problems
Uh-oh. The boy fell over. (point to boy).	Uh-oh. The boy fell (fall) over. (point to boy).
I’m not finished. I don’t want to go.	I’m not finished. I don’t want to go.
I’m tired. Something’s wrong. Rest.	I’m tired. Something’s wrong. I want a rest/break.

And many more…. Are there any other messages that you can think of? Please remember these are just example messages and examples of the symbols you can use to say them. It’s important to use messages that are meaningful and useful to your own situation.

Make sure it’s not all work, no play!

So that everyone can participate, we’ve made an aided language display to go with our now most frequent daily activity. You can download it for free at the end of this post.

There are already lots of visual supports available for the sequence of hand washing, and we’ve been using the World Health Organisation’s How To HandWash Poster but many people are adapting this. It’s impossible to list all of the options here so pick your favourite or type ‘hand washing poster’ into your browser and find one that best suits your needs. 

Watch this video for the washing hands procedure in full.

Our aided language display is designed to go alongside a hand washing poster so that you can talk about it before, after and during the process. We’ve added some song choice buttons so that you can opt to sing Happy Birthday or add in a couple of your own favourite songs before you laminate the board. 

Some example phrases might be:

Your turn / My turn to wash

Uh-oh – do it again

Uh-oh – slow down. Wash the germs away.

Uh-oh. More soap.

Great washing. Time to dry.

Not clean yet. Keep going.

Let’s wash and sing Happy Birthday (or insert different song).

We recommend laminating the board and implementing routine cleaning processes as well when using the board. It might seem easier not to have one that you have to keep clean, but it’s only easier if you can speak and understand spoken language!

Click here to download our free washing your hands aided language display

We also recommend reading our Talking to kids about COVID-19 resource and blog post.

“Kids worry more when they’re kept in the dark”

Rachel Ehmke, Child Mind Institute

This blog post was written in March 2020.

With the outbreak and ongoing uncertainty of the Coronavirus/COVID-19, we feel it is important to provide resources and ideas to ensure those who have communication challenges also get the information they need.

Please download our aided language display (available at the end of this article) designed specifically to support these conversations. Please note that this is a general resource and may need to be personalised or modified to suit your child/person’s vocabulary and/or layout of their system. You may need to reduce the number of items, program the vocabulary onto their device, or use partner assisted scanning rather than pointing. Please talk to your speech pathologist or AAC specialist if you have questions in relation to this process. 

Give the facts: 

The recommendations from experts is to buffer children from the ongoing news feed about Coronavirus, but it’s also important to give them the facts at a level that suits their age and understanding. 

With the changing face of the virus, we can’t make a display that covers all of the facts. We suggest that you stay updated with credible news sites and use your child/person’s system to talk about additional facts that are not on our display. For example, this might be a good time to explore countries of the world, and talk about them. If you don’t have them, maybe add them to your system or onto the places list if using PODD.

 

Talk about what you can do:

“ Teaching kids what they can do to keep themselves and others safe is a positive way to make them feel empowered”

ABC News

We’ve provided vocabulary to talk about the virus but more importantly, the recommendation from experts is to talk to your children about what you are doing to stay safe.

For example (words in bold are what you would model on your AAC system whilst speaking the whole phrase):

• You and me (we) wash hands
• Stay away from sick people
• Try not to touch our face 
• Stay home
• You and me (we) have supplies if we need to stay home
• Go to doctor if you and me (we) get sick
• Doctors making medicine for sick people soon

 

Check in and keep talking

 Take an opportunity of time to talk about the virus with your child/person who uses AAC. By using the display provided and also their own system, you can help to show them the words they might need to use to ask questions or tell you things that they already know about it. 

You might also model to them questions they might be thinking about.

For example:

• What is COVID-19?
• Who gets sick?
• How do you get sick/COVID-19?
• What can we do?
• What about (person)? – If you think they might be worried about others. 
• What if you and me (we) get sick?

It’s not something you need to talk about constantly, but it is important to update when needed or check in occasionally. Remember, the intention is not to scare your child/person into panic, but it is to acknowledge that they are likely hearing people talk about this virus. Maybe on the radio, people at school (students or staff), or within your home. Just because you are not talking to them, it doesn’t mean they are not hearing things. The power and control for them (and for all of us) is in asking questions and talking about it.

Through conversation we learn more and gain the information we need to feel in control. 

Download our free COVID-19 aided language display

There are 2 pages to the ALD as it is intended to be a double-sided board. Printing each page and laminating them together is the most robust method for regular use.

Suggestions and information in this blog post are based on the following website information:

• https://childmind.org/article/talking-to-kids-about-the-coronavirus/
• https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-04/how-to-talk-to-children-about-coronavirus/12020324

Last year (or was it the year before), I posted some ‘conversation placemats’ to encourage conversations about starting back at school. It’s been on my mind again lately as my daughter shows signs of excitement, nervousness, and trepidation about her return to school.

Strong feelings can be related to not knowing (or in some cases knowing and remembering) what to expect. They can also depend on  their age, how school ended last year, and pretty much any random contributors at that moment. At our place, we talk a lot about the same things and sometimes different things. The key point is…we talk a lot. 

For us parents, school means back to the packing lunch, washing uniforms and signing notes routine, but for kids, the thought processes are not always so predictable or rational.   As always when it comes to kids, we really don’t know, even when we think we know. Whether your child is overly excited, overly nervous, or overly disinterested, chances are they are overly something. The best option is to listen and talk with them.

To make this easier if you have kids who use AAC systems, we’ve made some example boards to help you start the conversation, and to give your child some vocabulary for the things they might want to say. 

You can print and use them as they are, or copy the vocabulary to your child’s device. However you choose to do it, be sure to give them the following:

• Opportunities to learn the  words they might need to talk about what they are thinking, feeling and doing as they start  back at school, 
• Opportunities to ask questions or clarify things, and to ask you to ‘tell me more or ‘tell me again’,
• Opportunities to say the same things over and over if they are excited or nervous, or just want to practice. Or to ask you to say the same things over and over if they want to hear things multiple times, and
• Opportunities to tell you things that you don’t already know. Don’t assume you know, let them tell you. Don’t steal their turns, let them share their own news. 

Before I wrote this post, I had a look at a few websites talking about the transition back to school. One was a youtube clip where children say how they feel going back to school  – watch it to give you some perspective if you need it, I counted the most hits on “nervous”. 

Also, this informative Beyond Blue site that gives suggestions on how to talk to your kids about going back to school. From these and a bit of very current life experience, I created the boards below. Feel free to take these ideas and modify them as you need depending on your child and your family. 

Get talking to your kids about school:

Use the example boards above in combination with your child’s speech, sign and/or augmentative and alternative communication system. We could make you a special board with a lot more vocabulary,  but we think these conversations are a great opportunity to familiarise yourself with your child’s system and add in any extra vocabulary they might need for school.  If you find you are missing a lot of words, have a chat to your speech pathologist or AAC support person to problem solve ideas. 

You can talk about any or all of the following, and add words that your child might need to talk about things that are important to them. 

• What’s going to happen? – you will probably need to talk about this multiple times. Try to use the AAC system as often as possible and give your child time to react or take a turn after each point. Watch their responses if they are not yet able to use a lot of words for themselves. 
• The school day routine – include things like time they need to wake up, whether you will be rushed and busy or have plenty of time, what other things you need to do, siblings needs and roles, uniform requirements, lunch preferences, important things to pack, what time you need to get to school, etc. You will know what things are important to your child, or if not, watch them as you talk about things and this will help you to know what they pay the most attention to. 
• How will you get to school each day? Talk about things that are likely to happen and the details of your trip to school, or your morning routine (especially for those who don’t like change). You could even try making a video of the trip or routine, or a video of you talking about it. That will give your child an opportunity to watch this over and over again to gain the reassurance they might need. 
•  Get their clothes ready early and pack the bag – talk about what they need, show them it’s packed so they don’t feel anxious. Don’t forget to talk about how important it is that they take all of their AAC books and devices so they can chat with friends, teachers and ask questions when they learn new things. Also to tell you about their day when they get home. 
• Talk about the things they will likely do at school. Do a pretend day at school, or role play using their AAC system to talk about what’s happening or show them how to say some things during playtimes (eg. “my turn”, “I like it”, “‘what’s that”, or when something happens that they are not ready for (eg. “stop”, “I don’t know” – giving them this vocabulary will give them control and power. This is very important for peace of mind. 
• Some other things to say are things like:
  • I am (feel) proud of you. 
  • I will miss you.
  • You can do it
  • I know you. 
  • Let’s talk when you get home. 
  • I can’t wait to hear about it.
  • I wonder what fun new things you’ll do. 
  • When you get home, let’s have a big cuddle. 

If you are new to your child’s AAC system, this will be a fun challenge to explore it and find the vocabulary you need to say these messages. Remember you don’t have to point to symbols for all of the words, even just the key words is helpful. (eg. “I’m telling you something – it’s going to happen –  home – you – me – cuddle” or even just “cuddle” will do). 

Let your kids tell you their own thoughts about going back to school

These boards are designed for kids to say the things on their mind. Parents can use them to show them ideas for things to say too. 

Remember, these are just ideas. You will get the best ideas about what they want to talk about by giving them time to say what they are thinking, offering ideas if they need them, and watching their response to different ideas and messages during your conversation. Watch and listen – taking the time and giving turns is one of the most important strategies you can use.  

Rating scales are great for all sorts of things. It may take a bit of time to learn to use one but once your child understands how they work, you’ll find it useful for many different things. 

Rating scale

Click here to download the back to school chat boards and rating scale

Start by using it for fun things like how much you like different foods, or what you thought of a book or movie, or how funny was your joke. 

Then your child/person can start to learn how to rate important things like how bad is the pain, how did it make you feel, how did your first day at school go?

We’ve put a basic description in each box but the best thing to do is to add in your own personal words to match what you say in your family eg. some people may use words like ‘rockin’ or ‘spectacular’ others may prefer to use swear words or less-offensive stuff like ‘crap’ etc. We’ll leave that up to you. Have a fun family conversation deciding what words or phrases are best to go in the rating scale. 

Enjoy the start of school and the conversations you’ll have. Good or bad, happy or sad,  it’s the conversations that give us the best connections. Happy chatting…

UPDATED September, 2023.

This post is specifically about PODD (Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display) Communication Books (i.e. the non-electronic paper books) developed by Gayle Porter. Although other systems are also great, the list function in PODD books has been on my mind lately so I thought I’d write about it.

Lists are one of my favourite parts of the PODD. As a certified PODD presenter, I love the part in the workshop where we get to talk about lists and show examples of how they are used for real and meaningful interaction. There is a great video of a young girl talking about her holiday and listing off all of the places they visited on their last holiday. She uses words (names of places) that she didn’t even know before the holiday, and may not use regularly after a few weeks, but they were definitely motivating and relevant at that point in time. Had her mum not added these words to her list while they were on the holiday, she would never have had the opportunity to tell others where she had been – something all of us enjoy when returning from a vacation.

Lists in a PODD communication book are a way to add vocabulary that is not frequently used or pre-planned. When Gayle Porter, the developer of PODD, created the vocabulary within the PODD it was intended as a starting place. Core words along with others  that had been frequently used by others in the process of development were included and less frequent words may have been left off to avoid a book that is double the size. Vocabulary selection in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is an  exercise in prioritisation. The most common words and those that need to be used quickly get the prime position on the front page and then the rest of the vocabulary is prioritised on other pages depending on the speed of navigation. Some words just don’t make the cut in a generic starter PODD especially those with fewer items per page as they have less vocabulary options available.

Never fear though, Gayle added ‘Lists’. Along with blank squares on some of the pages for people to add their own individual priorities, each section of the PODD has access to a list. The lists come in various shapes and sizes, but all of them allow for vocabulary to be added when it is needed. For more information on the Lists in PODD, refer to the Printable book Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display Communication books available on the Direct Access templates CD, or or the 2 day Introductory Workshop manual if you have attended a workshop. Gayle explains it much better than we do. If you don’t have access to these, then ask the person who made or prescribed your PODD for more information.

What I love about lists is the ability to add words in the moment and to talk about things that are specific to an individual, or that others may not know. The girl in the PODD workshop video tells her friend that she went to a place called ‘Seventeen Seventy’ in Qld, Australia. Many people would never guess that is a place name, and even if she had used the numbers page to say 1770, most would probably not make the connection and think it’s a date. When it is used through the pragmatic branch of places, then the ‘Holiday Places’ list, it is much easier to understand. She could also talk about lots of other places she travelled too.

Being interesting to others means we have things to say that others cannot guess or even figure out. Fringe vocabulary is a very important part of our conversations and sharing the information we have learned. Many children learn about new places, things, people and concepts at school, but without those words being added to their communication systems, they will not be able to share with others what they have learned. What is the point of learning something if you can’t tell anyone about it? Who knows when you will need to use the word ‘Rumplestiltskin’, ‘Hogwarts’ or ‘Prince William’ in the context of a conversation? That’s why we learn about these things – to connect that learning with other learning or experiences and talk about them to learn new things, or to share information with others. Imagine someone telling a person who uses AAC that they have just returned from a visit to England. The AAC user might ask “Did you see Prince William?” because they had just heard about him the week before at school. That would be a very appropriate comment to make, but only possible if Prince William was added to the list of famous people.

As discussed in the PODD manual, lists can be words or symbols, and lists can also be sub-categorised. As a general rule, if you are a communication partner and the child/person who uses AAC is experiencing, talking about or showing interest in something and the words are not in their book, that’s the time to add some key words to the lists. The person may not immediately use these words, but it’s important that they know they are there and how to find them (you can do this by modelling their use). It might be 6 months before they are used again, or 6 minutes. But if they are not there, they cannot be said. Remember that a person who uses AAC but is not yet literate, can only say the words that we have provided for them to use. Yes, it might take a while for someone to find a word on their list, but at least they can do it. If we neglect to add the word then even if they are thinking about that word, there is no way for them to say it when they want to. The time it takes you to grab a pen and write the word into the list is far less than the time it will take you to figure out what the person is trying to say at a later date.

You might think that a word is not relevant to someone else and decide it’s not worth adding, but when you do this, you are making decisions for the person. Of course you can try to prioritise the words on the list and put the most likely ones at the top, but remember, it’s not your voice, it’s theirs. Imagine if someone else were filtering your experiences and deciding which ones you could talk about in the future and which ones you could only think about.

So go ahead and fill up your lists. It will make for much more interesting conversations for both the person using the PODD and their communication partner. There are other strategies for expanding vocabulary that we will talk about another time, but for now have a go with your lists and explore diversity in your child/persons conversations.

Remember, communication is how you show your personality. It’s sharing, boasting, questioning, complaining, loving and saying something just because you want to. Everyone should be heard.  Lists and adding new words to any system is the process by which conversation can be personalised for someone who uses AAC, allow them to say the words they are thinking and connect with their people.