Power Words from PrAACtical Friends

Teaching core vocabulary is the best way to pack a lot of power into an AAC system. As some of you know, we post things to the PrAACtical AAC Facebook Page a few times/day. Recently, we shared a link to a core word board from the I Can Newsletter folks that was posted on Boardmaker Achieve. We asked for suggestions for what you could say with those words. Here’s are some great ideas from our prAACtical friends:

• Come again: Love that this can be used in a literal sense, but also as a snarky comment
• Get help
• Go away: Language learning and self-advocacy – this one’s a two-fer!
• Your bad
• Stop it.
• Ready, go!
• Go get it.
• I like it.
• I want all done!
• I want more
• You do/did it.
• You stop it.
• You want it.
• What you want? We’ll take any opportunity to model questions and teach how to form them
• You give that.
• Do you see it? Love this both because it teaches the an interrogative form and also because it is partner-focused. Both play an important role in maintaining social connections.
• I want more help.
• What do you want?
• Help, I want your drink!
• I like your drink more.
• I want (to) get (to) go away.
• I(m) ready (to) help you.
• See, you do like it more.
• Do you want this good drink?
• I give you this drink again.
• Come see what I did: Love the idea of teaching people who use AAC to show off, a normal part of language development that we sometimes overlook.
• I want different drink: Great opportunity for concept development!
• What you do that again, you big bad it! This one makes us laugh. Why motivate kids with food or special toys, when you can make the interaction itself something goofy and enjoyable? Life is too short not to have fun in therapy.

Special thanks to Barb, Cristina, Lauren, Honorat, Rachel, Lisa, Kim, Glenwood,Liz, Anne, and others for participating and sparking our imaginations.