You’ll find a variety of blog posts aimed at parents, speech therapists, and students, with topics ranging from nonspeaking children and getting started with AAC, modeling AAC and how to support children wtih complex communication needs learning how to communicate with AAC.
Posted in: Core Words
When we’re teaching vocabulary to children with complex communication needs, we need to be highly strategic about the words we’re choosing. I’m going to break down exactly how I figure out what words to start targeting for children using AAC.
One of the most common problems I see in my practice is that kids are stuck using carrier phrases like "I want…" or “I see…” We call these “carrier phrases” because you simply rotate different words into the rote phrase. What’s the solution? Core words.
In my last post, I described the difference between core words and fringe words, and talked about the benefits of teaching core vocabulary. This is the fastest way to help a child start communicating more effectively.
I started seeing a child a few weeks ago who was stuck in the “I want” phrase, unable to say anything else. Mom was trying to teach her basic verbs (e.g. “eating, running, drinking,”) but she was adding the “I want” phrase to EVERYTHING so that when she was putting words together and it didn't always make sense.
When children reach a plateau like this, and are unable to put words together into phrases or sentences, this is always when I start thinking CORE WORDS.