Activity Ideas

There are many ways to teach augmentative communication skills; looking at the video and information on “Partner Strategies” will give you a place to start. The main strategies we use are “Modelling” and focusing on “Core Vocabulary.”

“Core Vocabulary” refers to a small set of words that can be used in different activities – teaching your child these words can help them communicate more often and for different reasons. Your child may benefit from using core vocabulary as a single message, on a paper board or by using core vocabulary on their AAC device. Studies have shown that core vocabulary words are words used most often by people of all ages, and across all cultures. These are the words we can use our whole lives.

There are two main approaches to teaching core vocabulary: “Word of the Week” (or month) and “Activity Based”. It is too overwhelming for children and caregivers to try to teach many new core vocabulary words all of the time, so breaking it down into steps while you learn the core vocabulary is a good idea. You can also use a combined approach – focus on one key word, but model other words in your child’s preferred activities. You may want to try both approaches and see which one is easiest for you to implement!

Click on the following buttons for some ideas on how to teach your child core vocabulary!