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ACTIVITIES, PAGES AND SPELLING IN AAC

Presenter
Teri Madak M.A., C.C.C.slp
National Manager AAC Services
Prentke Romich Company
1022 Heyl Road
Wooster, OH 44691
Phone: (800)262-1984 ext.440
Website: www.prentrom.com

In this session, participants will learn the difference between core and fringe vocabulary, and the role and value of each in communication. The three options for providing fringe vocabulary in PRC communication devices will be presented, followed by ideas on when to implement each of these options.

If Novel Use of Language is Our Goal

Letters
Sentences
Phrases and Words

• Sentences

• Phrases

• Words

• Letters

Core Vocabulary Development

"Core"

and

"Fringe"

Vocabulary
Picture Producers

• Cake
• School
• Hat
• World
• Glass

Non-Picture Producers

• Thank you
• You
• When
• Be
• Clean
• More
• About
• This
• And
• Not

Reference: 106 Most Frequently Used Words by Pam Elder, 1992

Vocabulary Classes

Benedict (1979) reported on the first 50 words of eight English-speaking children, noting that 61% were nominals, 19% action words, 10% modifiers, and 10% personal-social words.

Marvin, Beukelman, and Bilyeu (1994) studied vocabulary in two groups of pre-school children. They found 80% were content words, 20% structure words. Content included nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs; Structure included pronouns, auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, and prepositions.A Profile Chart of Developmental stages of sentence structure is available from Crystal, Fletcher, Garman, 1975.

Manual Communication Boards
Organization Strategies

CORE

• Continuous access
• Easy accessibility
• Static placement

FRINGE

• Activities
• Spelling
• Pages

Core Vocabulary
Activities

• Specific vocabulary used in conjunction with Core Vocabulary
• Dynamic versus static
• Permanent versus temporary
• Advantages:
• Novel opportunities can occur
• Have access to Core Vocabulary
• Can remain open and available throughout the Activity
• Disadvantage:
• Focus on specific event vocabulary may be more difficult

Flip and Talk(tm)

Pages

• Used when focus is placed on one specific event, i.e., ordering lunch
• Advantages:
• Teach new vocabulary
• Quick way to do an Activity
• Allows all the vocabulary pertaining to that event to be in one location
• Disadvantages:
• No access to core
• May need assistance in and out of the Page
• No novel opportunities in that event

Solutions to Improve
Page Applications

• Do as much in the Activity Area as possible
• Organize your Pages around a master Page
• Put some Core Vocabulary on the Page to allow for the user to request to exit or make a novel comment

SpringBoard "Food" Page
Vantage/Vanguard(tm) Page
Spelling

• Small set of symbols
• Novel ability to generate anything you want to say
• Advantages:
• Novel vocabulary available
• Disadvantages:
  • Literacy skills required
  • Too slow for interactive communication

Spelling Options for the Vantage
Word Prediction
Spelling for the Pathfinder(tm)
Word Prediction
Combining All Three
Gets the Best Result!

If you have access to all three when do you use which?

Conclusion

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