Talk Together

Katharine Buckley & Clare Latham

Contents

Installing Talk Together in the Grid 2 ................................................................................................ 3

Background to Talk Together .............................................................................................................. 4

Introduction............................................................................................................................................ 5
About Communication ...................................................................................................................... 5
Ideas rather than perfect sentences .............................................................................................. 5
One step at a time ............................................................................................................................ 6
A team approach ............................................................................................................................... 6
Access to the communication aid ................................................................................................... 6

Fundamentals for Success ................................................................................................................... 7

The communication partner............................................................................................................. 7
Taking the pressure off .................................................................................................................... 7
Using a core vocabulary ................................................................................................................... 8
Using a personalised vocabulary ..................................................................................................... 8

Overview of the Package...................................................................................................................... 9

Introductory – Educational Level P3(ii)-P4 ...................................................................................... 10

Readiness: ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Aims for the communication partner: .......................................................................................... 10
Aims for the child: ........................................................................................................................... 10

Stage 1 – Educational Level P4-P5 ................................................................................................... 12

Readiness: ........................................................................................................................................ 12
Aims for the communication partner: .......................................................................................... 12
Aims for the child: ........................................................................................................................... 12

Stages 2 & 3 – Educational Level P5-P6 .......................................................................................... 15

Readiness: ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Aims for the communication partner: .......................................................................................... 15
Aims for the child: ........................................................................................................................... 15

Stages 4 & 5 – Educational Level P7-Level One ............................................................................. 18

Readiness: ........................................................................................................................................ 18
Aims for the communication partner: .......................................................................................... 18
Aims for the child: ........................................................................................................................... 18

Bibliography.......................................................................................................................................... 21

Appendix - Commonly Asked Questions .......................................................................................... 24

Is there an affect on speech development? ................................................................................ 24
How do I use a communication aid and a communication book? ........................................... 24
Installing Talk Together in the Grid 2

There are 6 grid bundles on the supplied CD, two of which are different versions of Stage 4
& 5 for Switch or Keyguard users.

To open a grid bundle

• Open Grid Explorer.
• Click on Open Grid Bundle.
• Locate the grid bundle file on the CD and click Ok.
You will be asked if you want to add the grids to an existing user, or create a new user.
Create a new user and you are done! Do this for each grid bundle you wish to use.

Talk Together uses PCS symbols, so make sure that you have licensed the symbols in
Licence Manager, which you can find from the Windows Start menu. Otherwise the PCS
symbols will only appear for thirty days trial. After that time, none of the pictures will
appear on the cells and you will have to enter symbols cell by cell. Please get in touch
if you wish to purchase a PCS licence.
Background to Talk Together

Talk Together is a multi-level vocabulary package that has been developed to complement
Clare Latham’s Guide to Developing and Using a Communication Book, and Clare Latham and
Katharine Buckley’s Look2Talk Guide, a Guide to Making and Using a Communication Book
for Eye-pointing communicators. Inevitably, with the move from a paper based system to a
dynamic vocabulary package, those of you who know these guides well will find some things
quite different. However, it is hoped that there is also enough that is similar to enable this
package to be used alongside either of these approaches.

The Look2Talk Guide was based upon our experiences from the Look2Talk project, a two-
year project run by the ACE Centre to support and learn from children who can only use
their eyes to communicate. This package has also drawn on many of the lessons learned
from this project.
Introduction

Talk Together is so called because it is all about talking together using the vocabulary. It is
envisaged that the person(s) supporting the child will be using the vocabulary too, alongside
their speech, so that the child experiences a model of how to use symbols to support their
communication. The name is also a reminder that whenever a child is learning to
communicate through symbols, the communication partner is going to have to work hard to
help the child create and deliver their message(s).

As the child moves through the stages of Talk Together, they will gradually be able to take
more responsibility for their messages being understood by the listener. However, you will
always be talking together.

There is no right or wrong way to develop a child’s vocabulary on a communication aid, and
this is not intended to be a prescriptive model. This approach aims to help you develop a
system of symbols and pictures, step by step, at a speed that suits you both. As you will see
from the pages supplied, there is an emphasis on the importance of learning together in fun,
relaxed activities, where the child is given the opportunity to take some control. You are
encouraged to personalise the system, adding and changing pages and symbols to meet the
needs of your child.

About Communication

All children, whatever their age and difficulties, can communicate. They’ll have worked
extremely hard to develop this communication, however limited it may seem to us.

It’s vital to respect and value these communication strategies. Act on them and praise them.
Try to think of the symbols as adding to the child’s way of communicating.

Have fun learning symbol communication and use it in stress-free situations. Don’t try and
force use of the communication aid before your child is ready. Keep using it yourself as you
play together; have fun learning the pictures and symbols together; be patient; and keep the
device available.

Although communication aids are exciting, providing access to a voice, remember to

continue to develop and support paper-based systems to complement use of the
communication aid.

Ideas rather than perfect sentences

As speakers we’re used to speaking quickly in perfect sentences that the listener
understands. However, when you’re in a foreign country and using a different language,
you’re likely to attempt just key words with lots of clues. For example, shrugging your
shoulders and saying the word ‘station’ to communicate “where is the station?” Using
symbols is a bit like this. Although there are symbols for little words, expecting the child to
select every little word in a spoken sentence would simply take too long. The child would
probably get bored, the listener would stop listening, and communication would fail.
Communicating key ideas is much more motivating for both the learner and the listener and
tends to be much more successful. Speed helps to keep the relaxed rhythm of interaction
flowing.

Having said this, as the child’s communication becomes more sophisticated, stages 4 & 5
offer more opportunity for the inclusion of some of these little words and other grammatical
information, enabling the child to move a little closer to producing spoken language that
contains more grammatical information.

One step at a time

This vocabulary package takes a step-by-step approach to developing communication skills.

At each stage there is a framework giving easy access to core vocabulary alongside topic
words. The number of symbols increases as you move through the stages.

We recognise that not all children will fit neatly into this developmental approach, and that
not all children will be starting at the first stage. The aim is to provide you with an
incremental structure that you can tailor and adapt for an individual.

The tips for each level contain some suggestions about when your child may be ready to use
the vocabulary. However, those who are most familiar with the child will be in the best
position to decide where to start, and when to move on.

A team approach

A team approach involving a wide range of people is invaluable when developing a

communication system. Experience has shown that the most important members of this
team are the child and their parent(s) / guardian(s). If parents / guardians feel confident in
using and developing the vocabulary, the system will be less vulnerable to being lost or
discarded as the child moves through school, and as the professionals involved with the child
change.

Access to the communication aid

As the communication aid becomes part of the child’s day to day communication, they will
need a method by which they can ask to use it. The device could be kept in a specific place
so that the child can point to or go to it, for example, or perhaps they could have a symbol
available on a wheelchair tray or within their communication book that they could use to
request the device. You will need to identify the strategy(s) that works best for your child
and their team.
Fundamentals for Success

Young children learn to speak and use words by the way we, as adults, speak and use them.
Our role in this process is crucial. When introducing an alternative form of communication,
such as symbols, we need to start by learning to use them ourselves. Therefore the first
step in developing a vocabulary on a communication aid is to identify a person (or people)
who is happy to learn to communicate by using symbols on a communication aid while they
speak. We will refer to this person(s) as the child’s ‘communication partner(s)’.

The communication partner

Learning to communicate through a different medium can feel daunting at first. This is a
normal reaction – its much easier for everyone to us the same familiar system, namely
speech! However, we as adults are the more experienced communicators and as such can
adapt more readily. Be brave; have a go; use the communication aid as you chat; make
mistakes; and, above all, have fun. After all, that’s what learning is all about.

As you become familiar with the symbols, you’ll find all sorts of things you can say. Your
child will then see you using the symbols when you’re talking to them and begin to
understand how they could use them too. In short, it’s a journey you will take together, a
journey that will connect you in a special way and bring you closer. As you become
confident in symbol communication, so you’ll inspire others around your child to have a go
and find pleasure in communicating in this way.

Taking the pressure off

When you’re beginning the journey of communicating through a communication aid, it’s
important that you try to relax. Recognise that you will get it wrong sometimes but that if it
really matters to your child, they will let you know. We suggest that as you begin to learn
to use symbol communication together, you use it within fun activities where mistakes are
not vital (sometimes called ‘no fail’ activities).

The key to taking the pressure off communication is to develop the skill of taking time to
‘pause, watch and respond’. For example, in a train play activity you might pause and notice
that the child is looking over at the box of track. You could then say something like "You
want to add more track" while selecting ‘more’ and ‘track’ on the communication aid.

Remember too that we all learn from getting things wrong – all that matters is that you have
a go. Practice does indeed make perfect, at least some of the time! So keep it in your mind
as you play to take the time to pause, watch and respond. You’ll find it a very rewarding
way to play with a child and it will take the pressure off you both.
Using a core vocabulary

A visual language is much more than a simple list of the objects and people in the child’s
environment. It includes describing words (adjectives), actions (verbs) and some little words
(prepositions, for example). Some of these words are so useful in so many different
situations that we’ve called them core vocabulary. Early examples of this core vocabulary
include ‘more’, ‘stop’, ‘like’ and ‘help’.

Talk Together has been designed to give the child easy access to this core vocabulary.
Because these core words are so important, they are easily available from every single page,
ensuring that the child can use them whatever they are talking about. For the introductory
stage and stage 1, they are available on every page. From stage 2 onwards, there are links
to the core words from every page.

The core words have chosen to maximise communication at each stage and to help meet the
learning needs identified within the P-level and Foundation curricula. Having said that, if
any of these words don’t work for you or your child, you should feel comfortable making
changes to them.

The core vocabulary will grow as you move through the stages, giving your child access to
an increasing range of language functions. They’ll gradually be enabled to request, direct
others, describe, give information, question, reason, and so on. The easy access to the core
vocabulary means that they’ll be able to use these language functions whatever they’re
talking about.

Using a personalised vocabulary

Whilst the core vocabulary remains consistent, the vocabulary on the topic pages themselves
should be designed to meet your child’s individual needs and interests. Although the
vocabulary package contains some suggested topic vocabulary, you will, inevitably, want to
make changes and add in your own vocabulary.

To maximise what your child can communicate, try and include different types of words on
the pages. For example, include some describing words (adjectives) and action words
(verbs), as well as the objects and people (nouns).

When introducing new pages it can be helpful to think through the activity, perhaps by
having a quick run through and selecting the key words that you might use. It’s surprising
how much you can say with just a few core and topic symbols.

Be prepared to make changes over time. There is no such thing as a ‘finished’ vocabulary
package!!!

You’re ready to go!

Overview of the Package

Talk Together has six stages:

- Introductory
- Stage 1
- Stages 2 & 3
- Stages 4 & 5

Stages 2 and 3 and stages 4 and 5 are merged together because of the programming time
involved in moving between stages. By merging the stages, you can move from stage 2 to
stage 3, and from stage 4 to stage 5, without having to re-program your topic pages.

As you move between the introductory stage and stage 1, stage 1 and stage 2, and stage 3
and stage 4, you will need to re-program your topic pages. As much as possible, try and
keep the order of the vocabulary similar when you create the page in the new format. This
will help the child to build on their existing knowledge as they start to use the new stages.

The introductory stage, stage 1, stages 2 and 3, and stages 4 and 5, contain a page of tips
relating to the overall stage(s). Then are there additional tips associated with many of the
topic pages. The tips relating to the overall stage(s) are reproduced below.
Introductory – Educational Level P3(ii)-P4

Readiness:
• Your child is an intentional communicator who looks purposefully and with enjoyment
at photographs and pictures.

Aims for the communication partner:

• To personalise or change existing pages and to add new pages as required.
• To become confident in selecting 1 or 2 symbols at a time as you talk to the child
(modelling).
• Put the child in control of play and activities and learn to pause, watch and respond.
• Learn to pause expectantly to encourage the child to join in and use the vocabulary.
• Create opportunities to use the first core vocabulary, 'more' and 'stop'.

Aims for the child:

• To watch you selecting symbols during activities.
• To become familiar with ‘more’ and ‘stop’ in a range of different activities.
• To become familiar with using a communication aid and to enjoy selecting symbols,
particularly in play situations.
• To become familiar with moving between pages within the photo album.

This page set is designed to be used by children within specific activities. The helper is in
charge of the menu and of navigating to and from pages. In time, the child might be given
access to the menu page to choose an activity. However, it is a busy menu page so this
may not suit everyone. The photo album set of pages is designed to introduce the child to
selecting a page and then returning to the original page.

Lots of games and activities pages are provided (which you will no doubt want to change
and personalise). This is because one of the best ways of learning how to use vocabulary
and combine ideas is through play. Some simple choice-making pages have also been
provided. You will need to personalise these with the child's vocabulary and you may want
to add or change pages to reflect the interests of the child. Be prepared to make changes
over time.

'More' and 'stop' are the first core words introduced, and are available on every page. They
are powerful words in that they put the child in control. Use them broadly. For example,
'stop' can be used to stop an activity, change an activity, change the person who is playing,
etc. 'More' can be used to get more of an activity, more of the person's attention, more of a
specific item, etc.

Model the vocabulary by selecting it while you talk to the child. They need to see how it is
done!
During an activity, try to let the child be in control and lead the activity. One way of doing
this is to use the skill of ‘pause, watch and respond’. This means pausing during the activity,
watching what the child does, and then responding to this. For example, in a doll play
activity you might pause and notice that the child is looking over at the bottle. You could
then say something like "You want to give dolly a bottle" while selecting 'bottle'.

Another skill you may want to develop is an ‘expectant pause’. An expectant pause sounds a
bit strange, but it means that you pause and show the child with your body language
(including making eye contact) that you are encouraging them to join in. Be sure to leave
enough time for the child to respond, and always act on any selection they make. If you
really can't act on a selection, do still acknowledge it, but explain why you can't act on it.
Don't worry if they don't select a button; just carry on using the vocabulary yourself.

Children's attention is often fleeting at this stage. Be ready to change the activity quickly.
Having said that, as your child learns to use the 'more' symbol, you may be surprised by how
often they want more of an action e.g. brushing dolly's hair. This repetition is a key part of
learning and try and stick with it, even if you find it a bit boring.

Keep using the vocabulary yourself as you talk together. Remember to chat and not test!
Stage 1 – Educational Level P4-P5

Readiness:
• Your child is an intentional communicator who looks purposefully and with enjoyment
at photographs and pictures.
• Your child has experienced using symbols within play-based activities, including
‘more’ and ‘stop’.

Aims for the communication partner:

• To personalise or change existing pages and to add new pages as required.
• To become confident in selecting 1 or 2 symbols at a time as you talk to the child
(modelling).
• Put the child in control of play and activities and learn to pause, watch and respond.
• Learn to pause expectantly to encourage the child to join in and use the vocabulary.
• Create opportunities to use the core vocabulary.

Aims for the child:

• To watch you selecting symbols during activities.
• To become familiar with using a communication aid and to enjoy selecting symbols,
particularly in play situations.
• To make use of the core vocabulary.
• To begin to link two symbols.
• To become familiar with the message window and the undo and clear buttons within
specific activities (see play saxophone, play piano, playing with letters, and playing
with numbers pages).

This page set is designed to be used by children predominantly within specific activities. The
helper may initially need to take charge of navigating between pages, presenting the child
with a specific activity page. In time, the child could become involved in navigating to and
from pages.

Lots of games and activities pages are provided (which you will no doubt want to change
and personalise). This is because one of the best ways of learning how to use vocabulary
and combine ideas is through play.

You will need to personalise all the pages with the child's vocabulary and you may want to
add or change pages to reflect the interests of the child. Be prepared to make changes over
time.

As you are developing or personalising a page, try to include a couple of actions and
describing words alongside the nouns. It often helps to have a quick run through of an
activity first and then program the page.
The core words are available on every page. In addition to the powerful first core words of
'more' and 'stop', you will find ‘I’*, ‘want’, ‘like’, ‘don’t like’ and ‘help’. Practise using this
vocabulary alongside topic vocabulary so that you feel confident with it. You will find ideas
on the tips pages associated with many of the topic pages.

Model the vocabulary by selecting it while you talk to the child. They need to see how it is
done! For example, you could pause when you hit a difficulty and say something like “I
think you need help” while selecting the ‘help’ symbol. When things are going really well,
you could pause and say something like, “I think you like this” while selecting the ‘like’
symbol.

During an activity, try to let the child be in control and lead the activity. One way of doing
this is to use the skill of ‘pause, watch and respond’. This means pausing during the activity,
watching what the child does, and then responding to this. For example, in a train play
activity you might pause and notice that the child is looking over at the box of track. You
could then say something like "You want to add more track" while selecting ‘more’ and
‘track’.

Another skill you may want to develop is an ‘expectant pause’. An expectant pause sounds a
bit strange, but it means that you pause and show the child with your body language
(including making eye contact) that you are encouraging them to join in. Be sure to leave
enough time for the child to respond, and always acknowledge any selections they make,
even if you can't act on a request (e.g. for a fifth biscuit!). Don't worry if they don't select a
button; just carry on using the vocabulary yourself.

You might want to model an expansion of any vocabulary they have used. For example, if
they selected 'cake' you could say something like, "you want to bake a cake" while selecting
'want' and 'cake’.

A message window has been programmed onto a few pages to introduce this feature to the
child away from the pressure of face-to-face communication. Have fun exploring the
message window, undo and clear buttons together.

Keep using the vocabulary yourself as you talk together. Remember to chat and not test!

* Sometimes people find modelling 'I' and 'you' gets them into a bit of a muddle. Who is 'I'
and who is 'you' when you are talking using the vocabulary on the page?! There are no right
or wrong answers here. The best thing to do is not to worry about it too much and do what
feels comfortable for you.

If you are feeling unsure, one approach is to decide whose 'voice' you are talking in at any
given time, and then use 'I' or 'you' accordingly. Some examples are given below:
• you help yourself to some lasagne and say "I want some lasagne" while selecting 'I'
'want' 'lasagne'. You are talking using your voice, describing your own actions, and
therefore you would refer to yourself as 'I'.
• the child selects 'help', and you want to model an expansion of this. You could say
"You're telling me, I want some help" while selecting 'I' 'want' 'help'. As you are
expanding something the child has said, you are therefore talking as if you were the
child's voice and so would refer to the child as 'I'
• the child is looking at the pudding. You could say "You're telling me, I want pudding"
while selecting 'I' 'want' 'pudding'. You are putting a voice to the child's look, and so
are using the child's voice. Therefore, the child is referred to as 'I'.
• the child has helped themselves to another biscuit. You comment "you are eating
more!" while selecting 'you' and 'more'. You are talking in your voice, commenting
on the child's actions. Therefore, the child is referred to as 'you'.
Stages 2 & 3 – Educational Level P5-P6

Readiness:
• Your child is beginning to link 2 symbols e.g. 'I' 'like', 'help' 'eat', 'want' 'more'

Aims for the communication partner:

• To personalise or change existing pages and to add new pages as required.
• To become familiar with using the new core vocabulary and create opportunities to
use it.
• To introduce the stage 3 core vocabulary when the child is ready.
• To become confident in selecting several symbols at a time as you talk to the child
(modelling).
• To continue to put the child in control of play and activities.
• To continue to pause expectantly to encourage the child to join in and use the
vocabulary.
• To make use of the re-tell strategy.

Aims for the child:

• To continue to watch you selecting symbols during activities.
• To navigate and find pages and learn how to return to the 'home page'.
• To make use of the new core vocabulary, including (in time) the question, negative
and describing symbols.
• To begin to link 3 to 4 symbols in the message window, making use of the undo and
clear buttons.

This page set is designed to be used to support day-to-day communication. However, lots of
games and activities pages are still provided (which you will no doubt want to change and
personalise). This is because one of the best ways of learning how to use vocabulary and
combine ideas is through play.

You will need to personalise all the pages with the child's vocabulary and you may want to
add or change pages to reflect the interests of the child. Be prepared to make changes over
time.

As you are developing or personalising a page, remember to include actions and describing
words alongside the nouns. It often helps to have a quick run through of an activity first
and then program the page.

The core vocabulary is now on a separate page. However, there is a direct link to this core
vocabulary from every page. This is to encourage its use. The core vocabulary is designed
to be introduced in two stages - the words on cream buttons should be used initially (these
are the stage 2 words). Gradually the words on green buttons can be introduced (the stage
3 words). As you start to use the stage 3 words, you could colour the button background
cream.
To help with the building of phrases, there is now a message window. Phrases can be built
up in the message window and then spoken out. Undo and clear buttons are available on
every page. Explore the message window facility and feel comfortable using it yourself
before introducing it to the child.

In time, the message window will also help to build up phrases by moving between different
topic and activity pages. For example, to say 'mum' 'in' 'garden', you could move from the
people page to the core words page and then to the places page.

As you move up to stages 2 & 3, be aware that the child will need more time to look at all
the symbols on the pages, and as activities become more complicated, may also need more
thinking time. Some children may benefit from being given time to explore the new
vocabulary and pages on their own.

Model the vocabulary by selecting it while you talk to the child *. They need to see how it is
done!

During an activity, try to let the child be in control and lead the activity. One way of doing
this is to use the skill of ‘pause, watch and respond’. This means pausing during the activity,
watching what the child does, and then responding. Try and model use of the vocabulary as
you respond.

Remember to pause expectantly to see if the child will select a button(s) during an activity.
An ‘expectant pause’ is a pause where you show the child with your body language
(including making eye contact) that you are encouraging them to join in. Be sure to leave
enough time for the child to respond, and always acknowledge any selections they make,
even if you can't act on a request (e.g. for a fifth biscuit!). Don't worry if they don't select a
button; just carry on using the vocabulary yourself.

You might want to model an expansion of any vocabulary they have used. For example, if
they selected ‘want’ 'jumper' while looking over at their blue jumper, you could say
something like, "you want your blue jumper” while selecting ‘want’ ‘blue’ ‘jumper’.

A good way to practise vocabulary can be to use a ‘re-tell strategy’. When you complete an
activity, describe what you did, pointing to the vocabulary as you talk. Pause expectantly to
encourage the child to join in.

The vocabulary is there to help the child communicate ideas. They are not going to be able
to form perfect sentences - this is ok! By beginning to combine symbols, they will be able to
communicate interesting and novel messages, and this is the aim of this package.

Keep using the vocabulary yourself as you talk together. Remember to chat and not test!
* Sometimes people find modelling 'I' and 'you' gets them into a bit of a muddle. Who is 'I'
and who is 'you' when you are talking using the vocabulary on the page?! There are no right
or wrong answers here. The best thing to do is not to worry about it too much and do what
feels comfortable for you.

If you are feeling unsure, one approach is to decide whose 'voice' you are talking in at any
given time, and then use 'I' or 'you' accordingly. Some examples are given below:
• you help yourself to some lasagne and say "I want some lasagne" while selecting 'I'
'want' 'lasagne'. You are talking using your voice, describing your own actions, and
therefore you would refer to yourself as 'I'.
• the child selects 'help', and you want to model an expansion of this. You could say
"You're telling me, I want some help" while selecting 'I' 'want' 'help'. As you are
expanding something the child has said, you are therefore talking as if you were the
child's voice and so would refer to the child as 'I'
• the child is looking at the pudding. You could say "You're telling me, I want pudding"
while selecting 'I' 'want' 'pudding'. You are putting a voice to the child's look, and so
are using the child's voice. Therefore, the child is referred to as 'I'.
• the child has helped themselves to another biscuit. You comment "you are eating
more!" while selecting 'you' and 'more'. You are talking in your voice, commenting
on the child's actions. Therefore, the child is referred to as 'you'.
Stages 4 & 5 – Educational Level P7-Level One

Readiness:
• Your child is beginning to link 3 symbols e.g. ‘watch’ ‘more’ ‘TV’, ‘want’ ‘big’ ‘lunch’,
etc., and is making some use of the question symbols.
• Your child is able to navigate between pages, and use the message window, undo,
and clear buttons.

Aims for the communication partner:

• To personalise or change existing pages and to add new pages as required.
• To become familiar with using the new core vocabulary and create opportunities to
use it.
• To introduce the stage 5 core vocabulary when the child is ready.
• To continue to select several symbols at a time as you talk to the child (modelling).
• To continue to put the child in control of play and activities, but to begin to introduce
a little challenge.
• To continue to pause expectantly and to use the re-tell strategy at the end of
activities.

Aims for the child:

• To begin to enrich their communication with the extended range of core vocabulary,
including the core words page, the describing words page, the action words page,
and the my help page.
• To begin to communicate about past and future events, to use reasoning and
predicting, to extend their questioning, to plan and evaluate, to negotiate, to describe
events and tell stories, and to create new words.

This page set is designed to be used to support day-to-day communication. However, lots of
games and activities pages are still provided (which you will no doubt want to change and
personalise). This is because one of the best ways of learning how to use vocabulary and
combine ideas is through play. By these stages, the play may need to become a bit more
challenging and tell more of a story. For example, you may want to make use of garages,
doll’s houses, train sets, farms, tea sets, cooking sets, safari parks, etc. As you offer more
challenging play, be aware that the child may need more thinking time before they respond.

You will need to personalise all the pages with the child's vocabulary and you may want to
add or change pages to reflect the interests of the child. As you are developing or
personalising a page, remember to include actions and describing words alongside the
nouns. Be prepared to make changes over time.

For those accessing using a switch, there are separate versions of the following pages: core
words past, core words future, and keyboard. You may want to re-program the relevant
links to these pages accordingly. For those accessing using a keyguard, a separate keyboard
page has been provided. Again, you may want to re-program the link to this accordingly.
As with all pages, you may want to customise the keyboard pages provided so that they are
suitable for your child. For example, if your child is familiar with a certain frequency lay-out
keyboard from using another piece of software, it would seem sensible for them to use the
same arrangement within their communication package.

The core vocabulary is now distributed over a number of separate pages – core words,
describing words, action words, and my help. There is a direct link to each of these core
vocabulary pages from every page to encourage their use. Separate tips are available from
each of these pages. Cancel buttons have been used to assist with navigating through these
new pages.

The core vocabulary is designed to be introduced in two stages - the words on cream
buttons should be used initially (these are the stage 4 words). Gradually the words on green
buttons can be introduced (the stage 5 words). As you start to use the stage 5 words, you
could colour the button background cream.

The core vocabulary enables the child to use a complex range of language functions, and
you can read more about these on the tips associated with each of the core vocabulary
pages. For example, ‘if’ and ‘because’ on the core words page enables your child to reason,
predict and negotiate, and ‘good’, ‘best’, and ‘better’ on the describing words page enables
your child to evaluate and express opinions.

Gain confidence in finding your way round the new pages of symbols and explore the ideas
that can be expressed. All these language functions will help your child to take control over
their life and extend their thinking. Model the vocabulary by selecting it while you talk to the
child. They need to see how it is done!

As you move up to stages 4 & 5, be aware that the child will need more time to look at all
the symbols on the pages, and as activities become more complicated, may also need more
thinking time. Some children may benefit from being given time to explore the new
vocabulary and pages on their own.

During a conversation or activity, the communication partner’s role now expands to include
introducing a little challenge. The aim is to actively encourage the child to make full use of
the vocabulary available. For example, as you play with the train, you might ask, "where is
the train going?", or as you eat together you might ask, "what did you think of supper?"

At these stages, it’s about supporting the child in developing not just the expression of ideas,
but also their thinking. The communication partner may want to use questions like “why did
he do that?” or “how do you think that happened?” to support this development.
However, don’t neglect the responding role altogether. You will still want to ‘pause, watch
and respond’ to the child’s communication too. Try and model use of the vocabulary as you
respond.

In addition, you might at times want to model an expansion of any vocabulary they have
used. For example, if they selected ‘want’ ‘blue’ 'jumper' you could say something like, "you
want to put on your blue jumper” while selecting ‘want’ ‘put on’ ‘blue’ ‘jumper’.

A good way to practice vocabulary can be to use the ‘re-tell strategy’. At the end of an
activity, re-tell what you did together, supported by the vocabulary on the range of core
vocabulary pages and the vocabulary on the page. Pause expectantly to encourage the
child to join in.

The vocabulary is there to help the child communicate ideas. There is now a little more
grammatical information available, such as past and future forms of action words, possessive
pronouns (my, your, their, etc.), and some ‘little’ words (the, by, but, etc.). However, your
child is still not going to be able to form perfect sentences all of the time. This is ok! By
combining symbols, they will be able to communicate interesting and novel messages, and
this is the aim of Talk Together.

Keep using the vocabulary yourself as you talk together. Remember to chat and not test!
Bibliography

This vocabulary package has drawn on the work of many others in our field. This is a short
introduction to the key work that we’ve made use of along the way.

The package began as an adaptation of Clare Latham’s guide to developing a communication

book and Clare Latham and Katharine Buckley’s Look2Talk package:

Latham, C (2004) A guide to Developing and Using a Communication Book.

Published by the ACE Centre.

Latham, C & Buckley, K (2008) Look2Talk: Guide Book. Making and using a
communication book for eye-pointing communicators. Published by the ACE Centre.

The developmental framework that we drew upon when setting out the staged approach is
outlined in:

Latham, C & Miles, A (2001) Communication, Curriculum and Classroom Practice.

David Fulton Publishers.

Our emphasis on the importance of the role of the communication partner in supporting the
language development of children draws heavily on the work of Vygotsky:

Vygotsky (1962) Thought and Language. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

Vygotsyky (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological

Processes. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

The pause, watch and respond strategy is informed by the Hanen approach to supporting
parents with children with language delay.

Pepper & Weitzman (2004) It Takes Two to Talk: A Practical Guide for Parents of
Children with Language Delays. Hanen Centre, 3rd Edition.

Coupe O’Kane and Goldbart discuss early language functions that informed our choice of
core vocabulary in the early stages. They also discuss theoretical approaches to language
acquisition, notably the psycho/social approach, which informed much of our work:

Coupe O’Kane, J & Goldbart, J (1998) Communication Before Speech. London Fulton
Publishers.

The work of Harris informed our choice of core vocabulary in the later stages:
 Harris, J (1992) Language Experience and Early Development. Hove: Laurence
Erlbaum Associates.

We also drew on the speaking and listening requirements of the Foundation Stage
Curriculum and the P-levels as set out for children with Special Educational Needs:

www.qca.org.uk/qca_5984.aspx and www.qca.org.uk/qca_8541.aspx

Other work that informed our thinking on vocabulary selection included:

Beukelman, McGinnis & Morrow (1991) Vocabulary Selection in Augmentative

Communication. In Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 7, 171-185.

Beukelman & Mirenda (1998) Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

Management of Severe Communication Disorders in Children and Adults. Second
Edition. Paul H Brooks.

We drew on ideas from the use of Bliss symbols, particularly in the later stages with
strategies such as combine, part of, and opposite:

McNaughton, S (2003) Blissymbol learners, their language and their learning

partners: development through three decades. In Von Tetzchner, S & Grove, N
(Ed.s) Augmentative and Alternative Communication Developmental Issues. Whurr
Publishers Ltd.

The work of Karen Erickson from the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies in North
Carolina (www.med.unc.edu/ahs/clds) was particularly inspirational in terms of encouraging
children who use AAC to make use of letters well in advance of there being any expectation
of their use for spelling:

Erickson (2005) Successful Literacy for Children with Severe Communication

Difficulties. What does it take? AAC Study Day organised by Communication Matters.

Some of the messages around dealing with communication breakdown were informed by
speech and language therapists Gayle Porter (www.cpec.com.au) and Linda Burkhart
(www.lburkhart.com), who have presented at numerous conferences. They employ
messages such as “I am asking a question”, “I’m telling you something”, that set the
pragmatic intent as powerful navigational strategies (although here they are just used as
some suggested messages to deal with communication breakdown). For example:

Burkhart, L & Porter, G (2006) Partner-Assisted Communication Strategies for

Children Who Face Multiple Challenges. Pre-conference instructional course. ISAAC,
Dusseldorf.
We have been inspired by Nicola Grove to consider the importance of story telling within the
package. She has produced many publications of interest, one recent publication being:

Grove, N (2006) Ways into Literature: Stories, Plays and Poems for Pupils with SEN.
David Fulton Publishers.
Appendix - Commonly Asked Questions

Is there an affect on speech development?

Some people worry that introducing a visual language will prevent the development of
speech. All the evidence suggests the contrary! Using photographs and symbols helps to
build the language and communication skills that also underpin speech. If speech is, or
becomes, the easiest method of communication, then evidence and experience suggests that
a person will choose to use it. Using pictures and symbols from an early age can act as a
bridge to developing speech or provide an effective alternative.

How do I use a communication aid and a communication book?

Most children using a communication aid will also require a communication book. A
communication aid can’t go absolutely everywhere with an individual and anyway, aids are
sometimes unavailable (e.g. whilst being charged). Communication books (or low tech
systems as they are sometimes referred to) are, therefore, likely to always play an important
and useful role. Sometimes they are used very much as a backup, whereas others use them
as a complementary system alongside a high tech communication aid.

What can be difficult is working out what to put in the communication book and what to put
on the device. There’s no right or wrong answer to this, other than what works best for you
and your child. What’s important is to try and blend the vocabulary together so that there’s
some consistency in the systems. For example, where you have pages of people, verbs,
places, etc. then it makes sense to place the vocabulary in similar places in both book and
device. This will assist familiarity.

If you can, it’s helpful to see both systems as complementing each other. However, it is
tricky and there’s no perfect solution.