CDCI Assistive Technology Tryout Center,
Communication Connection!
The conference call in number for today is
Phone number 1-888-850-4523
Passcode is:859908

CDCI AT Tryout Center, The Vermont I Team &
Vermont Assistive Technology Program Present:
CDCI Communication Connections Webinar
Series: Save the following dates:
Jan 19 th , March 16, April 20, & May 18, 2011

th
Communication Connection Series Presentation 1
Maureen Nevers, M.S. CCC-SLP
Augmentative Communication Consultant
Vermont Iteam, in collaboration with
CDCI AT Try-out Center, & VT AT Program

Q: Do I need Core Vocabulary?
A: Yes, if you’ve said…
“How do I know what vocabulary to teach?”
“How can I possibly
“We never seem to have the right words available ” include all the words she’ll need?”
“What words should I program into the device?
“What are the most important messages to include on the communication board?”
“He really only makes requests.”

1. About Core Vocabulary
2. Types of supports
3. Symbol format
4. Quantity of Words
5. Types of words
6. Organization and layout
7. Application
8. Resources

Definition
• A small set of commonly used words that support communication and language learning.
• A format for defining the words that comprise a communication system.

• Require supports to communicate
• Any form of access
• Any symbol forms *
• Range of language abilities

Did you know?
85% of what we say is communicated with only 200 basic words.
We call these our “core” words.
“Core is consistent across place, topic, cognitive ability”

common high-frequency re-usable across language functions descriptive across contexts always available

• Gain true understanding of word meanings
• Increase availability and use of messages
• Increase diversity of application of words – more purposes, more contexts
• Achieve active and independent communication
• Priority is on language learning and output,
not working on access

• Vocabulary, concepts, symbols or locations are known, familiar
• Focus is on learning new information, content
• With good vocabulary, can say what they want to say on a variety of topics in a variety of settings.

• Lack of range of parts of speech, heavy use of nouns
• Restricted communicative functions
• Commonly interpret function as labeling or requesting objects
• Nouns often present in context
• Higher quantity of nouns to learn

Tool
(device, book, board)
Symbols
(line drawings, photos, text)
Access
(point, switch, look)
Content
(vocabulary, messages, organization)

1. Types of supports
2. Symbol format
3. Quantity of Words
4. Types of words
5. Organization and layout

• Low-tech (paper-based)
• High-tech (electronic)
• Paper-based version of device

• Line drawings:
– Pixons
– BoardMaker
– Unity Pixsyms
• Text

• people/pronouns ( yellow ) – he, she
• verbs/action words ( green ) – go, want
• adjectives ( dark blue ) - big, little
• adverbs ( light blue ) - slow, fast
• prepositions ( purple ) - in, out
• determiners ( orange ) - this, that
• interjections ( pink ) – please, thank you
• nouns ( orange ) pretzel, mom
• wh words ( red / bright pink ) -who, what, where
• conjunctions (white) - and, but, or

• 20
• 50
• 100
• 150
• 400

• Page
– single page
– multi-page repeated core
• Symbol Location:
– consistent location on page
– SVO sentence sequences
• Access:
– physical
– visual
– portability and availability

• “location learning” vs. symbol discrimination
• Developing motor patterns associated with specific symbols
• Makes communication faster, easier
• Requires consistent layout, symbols don’t move

• Core words
• Extended Vocabulary:
– Personal core
– Generic school core
– Grammatical markers
– Binders
– Word altering strategies
– Fringe vocabulary

Selected based on frequency of use (lists), and include range of parts of speech:
• pronouns
• verbs
• adjectives
• adverbs
• prepositions
• social / interjections

greet part affirm rejection negation hello, what’s up?, hey bye, see you later
Yes, okay, I agree stop, all done, finished, no more, no, not, stop redirection/chang e existence different, another that, there, look nonexistence disappearance possession none, not away, all gone comment mine, yours, his, hers like, bad, good, silly cessation stop request assistance Help, can you….
request recurrence again, more describe person fat, tall, cold, fast, under
I, you, mom, dad request information request object request action direct what, why that, this, the want, get, do, turn, put, open go, get, try, help, come, up interject question
Wow!, cool!, no way!
Who?, what?, where?, when?, why?, how?, how many/much?

• letters
• numbers
• colors
• shapes
• calendar
Extended Vocabulary:
Generic School Core

afraid-scary
Aide (name) boy-man child-children dry empty father full fun-funny girl-woman have-has he-him-his hungry know mother over place play problem she-her-hers sing sleep stuff talk-call
Teacher/
(name) they-people thirsty tired try under we-friend wet why win-lose wrong again all done/ finished all gone-gone bad different do-did good help
I – (name) it look-see more not-don’t ready stop that this want what you-your away big come drink eat get give go like little happy hear-listen here how make me-myself my-mine now put sad say-tell sick silly take there trouble turn when where who all am-is-are-be be careful clean cold dirty-messy down fast feel hot how much/ much in late-later off on open-close out read same sit slow some stand up wait watch work

• key people
• key places
• key things
Extended Vocabulary:
Personal Core

• “of”
• “with”
• “by”
• “for”
Extended Vocabulary:
Binders

Extended Vocabulary:
Word Altering Strategies
• “same as”
• “opposite of”
• “add to front”
• “part of”
• “join words”
• “starts with”
• “same group/family”
• “add to end”
• “sounds like”

Extended Vocabulary:
Grammatical Markers
• add –ing to a verb
• prepositions (e.g. ‘on’, 'in’)
• add 's' to form plurals
• irregular past tenses
• possessives (e.g. + ‘s)
• articles (e.g. 'the’, 'a’)
• add 's' to 3 rd person verbs (e.g. 'he drinks’)
• regular past tenses
• auxiliary verbs (e.g. 'am reading’)

Extended Vocabulary:
Fringe Vocabulary
C HARACTERIST
IC
C ORE V OCABULARY
Number of words Small number of words
F RINGE V OCABULARY
Very large number of words
Frequency of use High frequency Low frequency, occur infrequently
Applicability across
Applicable to all environments environments
Applicable to limited environments, lack versatility
Applicability across
Applicable to all topics topics
Types of words
Applicable to limited topics
Includes a variety of parts of speech
Includes mostly proper names and other nouns
Usefulness in a single message
Approx 80% of the words in a 100word sample will be core, but many core words will be used repeatedly, so the number of different words is small.
Approx 20% of the words in a 100-word sample will be fringe. Number of different words will be large, as fringe words are repeated with much lower frequency than core words.

• Natural contexts
• Aided language stimulation
• Direct instruction in symbol/concept meaning
• Expansion, connection, correction

• Talk “about”
• Tell “how”, “where”, etc., not “what”
• Longer sequences of symbols

“frog”  “small” “green” “wet” “up” “down”
“run”  “fast” “walk”
“grandfather”  “old” “man” “family”
“tree”  “tall” “green” “out”

• Gail VanTatenhove
• AT 4 Kids Wiki Space
• A Few Good Words
• UNL Vocabulary lists
• Talk to Me 100

Gail VanTatenhove’s Website
• http://www.vantatenhove.com/materials.php
• Free downloads of vocabulary lists, .pdf
boards, presentations, etc.

• http://at4kids.wikispaces.com/
• Core vocabulary supporting documents, including articles and presentations on Core vocabulary
• Sets of BoardMaker files for making low tech core books

• http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/200
9/090414/f090414c.htm
• Article on using core vocabulary to support nonverbal students
• Written by Barbara Cannon & Grace Edmond

UNL AAC Vocabulary Lists
• http://aac.unl.edu/VLN1.html
• vocabulary lists sorted by age and other criteria

Talk to Me 100
• http://www.sydspeak.com/symbols.html
• Free printable board of 100 core word symbols
• Larger sizes of symbols also available
• Digitized device (Talk to Me 100) using core words for purchase