Topic List for Adults
Activities/hobbies: (new OR old)
Activities over the weekend
Art
Cards/games (e.g. bridge, poker,
dominoes, etc.)
Collecting
Dinner with friends
Eating out
Entertaining
Exercise
Fixing up the house
Food/eating
Games
Gardening
Movies
Music
Pets
Painting
Reading
Sewing
Shopping
Socializing
Sports
Stamp collecting
Television
Travel
Walks
Writing
Appointments
Doctor
Hospital
Therapist
Counselor
Errands:
Grocery store
Bank
Pharmacy
Library
Community
Elections
Politics
City, county, state organizations
Volunteer groups
Environment
Conversational Topics:
Stories of the past (i.e. reminiscing)
Tall Tales
News events
Weather
Activities over weekend
Family life:
Finances
Furniture
Health/illness
Holidays
Household routines/chores
People
Pets
Possessions
Prayers
Rituals
Feelings:
Common feelings (e.g. angry, happy,
sad, etc.)
Hopes and Dreams
Recovery, survival
Philosophy
Personal opinions
Likes and dislikes
Observations
Judgments
About Activity limitations
Opinions of others
Family members
Health:
Asking questions of health providers
(doctors, nurses, therapists)
Current Health (physical,
psychological)
Current Health Plan (therapy,
medications, surgeries, tests, etc.)
Disabilities, barriers
@ 2003 Patricia Dowden, Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington
Family Health
Health Habits (diet, exercise, etc.)
Making decisions
Past Health (injuries, conditions, etc.)
History:
Family history (e.g. children, events)
Educational history
Finances, money
Past employment
Old hobbies
Travels/trips/vacations of the past
Politics, voting
Personal Care:
Appointments
Body Parts (e.g. hands, feet, etc.)
Care/Assistance
Caregivers/Team
Disease/illness
Equipment/Personal Aids
Finances
Health
Legal issues, lawyers, wills
Medicine/medications
Physical Assistance (e.g. suctioning,
turning, transfer, etc.)
Physical Needs (e.g. hungry, thirsty,
etc.)
Physical State (e.g. feeling hot, cold,
tired, etc.)
Positioning (e.g. lying on back, sitting
up, etc.)
Power of Attorney
Safety
People - Social Network:
Professionals you interact with (e.g.
doctor, nurse, etc.)
Friends & Acquaintances
Leisure partners (e.g. bridge partners,
gambling friends, fishing buddies,
etc.)
Family
Acquaintances
Immediate family
Close friends
Public figures
Relatives
Service providers
Strangers
People: Self
Achievements
Health
Family
Stories
Vocation/Employment
Military service
Places:
Maps of close locations (e.g. city,
neighborhood, etc.)
Maps of distant locations (e.g. state,
country, world etc.)
Drawings of places you spend time
(e.g. your home, your office, etc.)
Stores you shop in
Places you go for leisure (e.g. parks,
beaches)
Houses of worship
Home, apartments, nursing home,
group home
Recreational home/cottage
Recreational vehicle (RV), motor
home
Friends’ houses
Related: How you get to these places,
transportation
Related: Whom you go with
Related: How you feel about going
People: peers/colleagues/co-workers
Health
Stories
Shared activities
Relationships
@ 2003 Patricia Dowden, Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington
Travel:
Means of transportation (airplane,
bus, car, RV, etc.)
Places to go (see maps and Locations)
Shopping/buying/selling:
Clothing
Tools
Books
Music
Furniture
Time: Structure words
Time of day (e.g. clock)
Time of the week or month (e.g.
current calendar)
Times of your lives (e.g. during the
war, when kids were young, etc.)
Seasons of the year
Time to do something (e.g. List of
activities for today)
Questions about time (e.g. how long?
When?)
Time: Past and Future Plans
Travel/trips/vacations
Educational activities
Major purchases
Sources:
Balandin, S., & Iacono, T. (1998a) A few well-chosen words. Augmentative and
Alternative Communication, 14, 147-161.
Balandin, S. and Iacono, T. (1999). Crews, Wusses, and Whoppas: Core and Fringe
Vocabularies of Australian Meal-Break Conversations in the Workplace. Augmentative
and Alternative Communication, 15 (2), p. 95 – 109.
Stuart, S., Beukelman, D.R. and King, J. (1997). Vocabulary Use during Extended
Conversations by Two Cohorts of Older Adults. Augmentative and Alternative
Communication, 13, 40 – 47.
Stuart, S., Vanderhoof, D. and Beukelman, D.R. (1993). Topic and Vocabulary Use
Patterns of Elderly Women. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 9 (2), p 95 –
110.
Kagan, A., Winckel, J. and Shumway, E. (1996) Pictographic Communication
Resources: Enhancing Communicative Access. North York, CA: Aphasia Center.
Beukelman & Gutmann, Nov 1999, Generic Message List for AAC Users with ALS
at http://aac.unl.edu/Vocabulary/ALS_Message_List1.htm
@ 2003 Patricia Dowden, Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington