Communication A to Z

Somebody hands you a leaflet that says AAC. A review mentions partner-assisted scanning. A ward asks whether your dad has a communication passport. Everyone else in the room seems to know what these words mean, and asking feels like admitting you're behind. You aren't. This library explains each one plainly: what it is, who it helps, how it works, and what you can do about it this week. Search by the word you heard.

Please note: This page is general information about communication and the ways people are supported to communicate. It is not an assessment, a diagnosis or speech and language therapy, and it does not know the person you have in mind. If you are worried about someone's speech, language or communication, ask a GP, a health visitor or a speech and language therapist. In an emergency, call 999; if you cannot speak, Relay UK on 18000 or the emergencySMS service reach the same operators.

301 topics, showing 261–270 (page 27 of 31).

S

Switch site

Also called Switch placement, Access site, Control site

Finding the one movement a person can make on purpose, a hundred times a day, without pain or fatigue. Everything else in switch access rests on it.

Symbol cards

Also called Picture cards, Symbol buttons, Cells, Picture communication cards

One picture, one word: how the cards on a talking board are chosen, drawn and labelled, and why the label matters more than the picture.

Symbol-based communication

Also called Symbol communication, Picture communication, Graphic symbols

Communicating with pictures that stand for words, for anyone who cannot yet read, or cannot read reliably under pressure.

Symbol-supported text

Also called Symbolised text, Symbol writing, Symbol-supported writing, Symbolised documents

Writing with a symbol above each word, what it does for a reader, and the mistake of symbolising every word on the page.

SymbolStix

Also called SymbolStix PRIME, n2y symbols, stick figure symbols

The stick-figure symbol set inside Proloquo2Go, TouchChat and several other AAC apps, and what its licence means for the person using it.

Synthetic voices

Also called TTS voices, Computer voices, Neural voices, System voices

Where computer voices come from, why the good ones are already on your phone for free, and how to choose one that sounds like you.

T

Tactile symbols

Also called Tangible symbols, Textured symbols, Touch symbols, Tactile cues

Symbols you can feel: textures, shapes and part-objects on cards, for people who cannot see a picture symbol or hear a spoken word.

Talking Mats

Also called Talking Mat, Digital Talking Mats

A mat, a topic, a set of picture cards and a scale from happy to unhappy. A way for anyone to give their view on anything, and have it recorded.

Teaching a new word

Also called Introducing vocabulary, Word learning on a device, Targeting a word

How a word moves from a card on the device into the person's own use: modelling, hundreds of times, in real situations, without ever making them press it.

Telling stories

Also called Recounting, Narrative on a device, Personal narrative, News

Recounting the day on a device: who, what, where and then what. The hardest thing to do with a board and the one that makes a person a person to everyone else.

Try a voice now, free

Fiducia Talk is a complete talking board: 308 symbol cards, a phonics keyboard and a big-key keyboard, speaking in your device's own voice. No account, no subscription, and nothing you say leaves your device.

Open the board