Communication book

Also called Symbol book, PODD book, Communication folder

A paper book of symbol pages, organised so the person can navigate it and a partner can help, with a full vocabulary and no battery.

What it is

A communication book is a low-tech system with many pages: usually a core page or index at the front, then topic pages, each holding symbols or words, bound so the person or partner can turn to the page they need. The best known design is PODD, but a book can be organised by category, by situation or by sentence structure.

It is the paper equivalent of a dynamic display device: the vocabulary is spread over pages, and getting to a word means getting to its page first.

Who it can help

People who need more vocabulary than a single board holds and who have a partner nearby most of the time. Children in the early years of language, people with cerebral palsy who use partner-assisted scanning, and anyone whose device is unreliable, unaffordable or not yet chosen.

Its weak point is independence. Turning pages needs hands or a partner, and a book can't speak, so the person still relies on someone to voice each choice. That is why a book is usually a companion to a device rather than a replacement, except where the partner is always there.

How it works

The book has a navigation system. In a PODD book, each page carries "go to" links to the next relevant page and a "go back to page 1" cell, so a message like "I want to tell you something about school" is built by turning through a predictable path. In a category book the person, or partner, turns to "food" or "people" and points.

Partner-assisted scanning is what makes books usable for people who can't point: the partner reads down the options, the person signals yes at the right one. Books for this purpose are laid out so the scan order is obvious and the same on every page.

A good book is heavy, laminated, ring-bound and tabbed. It also gets replaced: books wear out, vocabularies grow, and a new edition every year or so is normal.

Getting started

Don't make one from scratch. A well-designed book takes days to build, and templates exist. Ask your speech and language therapist or local AAC service for a starter book; many lend or print them. PODD templates are sold under licence and most AAC services hold one.

Model with it. The book only works if the adults around the person use it to talk, page turns and all, dozens of times a day. The first week is slow. That is normal.

Make two. One lives with the person and one lives at the other place, and both get the same new words at the same time.

Where to get help

ACE Centre runs PODD training in the UK; CALL Scotland publishes guidance on book design. Communication Matters can point to local services that make and lend books. The NHS route is a speech and language therapist, and for complex needs a specialised AAC service.