Negation

Also called Saying no, Refusal vocabulary, Negatives, Protest words

Not, don't, stop, no more, go away. The words that give a person power over what happens to them, and the reason they must be on the board on day one.

What it is

Negation is the words that say no: no, not, don't, stop, no more, finished, go away, I don't want, I don't like, never. In grammar they turn a sentence into its opposite. In life they are the words that let a person refuse, and a person who cannot refuse has no say in anything.

They are among the first words speaking toddlers use, and among the last to be put on many boards, because adults find them inconvenient. That is exactly backwards.

Who it can help

Everyone, and most of all the people whose lives are arranged by others: children, people with a learning disability, people in care homes or hospital, anyone receiving personal care. Refusal is the foundation of consent. If a person cannot say no to a bath, the bath is not consented to, whatever the care plan says.

Negation words make a person harder to manage. That is what they are for. A board that has "yes" and no "no", or a "no" that is never honoured, is a board designed for the convenience of everyone except its owner. See saying no for the everyday side of this.

How it works

"No" and "stop" work on their own. "Not" and "don't" work in combination, placed before a verb or a noun: "not" plus "bath", "don't" plus "touch". "No more" and "finished" end something that has started. "Different" refuses without having to say what instead.

These words are abstract to draw and the label does the work, which is why "no" is nearly always a red cross or a red circle: the convention is doing the job of the picture. Put them where they can be reached from every page and pressed in a hurry, and give "stop" its own card rather than burying it in a menu.

The Talk board carries "no", "stop" and "don't" in its needs set, with "not" and "finished" beside them, and any of them combines with a card from the other sets.

Getting started

This week, make "no" and "stop" the easiest words on the board to reach, and then honour them, every time you possibly can, immediately. Where you cannot (medicine, a seatbelt), say so on the board: "I know, no. Medicine first, then finished."

Model refusal about yourself: "I don't like" plus "rain", "not" plus "that one". Let the person see no used casually, not only in a crisis.

Watch for a person who has learned that no is pointless and stopped using it. Rebuilding that trust takes weeks of honouring small refusals about things that do not matter.

Where to get help

Communication Matters for AAC. Mencap and BILD cover consent and choice for people with a learning disability. If a person's refusals are being overridden in a care setting, ask the provider for their positive behaviour support and consent policies, and consider the Care Quality Commission if that does not help.