Places vocabulary

Also called Location words, Places set, Where words

Home, school, hospital, outside, and the words for going there. Why 'where' and 'go' turn a list of places into a way of saying what you want to happen next.

What it is

Places vocabulary is the words for where things are and where a person wants to be: home, school, shop, park, hospital, bed, outside, car, toilet, kitchen. Paired with a verb like "go" and a question word like "where", it lets a person say where they want to go, ask where they are being taken, and object when the answer is wrong.

For a lot of people the question "where are we going?" is the most anxious question of the day, and the ability to ask it is the difference between a trip and an abduction.

Who it can help

Anyone who is moved about by other people, which is most children and many disabled adults. Places words let a person take part in the plan rather than be subject to it. They matter enormously for autistic people who need to know what is next, and for people with dementia who may not recognise where they are.

They are not a timetable. A places set says "park"; a visual timetable says the park is after lunch. Both help, and they do different jobs.

How it works

The generic set covers the places everyone has: home, bed, bathroom, kitchen, outside, school or work, shop, car or bus, doctor or hospital, park. The person's own places (Nan's, the club, the swimming pool, the respite house) are added by name and, ideally, by photo of the actual door. See personalising a vocabulary.

The words do their work in combination. "Go" plus "home" is a request. "Where" plus "go" is a question. "Not" plus "hospital" is a protest. The Talk board keeps places in one of its 14 sets and the verbs in the actions set, so "go" and "park" are two presses across two sets.

Prepositions belong here too, in a small way: "in", "on", "under", "here", "there" let a person say where the thing they lost has gone.

Getting started

This week, tell the person where you are going before you go, on their board: press "go" then "shop" and say it. Do it for every transition, including the boring ones. Then start asking: press "where" plus "go" and wait, even if you know the answer.

Photograph the five real places the person goes most, and add them by name. A photo of the actual school door beats a symbol of a generic school.

If a person is anxious about journeys, put "where" and "home" where they can reach them from any page, and honour "home" when it is pressed wherever you can.

Where to get help

Communication Matters for vocabulary design in AAC. The National Autistic Society covers preparing for transitions and journeys. For travel and getting out, Scope has practical guides for disabled people and families.