Static display

Also called Fixed display, Static board, Fixed-layout device

A page that never changes, so every word has a permanent home and can be found by hand rather than by search.

What it is

A static display is a communication aid whose layout does not change. Every cell is always in the same place with the same content: a paper core board, a multi-button device with a paper overlay, or a screen set to a single page.

The opposite is a dynamic display, where touching a cell can open a new page. Static displays hold less vocabulary and demand less navigation; dynamic displays hold more and demand more.

Who it can help

People who benefit from learning positions: with a static layout, "help" is always the top-right cell, and a person with a visual impairment, a motor difficulty or a slow scan learns to reach it without looking or searching. Beginners, because there is nothing to get lost in. And anyone using switch scanning, because a predictable layout makes the scan predictable.

The trade-off is vocabulary. A static display holds what fits on one page. That is enough for a great deal of language if the page holds core words, and it is nothing like enough for a person with a lot to say, which is why static displays tend to be starting points, backups, or one part of a bigger system.

How it works

The layout is fixed and the person learns it, so selection gets faster over time; this is the motor planning argument, and it is the strongest case for static designs. Cell count is chosen for the person's access (grid size) and the vocabulary is chosen for range: core words, the essentials for the person's day, and a small set of fringe words.

Some systems are semi-static: the core cells never move and a strip of fringe cells swaps with the activity. That is the compromise most good devices arrive at, and it is what a well-built page set does.

Getting started

Print a core board and leave it exactly as it is for three months. Resist rearranging it; every move costs the person their learning.

If the person uses a device, look at its home page and ask how much of it moves. If the layout changes with every page, ask the speech and language therapist whether a fixed home page with a stable set of core cells would suit better.

Keep a static paper copy of the device's main page. It is the low-tech backup that works when the device doesn't, and if it matches the screen the person's motor learning carries over.

Where to get help

ACE Centre and CALL Scotland publish fixed-layout boards and guidance on when to choose them. Communication Matters can point to services and suppliers. The NHS route is speech and language therapy, and the choice between static and dynamic is part of any AAC assessment.