Choosing the right vocabulary
The words inside a communication system shape what a person can say. Choosing them well means starting from the person’s life, not a template.
Autonomy comes first
Vocabulary should let a person say what they want to say, not just what others want to hear. That includes disagreeing, protesting, joking, and talking about the things they love. Choose words for the user’s needs and interests, not your own.
A vocabulary made only of polite requests gives someone a menu, not a voice.
Suited to daily life, specific and general
A robust vocabulary carries a person through their whole day. It balances words specific to the person, such as favourite people, places, interests and routines, with the general everyday words that work in any situation: core words like more, stop, go, want, help and different. Both matter, and neither should crowd the other out.
Room to grow
Always include more words than the person currently uses. Nobody can learn a word that isn’t there. A system that only holds today’s words caps tomorrow’s language.
Review it over time
Needs change across life: new schools, new workplaces, new interests, new people. Vocabulary should be reviewed from time to time so it keeps up, expanding what the person can learn and say rather than locking in who they were when the system was first set up.
Want help choosing?
Vocabulary selection is part of our AAC support. Get started and we’ll work through it together.