I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw how many phrases could be made with a core vocabulary board!!! I guess I just never thought about how many combinations you could get!
Out on the playground, you can say things like:
Push me
Go fast
Push more
I want to stop
I want to go
And much more!
Playing board games, you can say things like:
My turn
Roll it
Go again
You play
I play
I have more
Put it on
All finished
Put away
Take a look at the video and see how this works!
Once you get your child comfortable with the main core vocabulary board you can add on what we call “fringe” vocabulary. This can take the form of strips of words that can be attached via three rings (kind of like a three ring binder) to the core vocabulary board. Your child can then flip through the options to add to his/her sentences.
Strips that we use include social vocabulary like:
Yes, No, Please, Thank you, Sorry, Excuse me
Other categories we use are:
Colors
Shapes
Weather
Days of the Week
Art vocab
Cooking vocab
Body parts
Numbers
Letters
The beauty of using fringe vocabulary is that you can expand your child’s vocabulary board with any kind of extra vocabulary that you want. It doesn’t have to be the above- mentioned categories.
Samples of the fringe vocabulary will soon be posted on the Hamilton Boone Madison Special Services website that I highlighted two weeks ago. Stay tuned for that visual!!!
You may also want to know where I get my symbols for the core vocabulary board you saw in the video. The symbols are from a program called Symbol Styx. This program comes with our curriculum we use for our students with moderate and severe cognitive disabilities called Unique Learning Systems (ULS).
Hope this is helpful!!! Start using your core vocabulary boards even with your children who are verbal!!! It’s a great way to facilitate language development and communication!!!
Take care and I’ll see you next time!!!
Carla
