I have used communication boards as assistive technology in the past. We used Put-Em-Arounds which is a device that you record sound into and the child presses a large button to play the recorded instruction. I used this device with a child who had little to no verbal communication skills. At first we introduced it during meal time. Each time the child wanted more then she pressed the button and it said “more.” The speech therapist and I were amazed at how fast she picked it up. We placed a picture in the device of whatever food she was eating. Once she had fully grasped the concept we placed a picture of the sign for more in hopes to get her to start signing. This year she has begun to use more signs and she also uses a more complex communication device which gives her more than one choice. It has been amazing to see how well this technology has worked for her. I will continue to use communication boards in the future as I feel they are a wonderful resource to encourage and facilitate verbal communication skills.
This is a picture of the Put-Em-Around:
