🗣️ AAC Choice Board
BETA🐠 Aquarium Visual Timer
👨⚕️ Caregiver & Family Guide
🗣️ What is AAC?
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) includes all forms of communication — pictures, symbols, devices, gestures — that support children who have difficulty with verbal speech. AAC does not prevent speech development; research consistently shows it supports it.
✅ Who benefits?
- Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
- Cerebral palsy or motor speech disorders
- Developmental delays or intellectual disability
- Apraxia of speech or stuttering
- Children recovering from neurological injury
- Any child frustrated by communication barriers
💡 The most important thing
Every tap is communication. Celebrate every attempt. The goal is connection, not perfection.
⚠️ BETA Notice
This is a supplemental tool in active development by Next Step Rehab. Always use alongside — never as a replacement for — your child's individualized speech-language therapy plan.
👆 Tapping buttons
Each tap speaks the word immediately and adds it to the sentence bar at the top. Press ▶ Speak to read the full sentence aloud, or ✕ Clear to start fresh.
📂 Switching categories
Tap any colored tab to switch word groups. Each tab speaks its category name when tapped so your child knows what they are browsing. Swipe the tab row left or right on tablet/iPad.
📱 iPad / tablet setup
- Open in Safari → Share → Add to Home Screen
- Enable Guided Access(Settings → Accessibility) to lock it open during sessions
- Set device volume to maximum for clear speech output
🔊 Voice tip
On iPad: Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → Voices → choose Samantha or Karen for a clear, child-friendly voice.
⭐ Everyday Words — teach these first
Research shows 12–20 high-frequency words account for ~80% of daily communication. These are the priority:
💡 Use them every day
Point to these buttons at meals, play, and bedtime — not just therapy. Daily repetition in natural contexts builds independence.
🎯 Evidence-Based Strategies
Use consistently during sessions and daily routines.
🏠 How NSR uses this board
During home OT and PT sessions, your NSR clinician integrates this board into movement and activity goals — not just communication goals. It helps children express how they feel during exercises and builds self-advocacy.
🔑 Priority therapy words
- Break — child requests rest mid-exercise
- Hurts More — alert to pain change
- Too Hard — signal to modify the task
- Ready — child initiates the next step
- Show Me Again — request demonstration
- All Done — signals completion
👨👩👧 Your role during sessions
- Observe how the therapist models the board
- Note which buttons your child responds to most
- Ask your therapist which category to prioritize today
📞 Next Step Rehab
Email:
helloteam@nextstep-rehab.com
Phone:
240-389-2935 / 202-780-6495
Fax:
410-413-7738
Website:
nextstep-rehab.com
🗺️ Service Areas
- Prince George's County, MD
- Montgomery County, MD
- Howard County, MD
- Harford County, MD
- Baltimore County & City, MD
- Anne Arundel County, MD
💳 Insurance
Most major insurance accepted. We verify benefits for you before your first visit.
⚠️ Disclaimer
This is a supplemental clinical support tool only. It does not replace SLP evaluation or therapy. Contact your NSR therapist or a licensed SLP for a formal AAC assessment.
⚠️ Permission & Usage Notice
Please Do Not Reproduce This Tool.
This AAC Choice Board is a beta communication tool created for informational and educational purposes by Next Step Rehab LLC. Do not copy, modify, redistribute, or recreate this program.
Clinician Use: Clinicians may use this tool in therapy sessions when accessing it directly from the official site. Do not redistribute to other clinicians, agencies, or families.
Organizational Use: Clinics, schools, or organizations wanting to share this program must request permission first.
Contact: helloteam@nextstep-rehab.com