Teaching · Speech & Language

The words a student needs, routine by routine.

List each word or message with its kind, the routine it belongs to and how often it would come up. The summary shows what is already on the system, the frequent messages still missing, and whether the list leans too far toward topic words.

Start a vocabulary listWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Speech & Language toolkit, $79 for 72 items.

The vocabulary list

One record per student and date. Use initials or a code, never a name. The example is made up.

Loading the form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Teaching · Speech & Language$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A vocabulary plan grouped by routine, with the frequent messages to add first and checks on core words, social phrases and modeling.
Who it is for
Speech-language pathologists, teachers and families choosing and adding vocabulary to a student’s AAC system.
Format
Browser form. Several saved lists per student, so changes over time stay visible; printed with the summary or as a blank planning sheet; CSV with one row per list or the full vocabulary table; export and import a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Speech & Language toolkit ($79) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Speech & Language space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about an order, access or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.
words for the day the student has
Drawn for this page. Vocabulary chosen for real routines, with the gaps easy to see.

How to use it

  1. Start a record with the student’s initials or a code and the date.
  2. Note the system and who is helping choose words.
  3. Add each word or message with its kind, routine and how often it comes up.
  4. Mark which ones are already on the system.
  5. Add the frequent missing messages first, and model them.

Start a vocabulary list

What the plan is for

Core and topic words

A small set of core words, such as more, stop, help, go and not, makes up much of what people say in any setting. Topic words, such as crackers or swing, matter too, but each fits fewer moments. A working vocabulary has both, with core words easy to reach.

Choosing for real routines

The best list comes from watching the student’s actual day and asking the family and the student what they want to say. Messages that would come up several times a day go on first.

Modeling

Students learn to use an AAC system the way other children learn speech: by seeing and hearing it used around them. Adults pointing to words on the system while they talk is one of the strongest supports there is.

Sources

  1. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Practice Portal: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (vocabulary selection; aided language input).
  2. Banajee, M., Dicarlo, C., and Stricklin, S. B. (2003). Core vocabulary determination for toddlers. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 19(2), 67 to 73.
  3. Beukelman, D. R., and Light, J. C. Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Supporting Children and Adults with Complex Communication Needs, 5th edition (2020), chapter on message selection.
  4. Sennott, S. C., Light, J. C., and McNaughton, D. (2016). AAC modeling intervention research review. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 41(2), 101 to 115.

The example student is made up. The plan describes vocabulary choices; the student’s AAC team sets up the system. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.