Teaching · Special Education

Any adult can talk with this student after reading one card.

Write down how the student communicates, how yes and no look, and what their signals mean, with the student in the room. The card goes to substitutes, specials teachers, bus and lunch staff, so everyone starts from the student’s own way of talking.

Start a communication card What 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 Special Education toolkit, $99 for 100 items.

The communication card

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

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What you get

Teaching · Special Education$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with: For each student, a one-page communication card: ways of communicating, yes and no, signals with meanings and responses, pain signals, what helps, and the student’s own words.
Who it is for: Special education teachers and speech-language pathologists who make the card with the student and family, and every adult who receives it.
Format: Browser form. Several saved versions per student; printed as the card or a blank form; CSV with one row per version or the signals 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 Special Education toolkit ($99) 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 Special Education space in Caveat Teaching.
Support: Questions about an order, access or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

Drawn for this page. A card any adult can read in ten seconds makes the student’s way of talking the default, not the exception.

How to use it

Start a record with the student’s initials or a code and the date.
With the student and family, mark how the student communicates and how yes and no look.
Add each signal, what it usually means and the best response.
Write how the student shows pain or distress, and what helps them understand.
Add the student’s own words, print the card and share it with every adult who needs it.

Start a communication card

What the card is for

Why a card

Students who communicate in less familiar ways are often misread by adults who see them only now and then: a substitute, a lunch aide, a bus driver. A short card with yes and no, the student’s signals and how pain looks keeps the student safe and heard on any day.

The student’s voice

Make the card with the student wherever possible, and include their own words. Many AAC users ask the same thing of adults: speak to me directly, and give me time.

What this card is not

It is not an assessment and does not replace the IEP or a health plan. Medical signs belong with the school nurse as well; the card tells adults to fetch help.

Sources

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations, 34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(iv) (the IEP team considers the communication needs of the child).
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Practice Portal: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (communication partners and supports).
Beukelman, D. R., and Light, J. C. Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Supporting Children and Adults with Complex Communication Needs, 5th edition (2020).
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 34 CFR Part 99 (sharing with school officials who have a legitimate educational interest).

The example student is made up. The card shares how a student communicates; it does not replace the IEP or a health plan. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.