How to Build a Communication Board for Non-Verbal Students

A communication board is exactly what it sounds like: a board (physical or digital) that displays symbols, pictures, or words a student can point to in order to communicate. For students who don't use spoken language reliably, a well-built communication board can be the difference between having a voice and not having one.

I want to be direct about something: this article is about building boards that actually get used. I've seen too many communication boards that end up shoved in a backpack or propped on a shelf. A board that a student doesn't touch isn't a communication tool. It's a craft project. Everything I'm going to walk you through here is designed to produce boards that students reach for, because the vocabulary is right, the layout is intuitive, and the board fits into their real daily life.

Who Needs a Communication Board

Communication boards serve a wide range of students. Some have no spoken language at all. Others have some words but can't reliably use speech to meet all their communication needs. Still others are in the early stages of learning to use a high-tech AAC device and need a low-tech backup.

The students I build boards for include those with autism who are minimally speaking, students with significant intellectual disabilities, children with childhood apraxia of speech who are still developing verbal skills, and students with complex medical needs that affect speech production.

One thing I always tell families: using a communication board does not prevent a child from developing speech. The research on this is unequivocal. AAC supports language development; it doesn't replace it. If anyone on your team is hesitant about boards because they think it'll become a "crutch," that concern is not supported by the evidence.

Types of Communication Boards

Core Word Boards

Core words are the small set of words that make up the vast majority of everything we say. Words like "want," "go," "more," "stop," "help," "that," "not," "like," and "put." Research consistently shows that about 200-400 core words account for 80% of what people say in daily conversation.

A core word board organizes these high-frequency words in a consistent layout. The student always knows where "want" is, where "stop" is, where "more" is. This consistency is crucial. Core word boards are the foundation of robust communication, as they let students combine words to express a nearly unlimited range of messages.

Topic-Specific Boards

These boards contain vocabulary for a specific activity or setting. A cafeteria board might have food items, drink choices, and social phrases like "sit with me" and "I'm done." A recess board might focus on playground equipment, game names, and social language. An art class board would include materials, colors, and action words like "cut," "glue," and "paint."

Topic boards supplement core word boards; they don't replace them. The core board travels everywhere; topic boards live in specific locations.

Choice Boards

The simplest type: a board showing two or more options a student can select from. "Do you want crackers or apple?" with pictures of each. Choice boards are often the entry point for students who are just beginning to use aided communication. They're limited in what they allow a student to say, but they're a starting point that builds the foundational skill of pointing to communicate.

PODD-Style Communication Books

Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display (PODD) is a system developed by Gayle Porter that organizes vocabulary by communication purpose rather than category. Instead of a "food" page and an "actions" page, a PODD book has a "I want something" page, a "I'm telling you something" page, and so on. PODD books are more complex to build but offer a powerful organizational framework. They require specific training to implement well; this isn't a weekend project.

How to Choose the Right Vocabulary

Start with Observation

Before you create a single cell on a board, spend time watching the student. What do they try to communicate right now? What do they reach for, gesture toward, get frustrated about? A student who constantly reaches for other kids' toys needs "mine," "want," "your turn," and "my turn" more than they need "circle" and "triangle."

I keep a simple tally for three days: every time the student attempts to communicate something (through any means: gestures, sounds, behavior), I jot down what they were trying to say. After three days, patterns emerge. Those patterns tell you what vocabulary to prioritize.

Use Core Word Research as Your Backbone

The research on core vocabulary is robust and practical. Start with the most frequently used words across contexts. I typically begin with a core board of 20-30 words for beginning communicators and expand to 40-60 as the student progresses. Resources like the Banajee, Dicarlo & Buras Stricklin (2003) core vocabulary list or the PrAACtical AAC core word lists are good starting points.

Add Personally Meaningful Fringe Vocabulary

Core words are universal, but every student also needs words specific to their life. The name of their sibling, their favorite character, their pet, their preferred food. These "fringe" words are low-frequency in general language but high-frequency for that individual, and should be kept seperate from the core vocabulary layout. A board without any personal fringe vocabulary feels generic. A board with the student's actual life represented on it feels like theirs.

Include Social Language

This gets overlooked constantly. Students need ways to say "hi," "bye," "that's funny," "I don't like that," "look at this," and "stop it." Social language isn't a luxury; it's how humans connect. A student who can only request items but can't comment, protest, or greet is being given a limited voice. Every board should include social phrases from the start.

Step-by-Step Board Creation Process

Step 1: Define the Purpose and Context

Is this a comprehensive core board that will be the student's primary communication tool? A supplemental topic board for science class? A choice board for snack time? The purpose determines everything else: vocabulary, size, layout, and format.

Step 2: Select Your Vocabulary

Use your observations, core word research, and input from the student's team (including family) to choose 15-40 words for a first board. When in doubt, go smaller. You can always add cells. A board that's too crowded is worse than one that's missing a few words.

Step 3: Choose Your Symbol Type

Options include photographs, colored line drawings (like those from ARASAAC or PCS), black-and-white line drawings, or text. For most students, I start with colored line drawings. They're abstract enough to generalize across contexts but concrete enough to be recognizable. For students who struggle with line drawings, try real photographs first and fade to drawings later.

Step 4: Design the Layout

Core words should be in consistent positions, always the same place on the board, every time. Many SLPs use a modified Fitzgerald Key layout (people on the left, verbs in the middle, nouns/objects on the right). Others prefer a motor-planning approach where word position never changes even as vocabulary is added.

Group related words logically, but not in rigid categories. "More" and "stop" might both live in the top row because they're both high-frequency modifiers, even though they're semantically different.

Step 5: Build It

This is where your tool choice matters.

For physical boards: Print your layout on cardstock, laminate it, and attach velcro if you want removable pieces. Consider mounting it on a clipboard, binder, or communication book.

For digital boards: Use an AAC app or visual support tool. Glint makes this step remarkably fast. I can build a custom 30-cell core board in about two minutes by describing what I need and then fine-tuning the AI-generated layout. For comparison, the same board takes me 20+ minutes in most other tools because I'm searching for and placing each symbol individually.

Step 6: Introduce and Model

The board is built. Now the real work begins. Model, model, model. Use the board yourself while you talk to the student. Point to "want" when you say "Do you want a turn?" Point to "finished" when you say "I'm finished with my snack." The student needs to see competent communicators using the board before they'll use it themselves. Research on aided language stimulation is clear: modeling is the single most powerful strategy for teaching AAC use.

Physical vs. Digital Boards

My recommendation: most students benefit from having both. A physical core board that's always available as a backup, and a digital version that's their primary tool when a device is accessible. The digital version through a platform like Glint has the advantage of being updateable from anywhere. I can add a new vocabulary word from my office and it appears on the student's board in the classroom immediately.

Common Mistakes That Kill Board Effectiveness

Mistake 1: Too Many Symbols Too Fast

I see 60-cell boards given to students who have never used aided communication. The student looks at 60 options, gets overwhelmed, and shuts down. Start with 8-20 cells. Build from there based on the student's progress, not your enthusiasm.

Mistake 2: Not Modeling

If the adults around the student aren't using the board, the student won't either. Period. I tell teams: you should be pointing to the board at least 20 times per day in natural interactions. Not in structured "therapy" moments, but in real conversations. During snack, during transitions, during play.

Mistake 3: Only Nouns on the Board

I've beaten this drum already, but it's the most common error I see. A board of 30 nouns gives a student 30 things they can label. A board of 15 core words and 15 nouns gives them thousands of potential messages through word combinations.

Mistake 4: Restricting Access

"He only gets the board during speech therapy." No. A communication tool needs to be available at all times, in all settings. You wouldn't take a verbal student's voice away during math class. A communication board is a voice. It goes everywhere.

Mistake 5: Not Involving the Family

The family knows the student better than anyone on the school team. They know what words the student needs at home, what motivates them, what they try to communicate over the weekend. I always interview families before selecting vocabulary, and I always make sure they have a copy of (or digital access to) the communication board. Glint's sharing feature makes this easy; for physical boards, send home a laminated copy and a quick one-page guide on how to use it.

Mistake 6: Never Updating the Board

Students grow. Their interests change. Their skills expand. A communication board that hasn't been updated in six months is probably not serving the student well anymore. Build in a quarterly review at minimum. Look at which words the student uses most, which they never touch, and what new vocabulary they need.

Building a communication board is one of the most important things you can do for a non-verbal student. It's also one of the most iterative. Your first board won't be your last, and that's exactly how it should be. The goal isn't perfection on day one. The goal is giving a student a way to be heard, and then refining that voice over time.