A communication board is a simple tool that lets someone express needs, feelings, and ideas by pointing to pictures, symbols, or words arranged on a flat surface. You can make one at home with printed symbols and a piece of cardboard, or digitally using free resources online. The key is matching the board’s design to the specific person who will use it, because a board that’s too complex or too simple won’t get used.
Who Uses Communication Boards
Communication boards are used by people who have difficulty with spoken language. This includes children and adults with autism spectrum disorder, people with physical disabilities that affect speech, individuals recovering from stroke, and those with hearing loss. They’re also helpful for people with limited English proficiency in specific settings like hospitals, theaters, or schools.
The benefits go beyond basic requests. Visual supports improve how people process information, create more predictable environments, and build independence. When a communication partner regularly models how to use the board (pointing to symbols while speaking), the person using it tends to develop more complex language over time, not less. A well-designed board isn’t a substitute for language development. It’s a scaffold for it.
Choose the Right Vocabulary
The most common mistake people make is filling a board entirely with nouns: “juice,” “bathroom,” “TV,” “blanket.” Nouns feel intuitive, but they limit what someone can actually say. A board full of nouns only lets a person label things or make requests. It doesn’t let them comment, refuse, ask questions, or have a conversation.
The fix is to prioritize core vocabulary over fringe vocabulary. Core words are the small, flexible words that make up most of everyday speech: “I,” “want,” “go,” “more,” “stop,” “help,” “like,” “not,” “that,” “here.” Fringe words are topic-specific nouns and other specialized terms: “pizza,” “swing,” “grandma.” A widely used clinical guideline recommends at least four core words for every one fringe word on a board. So if your board has 20 cells, roughly 16 should be core vocabulary and 4 can be specific nouns relevant to the person’s daily life.
This ratio matters because core words are reusable across hundreds of situations. “Want” combines with anything. “More” works at meals, during play, and in conversation. A board heavy on core vocabulary gives someone genuine expressive power rather than a limited menu of pre-set requests.
Pick a Grid Size Based on the User
Grid size refers to how many cells appear on the board and how large each one is. The right size depends on two things: what the person can see and what they can physically touch or point to with accuracy.
For someone with strong vision and fine motor skills, a denser grid (20 to 30+ cells) provides more vocabulary in one place. For someone with visual impairments or difficulty with precise movements, fewer and larger cells work better. Start with the smallest number of cells the person needs and expand from there. A board with 8 to 12 well-chosen words is far more useful than a board with 40 words the person can’t reliably select.
If the user has a tremor or tends to accidentally hit neighboring cells, increase the spacing between symbols. High contrast between the background color and the cell borders also helps people with visual impairments distinguish one cell from another. For someone with severe motor impairments who can’t reliably point at all, consider a partner-assisted scanning approach instead of a traditional point-and-select board (more on that below).
Use Color Coding to Organize Words
A widely adopted system called the Modified Fitzgerald Key assigns background colors to different types of words. This isn’t decorative. It helps users find words faster and begin to internalize sentence structure by seeing patterns in how word types combine.
- Yellow: Pronouns (I, you, he, she, it)
- Green: Verbs (want, go, stop, like, help)
- Orange: Nouns (food, school, home, ball)
- Blue: Adjectives (big, more, hot, funny)
- Pink: Prepositions and social words (in, on, please, hi)
- Purple: Questions (what, where, who, why)
- Red: Important function words, negation, and emergency words (not, don’t, stop, help)
- White: Conjunctions (and, but, or)
You don’t need to use every category on a single board. If your board has 12 cells, you might only use four or five colors. The point is consistency: once “green means action words,” keep it that way across every board and every update.
Find Symbols and Images
You don’t need to draw your own pictures or buy expensive software. Several free, open-source symbol libraries exist specifically for communication boards.
ARASAAC is one of the most comprehensive free symbol sets available. Funded by the EU and the Government of Aragon in Spain, it includes thousands of clear pictographic symbols designed for AAC use. OpenMoji, developed by a German design university, offers another open-license option with a broad range of symbols. OpenSymbols.org aggregates freely available AAC symbols from multiple sources into one searchable repository. For specific contexts like safety or emergencies, the Guemil icon set provides open-source pictograms for risk and emergency situations.
Commercial symbol sets like PCS (Picture Communication Symbols) and SymbolStix are also widely used in schools and therapy settings, but they require paid licenses. For a homemade board, the free options are more than sufficient. You can also use personal photographs, which research suggests increase the user’s connection to the vocabulary and encourage more communication attempts. A photo of the person’s actual dog, for instance, is more motivating than a generic dog icon.
Assemble the Physical Board
Once you’ve selected your vocabulary, colors, and symbols, the assembly process is straightforward:
- Print your symbols on cardstock or regular paper. Size each cell large enough for the user to see and point to comfortably. For most users, cells between 1.5 and 3 inches square work well.
- Arrange them on a backing such as cardboard, foam board, or a laminated sheet. Place the most frequently used words in easy-to-reach positions. For someone with limited range of motion, put high-priority words closest to their dominant hand.
- Label each cell with both the symbol and the written word. This supports literacy development and helps communication partners who may not recognize every symbol.
- Laminate the finished board or use clear contact paper. Communication boards get heavy daily use, and an unprotected paper board will deteriorate within days.
- Attach hook-and-loop strips (like Velcro) if you want cells to be removable and rearrangeable. This makes it easy to swap in new vocabulary as the person’s needs change.
Consider making multiple boards for different contexts: one for mealtimes, one for school or work, one for play or leisure. A single board that tries to cover every situation often ends up too crowded to be useful. A small, portable “go-to” board with 12 to 15 core words, paired with context-specific fringe boards, gives the best balance of flexibility and usability.
How to Use Partner-Assisted Scanning
For someone who can’t reliably point to cells on a board, partner-assisted scanning is an alternative approach where the communication partner does the pointing and the user confirms or rejects each option. This works well for people with severe motor impairments who can still communicate “yes” and “no” through a consistent signal, whether that’s a head nod, eye blink, vocalization, or facial expression.
The process works like this: present two to three options at a time, saying each one aloud while pointing to it on the board. Then go back through the options one at a time, pausing after each to wait for a response. If the person signals “yes,” you’ve identified their choice. If they reject all options, move to the next group of words.
When you’re unsure whether you read the response correctly, repair the interaction rather than guessing. You might say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand. Can we try again?” or offer what you think they chose and wait for confirmation: “I think you want ‘outside.’ Is that right?” This back-and-forth takes patience, but it ensures the user retains genuine control over what they’re communicating.
Model Before You Expect
A new communication board won’t be useful on day one if the user has never seen someone else use it. The single most important thing you can do after making a board is model its use constantly. When you talk to the person, point to the relevant words on the board as you speak. If you say “Do you want more?” tap “want” and “more” on the board while saying it.
This does two things. It teaches the user where words are located without drilling or quizzing them. And it shows that the board is a legitimate, respected way to communicate, not a test they need to pass. Research consistently shows that modeling increases both the frequency and complexity of communication through AAC systems over time. Expect a learning curve of weeks to months, not days. Keep the board visible, keep pointing to it, and resist the urge to simplify it prematurely if the user doesn’t engage right away.