Stage Five
Expressing complex ideas and opinions
Last updated
Copyright 2023 Ace Centre
Expressing complex ideas and opinions
Last updated
Stage Five encourages the learner to further develop their thinking, express more complex ideas and give more opinions. Strategies are provided to enable the creation of new ideas if a symbol is missing from the book.
The learner is including some links of three (or more) symbols in their communication. They can move between pages in their communication book to create a message. They are beginning to talk about past and future events, and to negotiate, reason, plan and question using symbols.
The pages at Stage Five now contain space for six additional symbols. This has been achieved by changing the groups along the top row of the page so they contain eight symbols. There are now to additional corresponding colour codes. This enables the learner to have access to more vocabulary on each page whilst keeping the symbols and font at a similar size to Stage Four.
If you are moving up to Stage Five from Stage Four, you may well want to keep the Menu Page from Stage Four for consistency. However, a template for a Menu Page in the new format of eight colours is provided in case it is required. The spelling page maintains the same layout as at Stage Four for consistency.
The alternative eight by eight layout described at Stage Four could again be considered at Stage Five if the learner has good visual acuity and is a confident and accurate eye pointer. However, as discussed, it does put more pressure on communication partners and it is a page layout that does not suit all.
We have not produced a full set of demonstration pages for Stage Five (click here to view), as they would look very similar to those at Stage Four. We have just produced a new Stage Five Core Page and an example of a Stage Five topic page to give you a flavour of how this stage looks.
No matter how many topic pages are made and how thoroughly things are thought through, there will always be missing symbols. The learner can now indicate this using the symbol not in book on all Stage Five topic pages. Page 1 spelling has an important role to play when such situations arise. However, there are also some new special symbols on all topic pages that can facilitate more flexible use of the symbols that are present. Similar to and opposite are strategies that can be used to transform the meaning of an existing symbol, although they do require a little guess work on the part of the communication partner. For example:
If the learner wanted to talk about a stool but only had the symbol for chair, they could use similar to and chair.
If the learner wanted to complain that someone was being stupid but only had the symbol for clever, they could use opposite and clever.
Page 1 spelling can support both these strategies. For example, it is easier to guess that something similar to a tiger is a lion if you have been told that the target word begins with a l.
Communication breakdown will still occur but the new symbol that’s not what I meant can help the learner to be more assertive in such situations.
The core vocabulary at Stage Five further encourages the expression of thoughts and opinions and the evaluation of other’s ideas, with symbols such as right, wrong, maybe, think and fair. The communication partner will need to model these symbols to show their value.
Finally, Stage Five topic pages all contain the plural symbol _s. This gives the learner an extra tool to help clarify the meaning of the message. For example, they could now communicate “I like dog_s”.
These new features help and encourage the learner to express more refined ideas. However, messages produced at Stage Five will still not be entirely grammatically accurate and do not need to be. The focus of communicating through symbols and eye pointing will always remain the communication of rich ideas.
All of the points discussed at Stage Four remain relevant and important at Stage Five. In other words, continue to:
make the book available, ensuring the learner can request it and encouraging and promoting its use.
support new communication partners.
develop topic pages as needed.
model as you chat.
watch, comment as you model, wait expectantly and respond
add to what the learner says.
sum up after an activity.
allow plenty of time for repetition.
Encourage the use of symbols to gain information and support learning.
Try to model using the new symbols. For example, you could share what you think about something or evaluate whether something said is right or wrong. You may need to create opportunities to demonstrate the value of the new symbols.
Model sharing complex ideas, linking multiple symbols as you chat. Include symbols that are located on other topic pages and model movement around the book.
Use the strategies similar to and opposite to create new meanings from symbols in the book.
Continue to model Page 1 spelling in context and encourage its use by the learner.
As with all languages, there’s a lot to learn! The development of communication skills is a lifelong journey for us all. No matter how skilled the learner’s communication becomes, they will always value and learn from the communication skills of communication partners who take the time and interest to use symbols to support their own communication.
Over time, you are aiming for the learner to use this book to communicate in a rich and meaningful way. It should support them to:
Give and share information
Describe situations and objects
Exchange personal stories, thoughts and opinions
Question to gain information about the world
Play and / or work with others
Reason and predict
Evaluate
Negotiate
Make plans
Guide their communication partner to a word if a symbol is not in their book.
The learner (and you!) should now be using symbols confidently within their repertoire of communication skills. Supported by their developing literacy skills and the powerful language that symbols provide, they will be able to take control and communicate about their life more effectively.
The aim going forward is to give increased ownership of the book to the learner so that they can let you know when the book is needed, what vocabulary is (and is not) required, and how that vocabulary should be used. Continue to support the development of literacy skills as the ability to support communication by spelling is very powerful.
Remember that there is no such thing as a ‘finished’ communication book. Communication skills and needs change over time and new symbols will need to be added. Time should therefore be allocated to ensure that the vocabulary does not become redundant or out of date.
As the aims for the communication partner at every stage have demonstrated, communication is a two-way process that requires skills and abilities on both sides. There will always be a need to work with those in the learner’s environment to ensure that they are surrounded by skilful communication partners who give the learner the time and support required to communicate effectively.
Look2Talk Demonstration Pages contain example communication book pages that aim to bring to life the practices and principles described above. Click here to try interactive demonstration pages for Stage Five. To experience fuller functionality, download the interactive demonstration pages from Ace Centre's website here.
Ace Centre Learning offers training on Look2Talk at least twice a year. To join a mailing list to be alerted when a course becomes available please click here. NB: If you are bounced back to this eBook it means you have already joined the mailing list.
You can also check our website to see if Look2Talk courses are currently available and to see other training opportunities around communication partner skills, AAC and access methods in general by clicking here to visit Ace Centre Learning.
