Language Categorization SpeechPages for School, Food and Animal topics are handy for working with individuals that have goals in vocabulary, categorization, life-skills or Wh-type questions. You ask questions of the student regarding the concept and each of these pages has possible answer choices on the bottom row. Many AAC users (depending on individual ability) can participate in activities with these SpeechPages by indicating their answers to stimulus topic questions through pointing.
Please note: Your actual usage may vary dependent on a student’s abilities as determined by a qualified Speech Language Pathologist’s discretion following evaluation. One of the many great things about SpeechPages is that they can be used in different ways for different clients!
The intent of SpeechPages such as Animal Homes, or Food Category Sort is to provide a format for visually directed discussion with the client. For example in the Animal Homes set, nine different animals are displayed on the top area of the page and three possible home environment locations are on the bottom row. A typical session might involve the client being asked to name each of the animals as well as the place where they probably live choosing from possible three at the bottom of the page.
After each turn given by the client, the therapist might give a statement affirming the correct choice or redirecting the choice and add additional information to teach the concepts targeted. For example, if the client said “That’s a chicken. A chicken lives on a farm!’ The therapist might respond: “That’s correct, the farmer raises the chickens on the farm. The farmer collects the eggs from the chicken and sells them.”
The intent is that the discussion of why their choice for the category sort was correct or not will help them to understand the concepts of this topic and increase their vocabulary and ability to categorize. Having removable pieces is not necessary for the session, as the focus is their understanding of why the items belong within the category rather than just the sorting act itself.
All SpeechPages are laminated in heavy duty 5-mil laminate so you could always use a wipe off marker (or most crayons) in a session. You may choose to allow the client to draw a line to their answer, or simply check off the ones they have discussed. That may make for a more interesting interaction, however the main intent is the instructional value of the material.
