Should I Put Yes/No on my AAC Board or SGD?

That is a question we get asked often.  The answer is specific to that student or situation.  There is no one size fits all to answer this question.  But here are a few things you can ask yourself to help you make that decision.

1. Does the student have another way to say yes/no? If so, then this may not be the best use of the limited “real estate” on the learner’s AAC.

2. In the person’s current means of expressing yes/no consistently recognized by others? Sometimes the student’s yes/no signals are ambiguous or easy to miss.  Remember the response should be clear to everyone, even unfamiliar communication partners.

3. Is it vocabulary that you are ready to model and/or target? Some of our learners have a focus in other areas. Yes/no are used for many purposes.  Developmentally, those communicative intents come in at different points in time.  It isn’t a priority for everyone.

4. What does the AAC learner want? Seems simple, but worth trying to figure out.

Yes and no are deceiving.  They look like short, simple words, but learning to use them effectively is a complex process.  Kate Ahern, writer of the Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs blog did a great yes/no series that discusses the different types of yes/no questions and how they are not created equally.  Some examples of yes/no questions are: accept/reject, affirm/deny, to indicate preferences, etc.

Links to resources for yes/no:

1. Should I Put Yes/No of a SGD? From PrAACtical AAC

2. The Yes/No Series – Part 1 from Kate Ahern

3. The Yes/No Series – Part 2 from Kate Ahern

4. The Yes/No Series – Part 3 from Kate Ahern

5. The Yes/No Series – Part 4 from Kate Ahern

6. The Yes/No Series – Part 5 from Kate Ahern

7. The Yes/No Series – Part 6 from Kate Ahern