Symbol Systems & Visual Supports Flashcards

A team is debating between a grid-based display and a visual scene display (VSD) for a 3-year-old with complex communication needs. What is the PRIMARY advantage of a VSD for this age group?

Answer: VSDs embed symbols within meaningful, context-rich photographs that mirror how young children naturally process language

Visual scene displays present vocabulary embedded in contextually relevant photographs, aligning with how young children learn language through rich, situated experiences rather than decontextualized grids.

Which symbol attribute refers to how consistently a symbol's appearance maps to the same meaning across different graphic symbol systems?

Answer: Iconicity

Iconicity describes the degree to which a symbol's visual form resembles its referent, and high iconicity tends to be consistent across different AAC symbol sets because the visual similarity is inherent.

A Speech-Language Pathologist recommends using a 'communication board with semantic-syntactic organization.' Which description BEST matches this approach?

Answer: Symbols grouped by word class (verbs, pronouns, prepositions) in consistent locations to support sentence construction

Semantic-syntactic organization groups symbols by grammatical category in consistent positions, supporting the user's ability to construct grammatically varied utterances.

Which of the following is an example of a 'low-tech' visual support used to facilitate choice-making?

Answer: A laminated card with two printed PCS symbols presented to the user during a preferred activity

A laminated choice card with printed symbols is a low-tech, no-power-required visual support that can be used immediately across environments to support choice-making.

When a symbol set uses color coding by Fitzgerald Key (e.g., people=yellow, verbs=green), what is the PRIMARY purpose?

Answer: To provide a consistent visual cue that helps users locate word classes and organize grammatical roles during message construction

Fitzgerald Key color coding assigns consistent colors to grammatical categories, giving AAC users a reliable visual cue to organize and locate word types when building sentences.

An adult AAC user with ALS is transitioning from direct selection to eye gaze access. Which symbol display characteristic should be modified FIRST?

Answer: Increase symbol size and spacing to reduce activation errors given eye gaze selection tolerances

Eye gaze access requires larger symbol targets with adequate spacing to compensate for gaze dwell tolerances and reduce unintended activations.

Which approach to AAC symbol instruction uses repeated, consistent exposure to symbols during naturally occurring routines WITHOUT requiring the learner to respond?

Answer: Aided language input / aided language stimulation

Aided language input (also called aided language stimulation) involves the partner consistently pointing to symbols during natural interactions to build comprehension without placing output demands on the learner.