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Home > AAC Features > Selection Set > Symbols

2. Symbol Types

When you think about "symbols" do you think about visual symbols on communication devices, books and boards? There are actually three types of symbols used to represent concepts in a communication aid:

A. Visual Symbols
B. Tactile Symbols
C. Auditory Symbols

A. Visual Symbols

Visual symbols are such a common way of representing meaning in AAC that most of this will be familiar to you. But, did you know that there are many different TYPES of visual symbols? Be sure to know all of these options.

1. The Alphabet for individuals who can spell or are learning to spell:

  

2. Words and phrases for individuals who can read but not spell at all. Words are preferable because they take up much less space than symbols.

(Click to enlarge)
Message Mate 40
Words+, Inc.

  
3. Concrete line drawings for individuals who are pre-literate:

  
(click picture to enlarge)
Optimist
Zygo Industries, Inc.

4. Photographs when line drawings are not recognizable:

(click to enlarge)
DynaMyte with photo
DynaVox Systems, Inc.

5. Abstract symbols serve some special purposes to be discussed later:

 
(click to enlarge)
Minspeak symbols
Prentke Romich, Inc.

Tactile or Tangible Symbols

Tactile or tangible symbols are those that can be recognized through touch by the user. They are useful for persons with vision impairments and some individuals who have difficulty recognizing two-dimensional visual representations, perhaps for cognitive reasons.

There are many different types of tactile symbols:

• Miniatures— tiny representations of larger objects. For example, a dollhouse bed might represent a bed and signify that that the individual wants to go to bed.
• Partials— parts of a larger object. For example, a doorknob might represent an entire door.
• Raised symbols— printed letters that have been embossed or pressed so that the reader can feel the shapes.
• Special tactile—Braille is the best example of this category, and contains symbols that are combined to form an infinite variety of concepts. Reading Braille requires learning a new set of symbols to represent each letter.

  
  Voice Pal Plus™ with tangible symbols
  Adaptivation, Inc.

  Be careful in setting up tangible symbols. If you use the object itself as a symbol (as in the photo above) then when the individual finds it, he has it already; there is no actual need to communicate in that case. For more information, see the Tangible Symbol System Website.

Auditory Symbols

The concept of "auditory" symbols is the most difficult for most students of AAC. Yet this is a very important type of symbol for two types of AAC users:

• individuals with vision impairments and
• individuals with abnormal reflexes who cannot keep their head and eyes oriented towards the visual display while accessing the device.

These individuals may only be able to use AAC with audible symbols, yet few teams know enough about these options.

There are two ways that auditory symbols are used in AAC: auditory scanning and auditory fishing.

1. Auditory Scanning

You have already learned about scanning as a form of Indirect Selection, used for individuals who cannot use Direct Selection for some reason. Auditory scanning is a form of scanning that uses audible symbols.

You will be surprised to know that you have been using a form of "auditory scanning" for years and are very familiar with how it works. Picture yourself for a moment at a restaurant. You have just ordered a meal that comes with a salad. The waiter now wants to know what kind of dressing you want. There is no "Dressing List" as there is for wines. How do you make a decision, not knowing what dressings this particular restaurant has?

The waiter begins: "We have blue cheese, ranch, russian, italian...." He is listing the options for you....your selection set. And he is using audible symbols in the process. (Remember, he COULD hand you a list of the dressings they have.)

Rarely do you sit and listen through the entire list. Instead, you listen for the one you like, and when you hear it, you signal or say "yes". This is Partner Assisted Auditory Scanning [G]. The partner in this case is the waiter who names the options sequentially. You are like the AAC user; you simply signal when he gets to the one you want. This can be a very powerful strategy for some AAC users under some circumstances.

Now picture a young boy with cerebral palsy who cannot always look at the screen of his device. When he wants to tell his mother what video he wants to watch, he will activate his switch so that the device will name each option quietly. When he hears "Rugrats" he will hit the switch again and the device will say it again more loudly.

Most AAC devices can handle visual symbols. Here are a few that also permit auditory scanning.

  
(click picture to enlarge)
Optimist
Zygo Industries, Inc.

(click to enlarge)
Vantage
Prentke Romich Company

(click picture to enlarge)
DynaVox 3100
DynaVox Systems, Inc.

But, you learned in the Access Features section of this lesson, that scanning and other indirect methods should not be used by individuals who can use Direct Selection methods. So, what if you need audible symbols for someone with good motor control?

2. Auditory Fishing

Auditory Fishing is a Direct Selection method that uses auditory symbols. The user lightly touches the keys on the display to hear the options spoken at a low volume, to help him find the item he really wants to communicate. When he finds the right item this way, he presses the key again and it is spoken at a higher volume for the partner.

This technique (also called "auditory prompts" or "audible cues") is only appropriate for an AAC user who has poor vision but good hand control. There are very few devices that have this option but here is one:

Pathfinder
Prentke Romich Co.

Go on to Symbol Clarity
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