by Megan | Apr 20, 2026 | AAC, aided language input, aided language stimulation, blog, book recommendations, books, continuing education, core vocabulary, emergent literacy, fringe vocabulary, modeling, Sensory, Sensory extension activities, tips, training
When “Just Reading” Isn’t Enough
You picked the book, prepped the materials and set up the environment and feel ready to start shared reading with your AAC user. But, when you get started, the learner keeps moving around, wants to stay on the same page, flip through pages quickly and closes the book again and again.
Before you take this as a sign that the learner is “checked out”, not interested or that you need to revamp your entire lesson, take a moment to reflect and think about why they are doing those things. I can guarantee you that they are not doing those things to make the shared reading experience more difficult. They are showing you what they need in order to keep their body calm and regulated and allow themselves to focus on the AAC device and/or story.
When we provide sensory supports for the learner during the shared reading experience, we not only help learners stay calm and regulated, we provide anchors that keep them present in the experience.
Proprioceptive & Vestibular Input (Moving while Reading)
For some learners, movement is a prerequisite for attention—they literally need to move their bodies to process what they hear. If your learner struggles to sit still, try these shifts:
- Adaptive Seating: Offer a bean bag, wiggle cushion, stool, or even a swing during storytime.
- Action Modeling: Incorporate movement into the story itself (e.g., “The bear is jumping! Let’s jump!”).
- Change of Scenery: Move to different parts of the room for different chapters or pages.
Remember: Just because a learner is moving doesn’t mean they aren’t listening. For many, the movement is exactly what allows them to stay tuned in.
Tactile Anchors (The “Touch-and-Feel” Beyond the Book)
Other learners may need or prefer additional tactile stimulation to get and keep them engaged during shared reading. Giving hands something to do often gives the brain more space to focus on language. Here are some ideas to increased tactile input during shared reading:
- Story Bins: Create “literacy kits” with items representing the story, like soft fur for a bear or a small cup for tea time.
- Themed Fidgets: Provide fidgets that match the book’s theme to keep the learner’s tactile system engaged with the topic.
Sensory Minimalism: Reducing the Noise
While we are thinking about the different things we might need to add to help make shared reading more sensory friendly, there are also some things we might need to decrease. While some learners might seek out visual and auditory input, too much of this type of input can also be overwhelming for some. Knowing our learners and their sensory preferences, allows us to reduce the “sensory noise” so that the AAC voice and the book can be the stars. Here are some actionable ideas you can use to help decrease the auditory and visual distractions:
- Lighting: Use a reading lamp instead of harsh overhead lights.
- Auditory: Minimizing background noise
- Visual: Using a dedicated “reading rug” to define the space.
The “Low-Tech” Sensory Kit
Before you start thinking that you need to go out and buy a bunch of new things to revamp your room, area, etc. take a look around your home or classroom, you probably have a lot of items you can use to support sensory needs during shared reading.
-
- Comfort: Pillows, blankets, cushions
- Movement: rocking chairs, wiggle seats, trampoline, swing
- Tactile: Various textures and/or items that the learner can feel and interact with while reading – bonus if they are related to items within the story.
- Tactile: Preferred fidget items
- Movement: Different areas that you can move to throughout the reading if needed or a specific place that is your “reading area’.
- Lighting: dimmable lights or light from lamps instead of overhead lights
- Auditory: quiet space, headphones
The possibilities are endless!
Once you get started seeing things from a “sensory lens” you will come up with many more ideas that are personalized to your learner than I can list here. You are the expert on your learner. These tools simply help their environment match their needs.
If you are interested in learning even more about sensory supports and how they can make shared reading accessible and engaging and want to see some examples of sensory based literacy kits you can check them out in my store.
Before you go
Share with us in the comments: “What is your learner’s favorite sensory support during storytime?”
by Megan | Apr 13, 2026 | AAC, aided language input, aided language stimulation, blog, book recommendations, books, continuing education, core vocabulary, emergent literacy, fringe vocabulary, modeling, Sensory, tips, training, Uncategorized
The “Perfect Book” Trap
If you’ve ever found yourself looking at a bookshelf filled to the brim, feeling overwhelmed and wondering “Is this one right for shared reading with my AAC user?”, you are not alone.
Since “AAC friendly” isn’t a category that books are organized into, at the library or bookstore, we need to shift our way of thinking when browsing. Choosing a book isn’t about it being “AAC friendly”, it’s about it being engaging, interesting and fun for both you and the AAC user.
My goal for this post is to simplify the process of choosing a book to read with your AAC user and reassure you that there is no “perfect book”. Once you realize that, you can spend less time searching for books and more time reading them. Here are the three pillars I use to find books that naturally invite communication.
1. High Predictability
One of the first things I look for is how much predictability is built into the story. Predictability reduces the “work” a learner has to do to follow the story, which leaves more room in their brain to think about what they want to communicate.
This predictability usually looks like repetitive lines or a rhyme and rhythm that creates a natural pause for the AAC user to chime in. Think of classics like:
- “But the bear snores on…”
- “But he was still hungry.”
- “There was an old lady…”
- “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”
Pro Tip: If you find a book you love that isn’t predictable, you can make it predictable. Simply choose a repeated comment, request, protest or sound effect to say on every single page. Suddenly, any book becomes accessible!
2. Core Word Capacity (Moving Beyond Nouns)
A common mistake is picking books just for labeling (like “dog,” “cat,” or “truck”). While nouns are great, Core Words (verbs and descriptors) are the words that give a learner power across their whole day.
I look for “Action-Heavy” or “Emotion-Heavy” books. For example:
- Go/Stop: Great for any book about transportation or animals moving.
- In/On/Under: Perfect for lift-the-flap books or “hide and seek” stories.
- Like/Don’t Like: Excellent for stories about picky eaters or characters with strong opinions.
Modeling “go” or “scared” gives your learner a word they can use in a hundred other situations outside of this specific book.
3. Visual Clarity & Sensory Considerations
Finally, consider the visual and sensory “load” of the book. This is highly personalized. Some readers may prefer real photographs, while others find very busy, detailed illustrations distracting.
The Sensory Anchor: If a book has different textures or interactive elements, it is almost always a “sure thing” for me. These elements act as an “
My “Three-Question” Quick Filter
Next time you are at the library or bookstore, use these three questions to find your next great read:
- Does it have a repeating phrase (or can I create one)?
- Can I model at least 3 core words easily and repeatedly?
- Is the topic actually interesting to the learner? (This is the most important rule!)
DOWNLOAD THE QUICK-FILTER CHEAT SHEET HERE
Start browsing confidently!
You are ready to start checking out books with confidence, knowing that engagement matters far more than “perfection.”
If you want to dive even deeper into the “how-to” of shared reading, my e-book, Shared Reading with AAC Users: A Neurodiversity-Affirming Guide, walks you through everything from setup to tracking progress.
One more thing before you go… share in the comments: What is the one book your learner requests over and over?
by Megan | Apr 6, 2026 | AAC, blog, book recommendations, core vocabulary, emergent literacy, fringe vocabulary, modeling, tips, training, Uncategorized
One of the questions I hear all the time
“But what am I supposed to model?”
This is one of the most common questions I hear when I share about shared reading, and it makes sense. As professionals, parents, and caregivers of AAC users, we want to be doing what feels helpful, meaningful and supportive.
There are a lot of different words you could model during shared reading with AAC users, and that can definitely feel overwhelming. The good news is: you don’t need to model everything, and there are no perfect words you have to choose in order for shared reading to be meaningful.
You do not need to model everything
When you think about shared reading, you may immediately think about reading the text on the page. However, if you have read my previous posts about what shared reading is, and how to start shared reading, you know that shared reading can look a lot of different ways.
Shared reading is not about covering all the text in the book or modeling every word. In fact, you do not even have to model words directly from the text. You can model words that describe the pictures, words that connect to something the learner notices, or a word or two you chose ahead of time that you can naturally repeat throughout the reading.
Remember that connection is the goal during every shared reading opportunity, so if modeling words feels overwhelming and starts to take away from the connection, it is ok to scale back the amount and variety of words you are modeling.
Start with a few core words
If you are just getting started with shared reading or reading a book that is less familiar to you, it might be helpful to read through the book ahead of time and jot down a few possible words on sticky notes. You can place the sticky notes right on the pages, so the words will be there when you are ready to read.
To keep things simple, focus on just a few core words.
While there are no “right” or “wrong” words to model, these are words I have found myself using across many different books:
- look
- turn
- more
- again
- go
- like
- stop
- big
- little
- funny
Starting with core vocabulary can be especially helpful because these words are flexible and naturally show up across routines, conversations, and books. That makes them easier to model consistently.
I also love modeling core vocabulary during shared reading because the words do not stay stuck inside the book. They can carry over into the child’s day, helping build connections between the story and real life.
You can also model fringe words that matter
While core vocabulary might be the go-to vocabulary to model during shared reading, don’t forget about fringe vocabulary.
Story-specific words and themes absolutely have a place in shared reading, especially when they connect to what catches the learner’s attention. That might include:
- animal names
- food
- characters
- actions from the story
- favorite objects or themes
Core words may show up more often, but fringe words can sometimes be the thing that helps build excitement and buy-in. If a fringe word is meaningful, interesting, or motivating, it is absolutely worth modeling.
Model comments more than questions
If you read my previous post about starting shared reading with AAC users, you know that shared reading is NOT about performance and is not a test.
It can be easy to default to questions such as:
- What is that?
- What color is it?
- What is he doing?
- Can you point to…?
But one powerful shift is to model comments more often than questions.
Some examples of comments you can model during shared reading include:
- I like that.
- That’s funny!
- Uh oh!
- Look!
- Let’s turn the page.
- Wow!
- There he goes.
- I see it.
Comments are a great way to draw attention to the illustrations, the action, and the emotional moments in a book. They often feel more natural, and they help build interest and connection without putting pressure on the learner to respond in a certain way.
Model feelings, actions, and surprises
Books are full of feelings, actions, reactions, surprises, and opinions. That is part of what makes them such a natural space for communication.
These kinds of words can be great choices to model during shared reading:
- happy
- sad
- funny
- wow
- uh oh
- go
- fall
- open
- like
- don’t like
Modeling these words in the context of a book makes language feel more natural, meaningful, and fun rather than like a drill.
Let the book guide you
By now, hopefully the pressure is starting to come down.
Not only do you not have to model every word in the book, you also do not have to model the exact same words every time. In fact, shared reading often feels more natural when you let the book guide what you model.
Some books lend themselves to movement and action words so you might model more verbs. Some books bring up strong feelings, so you may model emotion words. Other books naturally invite commenting, predicting, or repetitive modeling.
Whatever book you are reading, think about a few core and fringe words you might want to use, but do not feel like you have to stick to those alone. Trust your instincts and model what feels natural in the moment. That is often where the best connection happens.
Keep it natural
Nothing disrupts connection during shared reading faster than making it feel like a task that has to be completed.
We want shared reading to feel inviting and enjoyable so that learners will want to return to it again and again.
As you plan for shared reading, keep these ideas in mind:
- Model naturally, not constantly
- You do not have to model on every page
- The goal is connection and access
- Repeated, meaningful models matter more than frequency alone
- Follow the child’s interest when possible
And remember: there is no one way shared reading should look. There can be lots of movement, only a little reading, repetitive reading of favorite pages, or lots of page flipping. It all still counts.
You’ve got this!
You are ready to start shared reading right where you are.
Keep these ideas in mind:
- Start with a few words.
- Let the book help you.
- Comments count.
- Repeated words are powerful.
- You do not need to do it perfectly for it to be meaningful.
If you want more support in figuring out what to model, how to get started, and how to make shared reading more accessible, I go deeper into all of that in my e-book, Shared Reading with AAC Users: A Neurodiversity-Affirming Guide.
by Megan | Dec 16, 2023 | AAC, aided language input, aided language stimulation, blog, continuing education, core vocabulary, fringe vocabulary, modeling, prompt hierarchy
It’s the busiest time of the year! Wrapping up the year, buying gifts for all you love, finding time to celebrate with all your friends and family, you may feel like you are running around endlessly, the last thing you should have to worry about is making sure you have all of your continuing education units (CEUs) done to renew your licenses and certifications. 🤪
Before you close this window and start running around again, take the time to read to the end of this post, ‘cause I’ve got a way for you to rack up a bunch of CEUs for FREE! **Bonus if you want to learn more about AAC – these CEUs are AAC focused**
Ready to get started? Here we go!
- You will be redirected to a login page where you can create an account or, if you have an account within any Tobii Dynavox or Boardmaker programs, use that account login and password.
- After you log in you will be redirected to the Learning Hub, where you can start racking up those CEUs! Click on “Course Catalog” to see all the courses offered.
- Once you see the list of courses, you can also open the categories further to see additional specific courses.
That’s it – you are ready to rack up a bunch of free CEUs to finish out your requirements for the end of the year, or whenever you need it!
If you work through any of these courses and find one that you really like, let us know in the comments so we can check it out too!
by Megan | Nov 29, 2020 | AAC, core vocabulary, fringe vocabulary, Sensory, Storybook Sessions
Storybook Sessions: “That’s Not My Snowman”
In each Storybook Sessions post, I highlight a book that I have used, or plan to use in therapy as well as associated, extension activities that can be paired with the book to increase vocabulary comprehension, provide opportunities to express yourself verbally, written, creatively, etc., sensory exploration, fine motor practice, gross motor movements, etc. Some extension activities will focus on all of these components while others will focus more specifically on one area. Books and all materials are linked as well to provide easy online shopping so you can easily gather materials to replicate these activities and enjoy them yourself. (Simply click on the title of the book and/or material listed and you will be redirected to an opportunity to purchase and/or learn more)
Author: Fiona Watt
Illustrator: Rachel Wells
“That’s Not My Snowman”
This book, like the others in the wildly popular, “That’s Not My…” series, features various textures and sensory elements via touchy-feely patches on each page. The story line also features a simple, repetitive text: “That’s not my snowman, it’s ____ is too ____.” This repetitive line promotes basic, emergent literacy and language skills for readers, providing multiple opportunities to see and hear familiar words which will in turn, increase their comprehension and recognition of these repeated words. The various items that are featured and described in the repeated line are those that contain the different touchy-feely patches on each page (e.g., “…it’s hat is too soft.”). Featuring and describing these items provides the reader with opportunities to increase their receptive vocabulary through identifying the labeled items (nouns) as well as describing how they feel (adjectives).
As readers become more familiar with the text and associate the feel of the various sensory elements with the descriptive vocabulary provided, they will have the opportunity to use this vocabulary in their own expressive communication as they read the book and/or describe various items they interact with throughout their day. An added bonus for students who are emergent language and literacy learners, who may also be using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is that this book is full of core vocabulary that can be modeled on a communication device/system. Examples of core vocabulary within the book include: “that”, “not”, “my”, and “it” as well as the multiple opportunities to model “turn” for turning the page, “help”, “feel” for exploring the touchy-feely patches, “you” and “I” and so many more!
As you can see, there are so many reasons that this book is a no-brainer to use within my language therapy sessions but it’s a great book to read with any emergent reader and language learner to help build and refine their literacy and language skills. Reading books like this become even more fun when you pair reading with a fun, sensory based extension activity like these fun sensory snowmen.
Simple, cheap and fun = win, win, win!
Sensory Snowmen
All you need for this simple, fun, sensory extension activity is:
Materials needed for sensory snowmen extension activity.
Step 1:
- Remove the label on the resealable zipper storage bag(s) with nail polish remover. (This really works – promise! I was a skeptic too but was shocked at how easy it was to remove!)
- Dry nail polish remover residue from bag.
Nail polish remover removes labels from resealable storage bags
Step 2:
- Draw a template of a snowman on a piece of cardboard using a permanent marker.
Draw a snowman template on piece of cardboard
Step 3:
- Place resealable zipper storage bag on top of snowman template & trace onto bag with permanent marker.
- You can also encourage kids to draw their own snowman on the bag – be creative!
Place resealable storage bag over snowman template.
Trace snowman template onto resealable storage bag or let kids draw their own snowman.
Step 4:
- Place a few cotton balls inside of the bag (number of cotton balls will depend upon how full you want your bag to be as well as how big your bag is).
Step 5:
- Squeeze hair gel into the bag until cotton balls are able to be pushed around when in contact with the gel (again, the amount of gel needed will depend upon the size of the bag as well as how many cotton balls were used – not an exact measurement).
Put cotton balls and hair gel into resealable storage bag.
Step 6:
- Seal bag and reinforce with duct tape (may need to reinforce on both sides of seal to ensure closure).
Reinforce seal of resealable storage bag with duct tape and label with name.
Step 7:
- Use a permanent marker to label the bag with the name (of snowman or kiddo).
- Encourage kids to write their own name to practice emergent writing skills.
Step 8:
- Enjoy moving the cotton ball “snowballs” around within the bag to personalize the look of your snowman over and over again!
- Re – read “That’s Not My Snowman” again – while students play with the sensory snowman bags that they just created!
There are a lot of ways that you could personalize this activity even further, such as adding additional sensory elements to the bag such as sequins, small snowflake confetti, glitter, etc. – Have fun and be creative!
If you create Sensory Snowmen bags with your students, I’d love to see them! Share pictures in the comments here or tag me (@senseableliteracy) in your posts online!
Until next time – Happy Reading!
by Megan | Mar 27, 2020 | AAC, core vocabulary, fringe vocabulary, training
What is AAC?
If you are reading this – chances are you know a kiddo that is a late talker, has a diagnosed language delay, and/or a diagnosis that involves difficulties with communication in general and you are wanting to support and help them increase their communication and language skills. Hopefully, you have heard of Augmentative and Alternative Communication or AAC, but if not, don’t worry – keep reading!
First and foremost, a definition – AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication – let’s break that down:
Augmentative: a supplement to existing speech
Augmentative: Adding to existing verbal speech and language
Alternative: used when speech is non-functional and/or absent
Alternative: Instead of Verbal Speech and Language
An important thing to know and learn from these definitions is that AAC is beneficial for both kids that are not yet speaking as well as kids that are already talking.
There are MANY different forms of AAC including:
- Gestures
- Signs
- Object representation
- Pictures
- Communication boards (choice boards, Core/Fringe Vocabulary boards, etc)
- Speech-generating devices with voice output recorded by us, the communication partner as well as speech generating devices and apps that are preprogrammed and editable.
Various examples of AAC
One thing that all of these AAC examples have in common is that they often use specific vocabulary that research has proven to be the most effective in teaching beginning communicators and AAC users to communicate in the most functional, effective and efficient way. This vocabulary is known as Core vocabulary.
Core & Fringe Vocabulary
We all know that there are SO MANY words that we use throughout our day – how are we supposed to choose which words to teach first? Especially to our kiddos with complex communication needs – this seems like an impossible task!
While it is nearly impossible to know what words our kiddos with complex communication needs would choose as their first words, thanks to research we can know what words are used most frequently. This group of words are often referred to as Core Vocabulary. Core vocabulary words actually make up approximately 80% of what we say, all day, everyday, When you think about it that way, it makes sense to teach these words first. These are the words that kiddos hear before they start talking so it makes sense that these would be the words that they would use first when they start to talk or communicate via other means of Augmentative and Alternative Communication or AAC such as pictures, communication apps or devices, etc.
Here are some other facts about core vocabulary: compared to all the words available to us, those words that are considered core vocabulary are in a pretty small group. They are a variety of parts of speech including verbs, pronouns, prepositions, etc. These words are also used across a variety of different environments, routines, etc.
So, given all of these factors, it makes sense that these are the words that, not only make up the majority of the words we use daily, but also the words that are most important to provide students access to for communication at the very basic level and beyond.
Example of a Core Vocabulary Communication Board
This is an example of a core vocabulary communication board. There are many different versions of core vocabulary communication boards, some have more words, some have less, none are wrong.
So, now that you know more about the backgrounds of what Core Vocabulary is – I want to teach you a little about the opposite of core and that is Fringe Vocabulary. Fringe vocabulary is the rest of the words that we use throughout our day. If core vocabulary makes up 80% of that we say everyday, Fringe vocabulary makes up about 20%. Fringe vocabulary is also very limited in where and when we can use it and consists mostly of nouns and labels for items.
Example of a fringe vocabulary board
This is an example of a fringe vocabulary board that could be used in a classroom for a calendar activity. As you can see the majority of the words are nouns and labels.
While core vocabulary is used more frequently, fringe vocabulary is what we need to use to make our communication more specific – they are both important! I often think of this graphic when describing the interaction between Core & Fringe vocabulary.
Core is the glue that holds the fringe together
We can and should use core and fringe vocabulary together throughout the day within all communication.
Now that you know more about AAC, core and fringe vocabulary – you may have some additional questions about how to use these ways to communicate. Hold that thought and subscribe to SENSEable Literacy – I have more information coming on this exact topic!
By the way, if you are more of a visual and auditory learner, click here to watch a YouTube video sharing this information.
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