Tips for Word Retrieval Prompts

Ask yes/no questions:

Is it something we eat? Is it a person?

Give limited choices:

Do you want apple or banana? Is it a chair, bed, or table?

Encourage alternative communication:

You can draw it if you want.
You can gesture to show me.

Support semantic access:

I know the category, can you find it? / Do you know the category?
Do you know the first letter or sound?

Model and demonstrate:

It’s like this! (show gesture or point to example). Let me show you how to find it.

Pacing and patience:

Give extra time, repeat prompts if needed, speak slowly. Ask one question at a time and be patient – Avoid confusion and cognitive overload by waiting for a response before asking another question.

Encourage multimodal communication:

Communication is not just speech. We often communicate more through non-verbal means than speech, including:

• Emotions and facial expressions
• Body posture and gestures
• Tone of voice
• Eye gaze
• Vocalizations, exclamations (Wow! Oh no!) or interjections (Eh? Uh-huh)
• Pointing or gesturing

Accept and encourage any form of communication the user attempts.

AAC-specific support:

• Use the keyboard with word prediction both for comprehension and expression
• Use keywords to communicate
• Search for the word in the AAC system.
• Add the word to the AAC system if missing.

Reinforce and encourage attempts:

• Praise all communication attempts.
• Encourage multiple strategies (gesture, drawing, selecting, typing).

Remember: AAC helps the person communicate independently using specific messages (words and/or pictures) and supports language recovery after a stroke.

Fun Fact: Studies have shown that over 70–90% of interpersonal communication related to feelings and attitudes is non-verbal, including gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice. This highlights the importance of supporting multimodal communication when speech is impaired.

Download and print the PDF at the bottom of this page for quick reference to these instructions.