Susan Berkowitz’s Free Tutorial on Core Vocabulary for Augmentative Communication (AAC) Users: C is for Core

Core vocabulary research is growing in its application in AAC intervention almost daily. We know, to begin with, that there is a small number of words – core words – that make up the large part of words we use regularly to make our messages.

For toddlers, there are only 25 words that make up more than 95% of what they say. These words are largely social regulatory; including some pronouns, verbs, and adjectives. There are very very few nouns in core words, and none in the 25 words that young children use most often.
When you look at the possible 2-word combinations that can be made with these 25 words, the amount of communication power is tremendous.
As SLPs and teachers working with this population of students, we can count on those 25 words being among the most important words with which to begin intervention.
We can also count on use of high frequency words that can be arranged in multiple ways to provide students with the power of emergent communication.