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Using Grid for richer connections

The festive season often brings increased social opportunities and interactions, which for many, feels exciting and feeds into the magic of Christmas.

However, some interactions may bring unfamiliar connections into the mix – whether it’s a great aunt visiting for the day or a neighbour asking about Christmas plans, someone who usually just waves from afar. Then, we need to think about what to talk about, finding the relevant words, phrases, and playing out various social roles (initiating, responding, interjecting, getting others’ attention). For some, adjusting to these conversation opportunities is relatively straightforward, but for others, it can be a little daunting.

In this blog, Becky, Clinical AAC Specialist and Speech and Language Therapist at Smartbox, shares her advice to help families feel more confident about using AAC this Christmas. Becky will explore Grid’s features, showing how some simple, seasonal tweaks can be made to make the most of those opportunities for new friendships and shared moments as we enter the 2024 festive season.

Writing a letter to Father Christmas with Grid  

Grid makes writing to Father Christmas simple, fun, and accessible for AAC users. With a dedicated grid set, symbol users can craft their own letter to Father Christmas. At the end of the letter, they can: 

  • Write more to expand their wishes.
  • Use the print feature to create a letter they can mail or display at home. 
  • Read their letter back. 
  • Start again to create a brand-new message, such as thank you letters after the big day! 

This activity not only fosters creativity but also celebrates the joy of expressing yourself and being able to participate in a really popular Christmas activity. Young people can share their Christmas wishes, talk about their favourite things, and even wish Father Christmas himself a Happy Christmas. 

Visiting Father Christmas  

For many, visiting Father Christmas might feel daunting. As a young person, I remember feeling nervous about what to say and what he might say to me. With a little preparation though, these nervous feelings can be eased, making the visit a memorable, confidence-boosting experience that could encourage many conversations after the event too. 

Before the visit: 

  • Plan and practise conversations: Think beyond simply responding to questions that Father Christmas might ask. Practice having the conversation with the AAC user – starting the conversation, making comments, asking questions, or even using humour to enrich the interaction, making it even more memorable. Practicing before the visit will help the AAC user to feel more confident at finding the words they want when they are at the visit. 
  • Use Grid vocabularies: Grid sets such as Super Core, Voco Chat, and Symoji are already packed with useful phrases and content for communicating in these situations. You could also make tweaks to existing grid sets by adding in seasonal content or draw upon ready-made seasonal grids from Online Grids to customise further. 

To help you get started, our team have created two videos showing some seasonal updates you can make to your grid sets in Voco Chat and Super Core.  I will first take you through Voco Chat. 

Simple, seasonal tweaks you could make in Voco Chat:

Ideas for conversation starters 

Here are some phrases that can be added to the user’s grid set or modelled during the visit: 

During the visit:  

Support the AAC user to shine as a conversationalist by practicing their prepared phrases and encouraging spontaneous communication where possible. 

After the visit: 

Within Voco Chat, the ‘My Toolkit’ section includes the popular “Can I show you my photos” page, which provides multiple options for uploading photos – such as those from a visit to Father Christmas. This feature creates opportunities to spark conversations about the experience. For guidance on how to edit this feature, see here. 

After the visit, it’s also helpful to think about hypothetical topics that might come up and explore how the young person’s grid set can support reminiscing. Seasonal tweaks to the grid set can enhance these conversations, allowing the young person to share their experience with loved ones who weren’t present or prepare to share the news at school.  

Seasonal grid sets for Super Core

Our Head of Content, Daisy, has also created two new Christmas grid sets as festive alternatives. These ready-made grid sets for Super Core 30 and Super Core 50 can be found in Online Grids and uploaded to your AAC device, giving you a set of phrases to celebrate and communicate this holiday season! We take you through the process of uploading these grid sets to your Grid below.

Closing thoughts  

Building on the ways Christmas is celebrated and the connections we experience can be enhanced with the support of language and the creative use of language tools, such as the content within AAC systems. These tools offer magical ways to engage with the festive season, making communication more meaningful and inclusive. 

With the right tools and a little preparation, young people can enjoy the season to its fullest, whether they use AAC or not. 

From all of us at Smartbox, we wish you a joyful festive season filled with meaningful connections and special moments with the people who matter most. 

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