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What 8 words to put on the board first

The starter vocabulary that gives the most leverage in real life.

SonSpeak — A parent 2 min 7/14/2026

Why the first 8 matter more than the next 80

Most AAC boards I've seen for new users open with a 64-tile grid of nouns. Apple. Banana. Cookie. Cat. Dog. Cup. *That's a vocabulary list, not a communication board.* Nouns are great labels, but they don't *let your kid say anything new.*

What you want first are **core words** — the high-frequency words that work in dozens of sentences. Linguists have studied this for decades. Roughly 80% of what any human says comes from about 200 core words.

The SonSpeak first-8

**More** — the workhorse. 'More tickle.' 'More YouTube.' 'More.'

**All done / Stop** — the consent button. Critical.

**Help** — for everything from a stuck zipper to a meltdown.

**Yes** and **No** — distinct buttons, not one toggle.

**I want** — pairs with anything.

**Eat / Drink** — survival.

**Hurt** — the one word a non-verbal kid most needs to be able to say.

Notice what's *not* on this list: every food, every animal, every body part. Add those when they come up in real life, not all at once.

Modelling > prompting

If you're new to AAC the single most powerful thing you can do this week is *use the board yourself*. Tap 'eat' before you give them lunch. Tap 'all done' when you're cleaning up. Tap 'hurt' when you stub your toe. Be theatrical. Speak the word out loud the same time the tile speaks it.

Your kid is watching, even when they're not looking. This is how AAC vocabulary takes root.

What SonSpeak does for you

Every new SonSpeak board starts with this exact 8-word starter pack pre-loaded, plus the appropriate age-pack vocabulary (toddler, school-age, teen, or mixed). You can edit any tile in two taps.