Therapy
5 ways speech therapists use phrase boards in Speech Assistant
The Speech Assistant Team
May 2026 · 3 min read
Therapists use phrase boards to give clients a voice in the session and to teach the language behind it. Five techniques, and how to set each up in Speech Assistant.
1. Model on the board
- Tap key words while you talk: "Let's go outside."
- Don't test ("show me stop"). Show how words are used.
- Every tile speaks on tap; the sentence bar replays a phrase.
2. Build around core words
- Start with a small core set: I, you, want, more, go, stop, help.
- Teach each word across many activities.
- The Core Words board has 18 ready-made tiles. Favourite the session's targets for a short list.
3. Use colour for word types
- Core Words tiles use a modified Fitzgerald Key:
- Yellow: people · Green: actions · Blue: describing, feelings
- Orange: things · Pink: social · Purple: questions
- Repainting tiles (Paint) is part of Premium.
4. Keep targets few
- Pick a handful of words and build natural chances to use them: pause, hold the toy out of reach.
- Fewer columns mean bigger targets. Grid Size sets 2–6 columns (editing layouts is Premium).
- Head tracking user? See head tracking in Speech Assistant.
5. Send the same board home
- Sign in with Apple syncs boards across iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
- Settings ▸ Boards exports .obf/.obz files to share (Premium).
- Require PIN for Caretaker keeps your setup unchanged.
Speech Assistant is a communication tool, not a medical device. Use it alongside the client's speech-language therapist.
Questions people ask
What is aided language modeling?
The partner taps key words on the AAC board while talking, without asking the user to copy. It shows how and when words are used.
What are core words?
The small set of words that make up most of daily speech, like I, you, want, more, go, stop and help.
Can boards move between AAC apps?
Yes. Speech Assistant imports and exports Open Board Format (.obf/.obz) files. Board import and export is part of Premium.