The below account illustrates how wonderful it is when an AAC user is able to share information autonomously.
A teenager currently using a 9 cell per page modified PODD book delights in being able to tell me the school gossip. This week she said:
More to say --> I want to tell you something --> It already happened --> people --> School people --> Teacher --> Categories --> Feelings --> Upset.
With further prompting, it came out that a class mate had the nerve to jump on the teacher's back, causing her to bump her head against the wall. The teacher was understandably upset and I had to explain to the teen that we should not delight in a classmate getting into trouble.
How beautiful to be surprised by the news told - and to see the delight on her face when she could share this with me. A less robust system would not have given her the vocabulary that allowed her to tell her story in the way that she was able to do with PODD.