AAC: Opinions and Disagreement
Vocabulary for holding a position, which most core boards under-supply for teens.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Create something worth disagreeing about. Pick a genuinely contestable question, take a position the student will object to, and then wait through the objection instead of conceding early. I'd rather not deserves special attention because it is a refusal that is not a behaviour, and students who lack it often end up refusing in ways that get written up. Twelve minutes with a real disagreement beats a full session of rehearsed phrases.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentSet up the moment, then wait with an expectant look for 10 seconds.Log as correct
- GesturePoint toward the device or the right area of the page.Log as cued
- ModelTouch the symbols on the device yourself while you say the message.Log as cued
- Partial physicalOnly if the team agrees and the student accepts touch: a light touch at the elbow toward the page. Never press the symbol for them.Log as cued
Adjust it
Fewer symbols on the page, and model the message several times before you expect it.
Wait longer before prompting, or expect one more symbol in the message.
Matching IEP goal
During structured activities, Student will use their AAC system to state a need or an opinion in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a gestural prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight phrases for disagreeing: I don't agree with that. I think it's better this way. That's not what I meant. Can I say something? I'd rather not. I changed my mind. I see it differently. Core vocabulary sets are generous with requests and thin on dissent, which leaves a teenager fluent in asking and mute in arguing — and arguing is most of adolescence.
What to listen for
Watch whether disagreement gets used with adults or only with peers. Many students will contradict a classmate and never a teacher, which is usually about how their earlier disagreements were received rather than about vocabulary. Notice whether I changed my mind appears — reversal is a sophisticated move and a sign the student feels safe using the set.
Carrying it home
Let the student win an argument at home occasionally, on something real: what to have for dinner, which film, when to leave. A disagreement phrase that never changes an outcome stops being used.
What's in this activity
- I don't agree with that.
- That's not what I meant.
- Can I say something?
- I'd rather not.
- I changed my mind.
- That one's my favorite.
- I see it differently.
- +1 more
Questions
- Won't this increase refusals?
- It usually changes their form rather than their number. A student who can say I'd rather not has a way to decline that does not read as a behaviour incident.
- Is an account needed?
- No. The board is free to play with no login.
- Which goal area does this fit?
- Self-advocacy and pragmatic language. Count instances where the student states a position and maintains it through one follow-up.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.