UK English AAC Core Grids

Choose from eight coordinated UK English AAC core grids for Symboloud, ranging from Easy Access 4 with four large cells to Core Communication 90 with ninety cells on its main display. Each download is a complete Symboloud grid set with its own carefully selected vocabulary, topic pages and consistent colour organisation.

The smaller grids reduce both the number of choices on screen and the total vocabulary. Larger grids add more immediately available words, more direct topic routes, fuller grammar and deeper topic vocabulary. Every visible label in each smaller set remains available in the next larger set, so people can move to a larger vocabulary without leaving familiar language behind. Spelling is available through the device keyboard rather than a separate alphabet page.

A choice of grid sizes

The family includes five Easy Access grids and three Core Communication grids. The number in each name refers to the intended number of positions on the main display. A person can start with any grid and can continue using it for as long as it remains the right fit. These are choices, not age levels or compulsory stages.

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Grid	Layout	Home	Labels	Main increase
Easy Access 4	2 × 2	3 + 1 route	24	Agency, refusal and essential routes
Easy Access 6	3 × 2	5 + 1 route	48	Partner, help, feelings and health
Easy Access 12	4 × 3	11 + 1 route	109	Everyday topics and quick phrases
Easy Access 18	6 × 3	17 + 1 route	207	Questions, needs and wider topics
Easy Access 24	6 × 4	23 + 1 route	305	More verbs, locations and topic depth
Core Communication 30	6 × 5	24 + 6 routes	396	Direct routes and deeper topics
Core Communication 50	10 × 5	40 + 10 routes	683	Grammar, questions and deeper topics
Core Communication 90	10 × 9	70 + 19 routes	984	Fullest language and direct navigation

Choose and download a grid

Each grid download is accompanied by a PDF language map so that you can review its vocabulary and page structure before using it.

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How the UK English AAC core grids grow

Moving to a larger grid adds language rather than exchanging one small vocabulary for another. The number of distinct visible labels grows through the family as follows: 24, 48, 109, 207, 305, 396, 683 and 984. Every transition retains all the distinct labels from the preceding set.

The Home screen grows from three immediately available words and one route in Easy Access 4 to seventy words and nineteen topic routes in Core Communication 90. More routes move onto Home as space increases, reducing the number of selections needed to reach common topics, while topic pages also become deeper. Across V4, spelling is handled by the device keyboard instead of duplicating an alphabet page inside the vocabulary.

Exact cell coordinates cannot remain identical when a display changes from two columns to ten. Each grid therefore has its own stable arrangement while retaining a recognisable direction for people, questions, actions, describing words, grammar and routes.

What remains consistent

• UK English wording and everyday vocabulary throughout the family.
• The same Modified Fitzgerald Key colour system for broad word roles.
• Consistent symbols for shared concepts across the eight grids.
• A combination of reusable core language with topic, personal, support and communication-repair vocabulary.
• Concise visible labels where space is limited, with fuller spoken wording retained where appropriate.
• Access to refusal, consent, pain, urgent support and personal language from the smaller grids onward.

Colour and organisation

All eight grids use the Symboloud UK Modified Fitzgerald Key: yellow for people and pronouns, green for actions and verbs, orange for naming words, blue for describing words, purple for questions, grey for little words and navigation, pink for social language and whole phrases, and red for important function words.

Colour is an additional organisational cue. The printed word, symbol, grouping and learned position remain important. Where the same spelling has different meanings or grammatical roles, the grid may keep separate cells. For example, order can be a naming word or an action word, while right can mean correct or indicate a direction. Colour, symbol and placement make the intended use clear.

Complete sequences on selected pages

Most pages stay within the cell number named by the grid. Two pages deliberately keep useful sequences together rather than cutting them at an arbitrary point: Easy Access 18 includes 0 to 20 on its 21-item Numbers page, while Core Communication 30 keeps 35 useful day-and-time items together on its Time page.

Choosing the most appropriate grid

Choose the grid that provides useful language while remaining practical for the individual to see, reach and navigate. Consider the person’s access method, vision, motor control, language, literacy, culture and priorities. A smaller grid may remain the best long-term choice, while some people may begin directly with Core Communication 50 or 90.

Personalise the selected grid with names, relationships, identity, health information, routines, interests and culturally relevant vocabulary. Keep frequently used locations stable where possible, and make changes deliberately so that familiar routes and positions remain predictable.

How research informed the family

The Symboloud UK English Grid Family was informed by published AAC research, professional guidance and publicly available implementation materials. The evidence supports offering several field sizes, combining core and topic vocabulary, providing language for more than requesting, maintaining stable organisation, using meaningful grouping, preserving personal language and supporting literacy. In V4, spelling is provided through the device keyboard rather than a separate alphabet page.

Research does not identify one universal grid size or prove one exact layout for every AAC user. The precise vocabulary, positions, page sizes and transition points in this family are evidence-informed Symboloud design choices. The Modified Fitzgerald Key is used as a familiar UK organisational aid rather than a claim that colour alone teaches language or improves access for everyone.

Supporting documents

The two-page summary gives a concise account of the grid family and its evidence base. The full evidence and design rationale describes the vocabulary growth, layout, colour system and research sources in greater detail.

Read the two-page evidence summary  Download PDF
Read the full evidence and design rationale  Download PDF