Hospital communication board
Intubated & ventilated · ICU · Post-stroke · ALS · Post-surgery
A free communication board for a hospital bed.
Open this board →Free · No sign-up
Free communication boards, to print or use online.
Tap a word and this board speaks it aloud in your browser, or print it and keep it by the bed. Built for nonverbal and nonspeaking people, for aphasia after a stroke, for ALS, and for anyone who has temporarily lost their voice.
No email requiredNothing to installFree to copy and share
Tap words to build a sentence. Each word is spoken as you tap.
Core words communication board
This is the core words board. Use it here, or press Print this board for a clean one-page copy. Printing works to PDF from any browser.
Which board do you need?
Start with core words. They are the words a person reuses in almost every sentence, so they earn their place on the board more than any noun does. Then pick the board written for the situation.
Communication board for adults
Aphasia · Stroke · ALS · Cerebral palsy · Head injury
A free communication board with adult words on it.
Open this board →Communication board for autism
Nonspeaking & minimally speaking autistic people, any age
A free communication board for autistic people who are nonspeaking or minimally speaking.
Open this board →How to use a communication board
A board works best when the people around it change how they talk, not just the person using it. These are the habits that make the difference.
Keep the positions fixed
Do not rearrange words between printouts. Motor memory builds on where a word sits, so a word that moves is a word that gets lost. This is the single most valued thing about a good board.
Model it yourself
Point to words on the board while you speak, without expecting a response. People learn a board by watching it used, the same way speech is learned by hearing it.
Wait longer than feels natural
Give ten seconds or more. Selecting a word takes far longer than saying one, and filling the silence is the most common way a conversation gets taken over.
Do not quiz
Asking someone to point to the red square teaches compliance, not communication. Ask real questions you do not know the answer to.
Assume competence
Especially with adults. Someone who cannot speak can usually understand everything you say, including what you say about them.
Common questions
What is a communication board for?
A communication board lets someone who cannot rely on speech point to or tap words and symbols to say what they mean. It is used by people with autism, aphasia after a stroke, ALS, cerebral palsy, apraxia, or a temporary loss of speech such as being intubated in hospital. It carries the person's own words; it does not speak for them.
What must a communication board be?
Readable at arm's length, stable in its layout, and matched to the person's vocabulary and vision. Keeping button positions fixed matters most: motor memory builds on position, so words should not move between versions. Beyond that a board must be available at the moment it is needed, which is why a printed backup is worth keeping even if someone uses an app.
Which communication board should I start with?
The core words board on this page, whatever the diagnosis. Core words are the ones reused in every sentence, so they earn their place before any noun does. Move to the hospital, adult or autism board once you know what the person actually needs to say.
Are these communication boards really free?
Yes. Print them, use them online, photocopy them, hand one to a patient. There is no sign-up, no email wall, and no charge. Speech is not something we will put behind a form.
Do I need an app to use a communication board?
No. Paper works, costs nothing, never runs out of battery, and is worth keeping even if the person also uses an app. An app adds speech aloud and a vocabulary too large to print, which is a real difference, but it is not the starting point.
Keep reading
What is an AAC device?
A board is the low-tech end of AAC. What the rest of it is, who it is for, and what it costs.
Read this →The free AAC apps, compared
Which AAC apps genuinely cost nothing, and which are advertised as free but are not.
Read this →AAC for adults
Why most communication apps are built for children, and what actually works after a stroke or with ALS.
Read this →Need the board to go everywhere?
A printed board cannot speak, and it cannot come with you into every room. SayHarbor is an AAC app that does both, fully offline. Speech is never behind a paywall. It is coming to iPhone and iPad.