Fall Core Vocabulary

A great thing about core vocabulary: High-frequency words don’t change with the season. Fall is here and it is getting colder outside. Beach days are done, and we can look forward to pumpkins and apple cider. Many of us are starting to think about Halloween costumes and buying enough candy.  

Our clothes and activities may be changing, but we can still use many of the same words to talk about what we are doing.  High-frequency words don’t change with the season. Here are some ways that we can use core words to talk about the fall. 

Down: The sun goes down earlier 

            The leaves fall  

            We might get our a down coat out of the closet 

            Some people feel down when it gets dark so early 

            Watching football, did your team get a first down? 

Turn:   The leaves are turning colors 

            The weather is turning cold 

            Turn into someone else in your Halloween costume 

            Turn up the heat 

            Turn off the air conditioner 

            Take turns jumping into a pile of leaves or dunking for apples 

See:    Talk about what you see in the fall 

            See the leaves change colors 

            See the kids get on the school bus 

            See all the pumpkins and decorations in your neighborhood 

            See if your neighbor needs help raking the leaves 

Go:      Go Trick or Treating 

            Go to a costume party 

            Go back to school 

            Go get Halloween decorations 

            Go for a drive 

            Go get a pumpkin spiced latte 

Play:    Play scary music on Halloween 

            Play in the leaves 

            Go see a holiday play  

            Play football with your friends 

            Play tricks on Goosey Night 

Make:  Make a jack o lantern 

            Make your costume 

            Make some hot cider 

            Make a fall leaf collage 

            Put on scary make-up

  Did you notice that four of the six core words in this list have alternate meanings? As we explore an AAC system, we will find that many words can be used in multiple ways. AAC users often find creative ways of expressing new concepts. Don’t have Halloween vocabulary? Use the word for baseball “bat” to talk about bats. Think about how you can use descriptive teaching and talking to communicate concepts without adding lots of new words to the device. If someone lets you know that they are thinking of “Creature drinks blood night”, you probably know exactly what they want to be for Halloween! 

Many of the words on this list apply to both children and adults. The need to communicate doesn’t end when we leave school. If you don’t have a communication system, there are free core boards that you can print on our website.  

Contact us! If you live in Pennsylvania, we can set up a video chat to talk about exploring communication strategies and devices. Pennsylvanians are welcome to borrow equipment from the AT Lending Library. Don’t let yourself be haunted by missed opportunities. If someone needs communication, this fall is a great time to start!