Read Sadie Says Together — the AAC Way
Free core boards, a shared reading script, and everything you need to turn one adorable picture book into a week's worth of real communication practice. No prep. No pressure. No quizzing your kid. (We'll get to that.)
Sadie Says
A Story About AAC and All the Ways We Communicate
Sadie is a little girl with a lot to say — and so many wonderful ways to say it. She hugs. She signs. She taps her talking tablet. Sometimes she uses her mouth (mostly to tell her puppy Ben "NO").
Sadie Says follows her through one very good day, built around 12 core words: love, eat, up, yes, all done, go, help, play, more, no, want, like.
I wrote it after 20+ years as a pediatric speech-language pathologist, because every AAC kid deserves to be the main character. Kindle available on Amazon and paperback will be released August 1, 2026.
Speech
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AAC
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Signs
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Gestures
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Facial Expressions
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Speech ✳︎ AAC ✳︎ Signs ✳︎ Gestures ✳︎ Facial Expressions ✳︎
What’s a Core Board?
Quick version: core words are the small set of words we use constantly — more, go, help, want, all done. They work in almost every sentence, every situation, every tantrum. (Especially the tantrums.)
A core board is simply those words laid out on a page with pictures, so a child can point to communicate — and so YOU can point while you talk, which is how they learn. Think of it as training wheels for language. Except we never take the training wheels away; we just add more bike.
No device? A paper core board works beautifully. Have a device? The board and the device are friends, not rivals. Use whichever is in reach.
Sadie’s core board features 25 Core Vocabulary words, but created with Sadie’s signature style! Download this core board and follow along using the board while reading Sadie Says!
This 25 Word Core Board, created using Glint by Nerchat, can be used for a variety of activities, such as playing, eating, and shared reading!
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You've got the book. You've got the board (or the device). Now what?
This free guide walks you through exactly how to turn Sadie Says into a language-modeling machine — without turning storytime into speech therapy homework. No flashcards. No quizzing. No prep. Just you, your kid, and one rule that changes everything: model, don't quiz.
Written by a pediatric SLP and AAC specialist who has read a lot of bedtime stories — and cried at more than one of them.
Sadie's Core Board — Quick Start for Grown-Ups
What it is: The 12 words from Sadie Says, on one page. These aren't random words — they're core vocabulary, the workhorse words your child can use all day, every day, for years.
Where to put it (correct answers include):
🧲 The fridge (snack negotiations = prime communication real estate)
🚗 The car (laminated, clipped to the seat back)
🛁 The bathtub (inside a gallon ziplock — trust me, it works)
📚 Tucked inside the book itself, so reading time is ready to go
🖨️ Print five. They're free. Lose three. This is the way.
The one rule: Point to words while YOU talk. You're not testing your child — you're showing them how their language works. Say it, point to it, move on with your day.
Easy wins to try this week:
Snack time: "You want MORE?" (point to MORE) "MORE crackers!"
Getting dressed: "Shoe's stuck! You need HELP?" (point to HELP)
Leaving the house: "Time to GO!" (point to GO)
Cleanup: "ALL DONE!" (point to ALL DONE) "All done with blocks!"
Bedtime: "I LOVE you." (point to LOVE) — the best one. Save it for last.
What counts as your child "using" the board: Pointing. Looking at a word. Tapping it. Patting it. Bringing you the board. Bringing you the book. All of it counts. Respond to all of it like they just spoke — because they did.
What to skip: Hand-over-hand forcing, "show me ___" drills, withholding snacks until they point. If it feels like a test, skip it. Communication grows in low-pressure soil.
If your child has an AAC device: Everything above works exactly the same — just point/tap on the device instead of (or along with!) the paper board. Paper boards are great backups for bathtubs, beaches, and battery emergencies.
Questions? That's literally my job. Find me at aacadventure.com or @aac_adventure. 💙
