🌵 "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Cactus" Communication Board for AAC and Speech Therapy

If you’re looking for a fun, Southwest-inspired way to build communication skills during your speech therapy sessions, the There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cactus Communication Board Set is the perfect addition to your toolkit. Inspired by the quirky picture book by Lucille Colandro, this resource supports expressive language, comprehension, and AAC development in a highly engaging way.

🗣️ What Is the “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cactus” Communication Board Set?

This digital product was created with speech-language pathologists, SLPAs, and special education professionals in mind. It includes:

• A Big Icon AAC Communication Board featuring large, kid-friendly symbols

• A vocabulary-rich core and fringe word layout to support sentence-building

• Visuals directly tied to the vocabulary and storyline of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cactus

  
  

Whether you’re working with students who use AAC or early communicators in general education or special day classes, this resource brings visual support and structure to your therapy sessions.

🎯 What Goals Can It Help Target?

This communication board set isn’t just themed—it’s therapeutic. Here’s how it can help support key speech and language goals:

• Core Word Use: Target high-frequency core words like eat, see, want, go, and help.

• Sequencing & Retelling: Practice retelling the story using the board’s icons to support expressive language.

• Vocabulary Development: Introduce new desert-themed words like cactus, lizard, sun, and hat in a meaningful context.

• Requesting & Commenting: Help students practice functional communication using sentence starters and visuals.

• WH Questions: Support comprehension with visual cues for “who,” “what,” “where,” and “why.”

  
  

💡 How to Use It in Therapy

You can use this product during small-group therapy sessions, classroom push-in lessons, or even one-on-one interventions. Try these ideas:

• Interactive Read-Alouds: Pause throughout the book and encourage students to point to or say icons on the board.

• Story Mapping: Use the icons to retell the story in order, supporting narrative development.

• Sentence Frames: Pair the board with sentence strips or visuals to support students in creating longer utterances.

• Movement-Based Learning: Turn it into a scavenger hunt where students “find” icons from the story and build sentences.

  
  

This flexible set allows for both structured and open-ended use—perfect for mixed groups or varying AAC needs.

👩‍🏫 Why SLPs, SLPAs, and Special Ed Teachers Love It

This communication board set was designed by an SLPA with years of school-based experience, so it’s built for the real-world needs of educators and therapists. It’s simple to prep, easy to use, and appeals to students with its bold visuals and silly storyline.

Plus, it makes AAC fun, not intimidating—for both students and the adults supporting them.

🌟 Grab Your Copy Today!

Ready to add this to your therapy collection?

✅ There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cactus – Big Icon AAC Communication Board

Bring language learning to life with visuals, laughter, and a desert twist your students will love.

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About the Author

Hi! I’m Kim, and I’ve been a licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) for nearly a decade. I have a B.S. in Speech-Language Pathology and have worked in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools, providing services to students in general education and special day classes. I created this blog to share my experiences and help other SLPAs navigate their school-based speech therapy journey.