Description
The Playdough Communication Book is a visual communication resource designed to support autistic and neurodivergent learners during meaningful playdough experiences. It is part of the Elevating Neurodiversity Shared Communication Book series.
Using the Colourful Semantics framework, the book brings together vocabulary for Core Words, WHO, WHAT DOING, WHAT, WHERE and WHAT LIKE?, giving adults a practical visual resource to support communication while children are actively playing, creating and exploring.
Playdough provides rich opportunities for communication because children can roll, squish, flatten, squeeze, press, pat, build, join, push, pull, cut, shape, make, poke, stretch and twist. The book helps adults notice these actions and use them as opportunities to model meaningful language without turning play into a formal language task.
The focus is on shared communication through real play. Adults can use the visuals to follow the child’s interests, join their play, model relevant vocabulary, respond to their communication and expand on what they are already doing.
What’s included
The Playdough Communication Book includes six Colourful Semantics communication sections alongside a Core Words section. The WHAT DOING page contains action vocabulary including roll, squish, flatten, squeeze, press, pat, build, join, push, pull, cut, shape, make, poke, stretch and twist.
The WHAT section includes familiar playdough materials, tools and objects such as playdough, rolling pin, stamp, dough, cutter, board, stick, stone, tool, knife, mat, bead, button, tray, container and mould.
The WHERE section focuses on meaningful locations within the play environment, including playdough table, table, floor, mat, board, classroom, worktop, tray and shelf. The WHAT LIKE? section supports descriptive language with words such as thin, thick, flat, stretchy, lumpy, rough, soft, squishy, hard, wet, dry, smooth, sticky, big, little and colourful.
The Core Words page provides functional communication vocabulary including words such as want, yes, no, like, help, more, finish, stop, go, wait, on, off, up, down, in, out, turn, here, there, get and put.
Model language during real play
The final section provides Ideas for Modelling Language, showing adults how to start with the action and comment on what the child is doing.
For example, when a child is rolling playdough, the adult can notice the action by saying, “You’re rolling the playdough.” They can join the child’s play with “I will roll mine too!”, model their own action with “I’m pushing it into the mould,” respond to what the child has created and expand their language with a comment such as “You stretched the red playdough out. It’s long!”
This makes the resource particularly useful for adults who want practical examples of how to model language during play, rather than simply having access to a page of vocabulary.
Who is it for?
The Playdough Communication Book is suitable for class teachers, specialist teachers, teaching assistants, SENCOs, speech and language professionals and families supporting autistic and neurodivergent learners.
It can be used in mainstream classrooms, specialist settings, autism provision, early years environments and at home wherever playdough is part of children’s learning or play.
Part of the Shared Communication Book series
Playdough is part of the Elevating Neurodiversity Shared Communication Book series, created to help adults support communication within everyday play and learning experiences.
Each book uses the same familiar visual structure while focusing on vocabulary that is meaningful within a particular activity or environment. This allows adults and learners to build familiarity with the Colourful Semantics system while using language in real contexts.
Digital PDF resource. No physical product will be shipped.
