The AEeyeOU Board (Low-Tech Eyes Only Communication)

The AEeyeOU Board is a low-tech communication method that enables people with only eye movement to fully express themselves. Because this board enables a User to spell messages, the user is not limited to just messages others might anticipate they would want to say (as is the case with responding to yes/no questions or selecting messages on picture boards or phrase boards). While there are high-tech speech generating devices that will enable a user to type novel messages with eye movement alone, it is essential that anyone who is non-verbal and literate have a simple low-tech communication method with which they can construct novel messages. This board is popular with my patients who are limited to eye movement because it speeds communication by breaking the alphabet into 5 groups and allowing the User to identify the group which contains the desired letter with his eyes. These groups all start with the vowels A,E,I,O and U in order to make them easy to memorize and eventually use without the board.

The board is two sided so I recommend printing it on card stock so the back is not visible through the paper. If you don’t have card stock then staple the two sides together with a few pieces of blank paper between them. If the the two sides are aligned properly “A” group should appear on the same corner for both the User and the Partner. This means if you put a paperclip on the board over the “A” group on one side it should also be on the “A” group on the back.

Here is everything you need to start using this board to communicate right away at home or at your clinic.