Make your first board

The Board Builder makes a whole set of matched AAC boards for one communicator in a few minutes. It walks you through it step by step, so you're not staring at a blank screen wondering where to start.

What you'll need

• A free SpeakAnyWay account
• A computer, tablet, or phone with a web browser
• A communicator to build for, and a sense of what they're into — favorite foods, characters, daily routines, anything that comes to mind

That's it. Volume up.

Steps

1. Sign in at app.speakanyway.com and open the Board Builder (/board-builder). It's also where the old Free AAC board generator link now takes you.
2. Who are we building for? Pick the communicator this board set is for (or create one).
3. How much vocabulary? Choose how big the set should be — a focused Starter set, a Standard foundation, or a fuller Extended set. SpeakAnyWay shows you the options and roughly how many boards each one builds.
4. What does [name] love? Pick interests from the categories shown — and add your own in the text box for anything not listed (bath time, Grandma's house, dinosaurs). The more specific you are, the better the boards.
5. Click Review to check your choices, then Build the boards.
6. Wait a few seconds while SpeakAnyWay builds the set. You'll see boards appear with pictures and words.
7. Open the set and tap (or click) any cell. The cell speaks the word out loud. (Turn up your volume if you don't hear anything.)

When it's done

You'll land on a status page with a few next steps:

• Open board — start using it right away.
• View the map — see how the boards in the set link together.
• Edit board — swap words and pictures, rearrange cells. See Edit a board.
• Download PDF — print the boards on paper for a backup (handy when the iPad's dead).

This is a working AAC board set — your communicator could use it right now.

What to expect

• The first set is a starting point, not a finished thing. SpeakAnyWay generates words and matched pictures based on the interests you picked. Expect to swap a few pictures and tweak a few words once you see how your communicator reacts.
• If the pictures don't look right, regenerate them. In the board editor you can select cells and choose Regenerate pictures with AI… to get fresh art. This is available on every plan.
• You don't need to finish today. One set, one tap, one yes. That's enough for day one.

Common questions

• Do I need an account? Yes — the Board Builder needs you signed in so it can save the boards to a communicator. A free account works.
• The board has a word my child doesn't say. Edit it — see Edit a board. Every cell's label, display label, and picture are editable.
• The picture doesn't match what we have in real life. Swap it, or regenerate it. You can also upload a real photo from your phone — works great for Mom's car, my school, our dog.
• The voice doesn't sound right. You can change the voice from the communicator's settings — see Pick a voice.
• Can I print the boards? Yes. Use Download PDF on the status page (or the board's share menu) and print on paper.