Symbols can help support:

• commmunication
  making a symbol communication book can help people make choices.
  
• independence and participation
  symbols aid understanding which can increase involvement, choice and confidence
  
• literacy and learning
  symbol software encourage users to "write" by selecting symbols from a predetermined set in a grid.
  
• creativity and self expression
  writing letters and stories and expressing your own opinions
  
• access to information
  all of us need accessible information and this should be presented in such a way that the reader can understand and use

Learning to Read

Some people may never gain full functional mastery of text. For such people symbols can be a lifeline. But the question exists whether a wider range of people can be helped with learning to read without forming any dependency on the images.

Some students struggle to learn the first 45 high frequency words. The Zed books use symbol support to aid word recognition as well as providing visually stimulating graphics. The books cover topics about real life experiences and students are motivated by the characters. Students begin to see themselves as 'readers' which improves self esteem and their ability to learn.

In the software that Widgit produces, it has always been possible to change the level of symbol support so that reliance on any visual clues can be removed if it is no longer needed.

The Zed books are provided in two levels. Set A has all the words supported, but Set B has the target words as text only. Set A may help in learning the vocabulary, and Set B in reading the text. The advantage of using symbols is that the books can cover more imaginative material. There are also two advantages of having the book electronically. First, small books can be printed to read and record progress. The second is that the books can be edited, for example by removing the target words completely for the pupil to hand-write in, removing all the text for a new sentence to be composed or by removing the pictures allowing them to draw their own.