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About Using Symbols
What are symbols?
| Is it important to understand that symbols are different from pictures. We use the word picture to describe an illustration in a book, or a drawing on the wall. A picture conveys a lot of information at once and its focus may be unclear, while a symbol focuses on a single concept. This means that symbols can be put together to build more precise information. Symbol based language and communication has been developed over many years and has a visual structure that supports different parts of speech. |
There are different types of symbols...
Symbols are grouped in different sets.
The most commonly used across the UK are Widgit Literacy Symbols (previously kow as Widgit Rebus).
and Pictorial Communication System (PCS) symbols
The Makaton Vocabulary Development Project have both signs and symbols.
What you use with each person entirely depends on his or her own needs and preferences. What is really important to remember is that everyone is different with different abilities in spoken and written language, expression, vocabulary, sight, hearing and other individual factors.
The Widgit Literacy symbols have a much greater vocabulary spanning standard curriculum topics, adult vocabulary and higher literacy levels. They have a schematic structure and include grammatical markers for literacy expression.
Extensive information about symbols can be found by visitng the
About symbols
section of the widgit website.
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