The biggest challenge many autistic children face is the ability to effectively communicate which can hinder their everyday life and be a BIG hurdle to overcome.
Fortunately, a communication book for autism (particularly a ‘Real Picture Photo Book’) can help enhance a child’s communication skills and is a solution to improving speech and sentence structure.
BUT what are the benefits? Is it budget friendly? Is it worth it? How does a picture book compare to other communication tools on the market?
We will answer these commonly asked questions and more so you can decide if this is the right solution for your child.
My intention in writing this review is to add value to your research efforts about one of the TOP communication books on the market today that helps children with autism be able to communicate easier.
So without further ado, here is what you need to know about the ‘Real Picture Photo Book’ which can be used at home, during therapy, or in the classroom. 🙂
Product Overview
Product: Real Picture Photo Book | Price: ==> Click here for the BEST current price <== | Overall Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
This handheld book is one of the most popular budget-friendly communication tools on the market today compared to high-tech speech devices (which can cost you hundreds to thousands of dollars).
You can use the photo book at home or on-the-go to teach your child words and sentence structure.
It’s used by many parents, teachers, and therapists for children of all ages.
A quick snapshot of the photo book’s top features include:
- Budget friendly
- Easy to use
- Improves sentence structure
- Encourages speech development
- Helps develop and improve cognitive skills
- 157 ‘real’ picture cards of the most commonly used categories
If your child is non-verbal, they can also use the book as a tool to point to pictures and put together sentences on the ‘sentence strip’ to communicate with you (see the next image below).
The picture book will come fully assembled in a binder with 157 picture cards which are organized into 8 commonly used categories; foods, school, toys, emotions, home act, places, signs, and action.
What comes in the Picture Book Binder?
There are quite a few visual support tools included in the binder to help your child’s communication skills:
- 157 picture cards
- One removable sentence strip (color may vary)
- 5 thick durable divider tabs
- A pamphlet easily describing the six steps of the picture system
- 6 bonus ‘sentence starter’ cards to expand your child’s vocabulary ‘I see’, ‘I hear’, ‘I feel’, ‘I smell’, ‘I touch’, ‘It is’
How can your child use the Picture Book?
The binder is organized into a systematic structure for your child to be able to sort, identify, and build sentences to talk to you and others easily.
They can also develop sentences like ‘I hear train’, ‘I want broccoli’, ‘I want carrot’.
Oh how glorious it would be if all kiddos loved their veggies. 🙂
More Important Features
Here are additional important features to make note of:
- Picture cards are laminated on thick card stock paper which makes them super easy to clean and wipe down!
- Cards are durable and reusable.
- Binder color is black with two storage pockets on the inside.
- It’s convenient to travel with as the binder measures 9 x 7.5 inches.
- Picture cards are small enough for a child to hold measuring 1.5 x 1.5 inches.
- Each picture card has rounded corners to make it safe so no little hands get poked or scratched.
- Item weighs a little over 1 pound (1.06 pounds to be exact)
- Each picture card has velcro on the back to stick to the ‘sentence strip’
- Cards are unisex and can be used for both boys and girls
What are the Benefits?
The main goal of a photo book is to allow a child to communicate in a more useful and functional way.
This picture book can help a child with or without autism communicate easier. It is really a great tool for any child to be able to learn words and sentence structure.
It is also used in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy and tailored to children with speech delays, ADHD, Apraxia.
Plus, it’s a great way for parents, teachers, and therapists to be able to ‘talk’ through pictures to their child, student, or patient to relay important events, issues, and just to have everyday good ol’ conversation. 🙂
Pros vs. Cons
Overall, the ratings and comments were VERY positive about the ‘Real Picture Photo Book’. There was hardly any negative feedback given!
So let’s breakdown the positives vs. negatives.
Pros
- Convenient to take with you on-the-go or to put in your child’s backpack
- Easy to use and clean
- Lower cost option compared to high-tech speech devices
- Helps sentence structure, speech, and cognitive skills
- Can be used in multiple settings such as the home, classroom, or therapy
- Great communication tool for non-verbal children
- Photo cards are durable and safe
Cons
- One reviewer shared the laminated cards started to ‘peel’ after several months of use
How Does the ‘Real Picture Photo Book’ Compare to their Competition?
There are several popular communication books on the market for autism so let’s take a look at how these compare.
Language Builder Verbs & Action Words
If you need your child to focus on ACTION words then this may be a fit for you. There are 230 verb cards compared to the photo book which has 157 cards.
These cards are slightly larger measuring 3.5 x 5 inches compared to the photo book cards which are smaller 1.5 x 1.5 inches.
The cards are on sturdy card stock with a gloss finish which makes it very easy to clean and wipe down. The back of the cards have a writable surface.
Many of the verb cards offer many examples so your child can become familiar with what the word means. For example, the word “blowing” shows a person blowing a whistle, blowing bubbles, blowing out a candle and blowing their nose.
Overall Comparison: Reviewers were positive about the ‘Language Builder Verbs and Action Words’ and rated it well sharing the photos are very clear, high quality, and inclusive for boys and girls. In comparison, it’s slightly more expensive, the card edges aren’t rounded so your child will have to be careful not to poke or scratch themselves, and it doesn’t come in an organized binder to travel with on-the-go.
However, these cards are great to keep and use at home, in the classroom, or clinics during therapy sessions to enhance a child’s vocabulary with verbs and actions words. The card pictures are recommended for ages 2 years and up.
==> Click here for the BEST current price <==
ABC Sound Book
This educational interactive picture book let’s your child learn their letters, words, numbers, veggies, fruits, vehicles, shapes, colors and animals through sounds.
It’s an e-book that’s easy to travel with and recommended for ages 3 years and up.
It has 8 pages of learning, interactive activities, and over 100 sounds such as songs and tunes to engage your child while enhancing their communication skills.
Overall Comparison: If you need a beginner tool to help your child’s speech and word recognition by listening to sounds then this may be the option for you. You will need 3 triple AAA batteries to use it and there is volume control.
In comparison, the ABC sound book is priced less but the ratings were not as high as the ‘Real Picture Photo Book’. A common concern among numerous reviewers was the pages are flimsy which can add to easy wear and tear when your child is continuously flipping through the pages.
Overall, it was recommended as a great ‘starting’ tool to introduce your child to common words and sounds.
==> Click here for the BEST current price <==
Final Verdict
Overall, the majority of the remarks and ratings were positive about the photo book were 5 stars.
Parents, caretakers, teachers, and therapists were very pleased with the ease of use, organized layout, and variety of ‘real’ pictures that allowed their child to communicate easier.
==> Click here to learn more about ‘Real Picture Photo Book’ or for the best current pricing <==
In my opinion, the picture book is a great price for the quality of visual support tools you receive that come in a variety of words and categories to enhance a child’s communication skills.
Plus, compared to costly high-tech speech devices on the market today, it’s a very low investment that can benefit the quality of life for a child who has autism.
If you need a great visual communication tool without breaking the bank, the ‘Real Picture Photo Book’ may be your solution. 🙂
If there is another communication book for autism you would recommend, a review you would like to share, questions you may have, or anything you’d like to add that I did not cover in this post, please feel free to comment below.
If you found this information helpful, please share the love to help another parent and their child. 🙂
I really do strive to make the content I create as helpful as possible for you … as fellow parent looking out for their most precious gift.
Thanks so much for stopping by today!
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I have been reading a lot recently about how to help my child to effectively communicate.
I love the idea of a picture book. And I know my child is visual. He enjoys so much all these pictures. I know for sure we’ll have a great time together with this book.
And I’m surprised how affordable it is. Thank you!
That’s awesome to hear Ann! So glad the information was helpful to you and your son. I appreciate your feedback. 🙂
This is a very resourceful article to come by and reading through it has given enough knowledge about what autusm is all about and how you can easily communicate with kids suffering from this kind of disorder, this will also help people to know how treat them better. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Bruce. Your thoughts are really appreciated. 🙂
This is a very good guide you have up here and I really value all that has been said by you. In all honesty, this is great to see and the fact that it can make difference a lot when actually trying to communicate with autistic children. Surely there are some tips here that could prove very pivotal to this. Thank you for sharing here
I appreciate your feedback Nath, thanks for sharing. 🙂
Communication is a very vital part of the human existence and its really good to see how your have shared this wonderful article about this book. People with autism should be cared for and in the instances communication would-be really good and learning how to communicate with them is really nice to start with
Thanks Justin! I appreciate you taking the time to share this. 🙂