Free printable board
My pain communication board
What kind of pain, where it is, and how bad it is from 0 to 10.
Letter size, 574 KB. Print at 100%, not scaled to fit. No sign-in and no email. A4, a second language and your own photos are in the board maker.
What is on the board
4 by 3 squares, with Yes and No along the bottom.
- Sharp · Dull · Burning · Throbbing
- Head · Chest · Stomach · Back
- 0 No pain · 1 to 3 Mild · 4 to 6 Moderate · 7 to 10 Severe
Who it suits
A person who needs to say what the pain is like, where it is and how bad it is, and the nurse or helper asking.
For the helper: put on their glasses and hearing aids, say the board title out loud, wait while the person points, say the word out loud, and confirm with Yes or No.
Common questions
How does the pain board work?
The person points to what the pain is like (sharp, dull, burning or throbbing), where it is (head, chest, stomach or back), and how bad it is on the 0 to 10 row. The helper reads each answer back and confirms with Yes or No.
Is there a body map?
The book Communication Boards for Adults has a full body map on its pain pages, and the free starter set includes it. The board maker's pain board uses pictures and words for the main places instead, and you can add your own.
From the book
This board follows pages 12, 13 of Communication Boards for Adults, a large-print paperback of 112 boards with Yes and No on every page. Four of its boards are free to download here, and the whole book is on the store.
Boards made here are designed to support everyday communication between a person and their helpers.
A communication support aid, not a medical device, and not a substitute for assessment by a speech-language pathologist.