Using Visual Schedules

From workingwithautism.info

There are countless times when I expect that my child with Autism simply “should know better” by now.  Did you know that an expectation is merely a resentment in the waiting?  How many times have I repeated, “You KNOW that brushing your teeth always comes next!” or “You KNOW we have to leave by 8, why aren’t your pants on?”

I might as well be the teacher from Charlie Brown, because all my son really hears is, “whaa whaa whaa…” and doesn’t understand why he is in trouble. Again.

How many repetitions does it take for him to understand a routine? Well, how many times have I thrown extra variables into that routine that end up confusing him?  An easy way to take the whole struggle and guesswork out of the mix is by using visual schedules.

A visual schedule is a set of pictures and words that communicate a series of activities or the steps to help children understand and manage the daily events in their lives. Ideally, they should communicate clear expectations for the child and decrease the need for constant reminders and many times, unwanted arguments.

At home, the schedule can be created around basic morning, afternoon, and evening tasks such as brushing teeth, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and gathering a backpack for school. They can incorporate any chores assigned to the child, such as empty the garbage or feed the dog.

Posted in a central and convenient place, the schedule can be easily referred to any time the child gets off task and distracted.

For older children, school-specific schedules can be placed into notebooks for easy reference.  This would be extremely helpful for transitions and the last segment of the school day.

Issues such as difficulty paying attention, understanding auditory input, processing multiple commands, and the inability to predict and plan within their environment are easily addressed with visual schedules, helping children to adapt and stay on-task at home, in school, or in community gatherings.

It’s IEP Time… Put Our Dukes Down?

It can be hard not to go into an IEP meeting with an attitude of “me vs. them”, ready to defend your child. Especially if you’ve been pelted with behavioral labels, accused of not disciplining enough, or relentlessly badgered about why you are not medicating. And believe me, I’ve been called some really inappropriate names during some IEP meetings by Special Ed district representatives that could have cost them their jobs.

No parent should be a doormat, but I encourage you to try a shift in your attitude before your next meeting. This hasn’t been an easy journey for me, especially during the two-year diagnosis process that seemed to be more about what category my child fell in than what he needed to help him be more successful in the classroom.

However, when I started coming from a place of appreciation, partnership, and resourceful ideas the IEP process really transformed into a positive experience. I’m not saying there aren’t any challenges or issues, or that all the resources I feel should be in place are. There are still budget constraints and understaffed schools; there are still many misunderstandings about what he can help and what he does to try and ease a sensory experience. But we are much closer these days, especially when I come into the process with honesty, willingness, and an open mind.

Appreciation. Instead of balking about what I see wrong straight out of the gate, I always start with comments of celebration and sincere thanks for what the teachers and staff ARE providing.  Remember, their job isn’t easy, either!

Keep moving forward. I like to keep a solution-oriented tone in the meetings, regardless of any disappointments or misunderstandings I may have experienced in prior sessions. By focusing on what I feel NEEDS to happen instead of all the things we tried that didn’t work out so great, it keeps the whole team in a forward momentum. This doesn’t mean I ignore things that went wrong, but fixating on them will not lend anything to the outcome of the meeting. Remember, we are ultimately there to find and ask for tools that will help our children succeed.

Bring some tools of your own. I am always researching scheduling ideas, resources, and routines to help us at home. I like to come into IEP meetings with a list of things that are currently working well for us, adjusting each for the classroom if I can. I also openly talk about some of the challenges I still experience and ask for input. It’s been my experience that these simple actions can be disarming and set the stage for working together.

Keep talking about the goal. Whenever we get hung up on a certain behavior or issue and I feel things may be getting tense or heated, I sometimes break the moment with a statement like, “My goal for him is to teach him to ask for xxxx appropriately, or self-correct if he is able,” or “I’m aiming for a decrease in the need for small-group time this quarter.” Sometimes we just need a small reminder of why we are there.

Aim high. Every so often, the team will suggest a support be put in place before we have experienced it. I have actually asked for the least amount of support at times to see what my son was capable of. By assuming he will have trouble in a certain situation without actually letting him try is setting him up to aim low in the future. Sometimes they really surprise you!

Overall, it is very easy to take things personally and experience frustration in the IEP process. You know your child best. However, I have personally seen the magic that happens when I have shifted the focus to taking the higher road and keeping my side of the street clean. There’s a strange ripple effect in your world when you stop expecting everyone to be against you : )