Tag Archive: visual schedule

Video of the Week: Visual Schedules with AAC Learners

September 16, 2015 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Visual Schedules with AAC Learners

While our therapy sessions are highly individualized to meet the needs of specific individuals, there are a couple of strategies that are effective with almost every learner on our caseloads. Topping that list is the use of visual schedules. Whether it is a written agenda, a picture schedule for the session, a mini schedule for the parts of an activity, or an object schedule for the day’s events, this is one of the few strategies that has something to offer every learner. We’ve written before about this topic. In this post, you can find links to many of the topics we’ve addressed about making and using them.  Today, we’ll look at a few videos on the use of this strategy. To get us started, here’s a video of Ann Syrstad sharing information about using this evidence-based intervention for individuals with ASD.   Next, we head to Malaysia, where the Early Autism... [Read More...]

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Visual Schedule Round-Up

July 9, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

Visual Schedule Round-Up

Summer is not the season we typically connect with routine, predictability, and structure. Nonetheless, if  strategy really works to make someone’s life better, we try to use it whenever possible. Visual schedules work. They REALLY work. So whether you’re using them this summer or just preparing for the fall, we hope you enjoy this round-up of our past posts on Visual Schedules. – Riddle Me This (clinical rationale) Tech it Up’- 5 Visual Schedule Apps (tools) Visual Strategies 411 (implementation) PrAACtical Mini Schedules (implementation) Ideas for Teaching the Use of Visual Schedules (implementation) Object Schedules (video) Strategy of the Month: Types of Visual Schedules (implementation) Visual Schedules in Action (video) Building Complex Schedules (video) Schedule Changes (Video) AAC at Home: Visual Schedules and Supports Schedules and Choices (implementation) Visual Schedules & Inclusion (video) A Myth About Visual Schedule Lives On (implementation) Visual Schedule Wrap-Up  (implementation + resource list) –

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35 AAC Posts You May Have Missed: April, 2012

May 1, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

35 AAC Posts You May Have Missed: April, 2012

— – – Strategy of the Month From Disney Princesses to Houseplants: More on Building Communication Opportunities 5 Apps for Tempting Commenting and Other Language Functions Go Ape! 10 Commenting Communication Temptations PrAACtical Play: Creating Communication Opportunities with Favorite Toys How to Make Communication Temptations Really Work Mining Preschool Routines for PrAACtical AAC Opportunities. Meaningful Communication Opportunities – The Fives 5 ‘Go-To’ Sites for AAC and Visual Support Downloads 5 Apps for Tempting Commenting and Other Language Functions 5 AAC-Related Facebook Pages/Groups We Love 5 Tools and Tips for Making Transitions Easier 5+ Sites for Free AAC-Friendly Literacy Resources 5 eGames for Switch Users 5 AAC/AT YouTube Channels We Love – PrAACtical Thinking 49 Free or Lite Versions of AAC Apps A Myth About Visual Schedules Lives On PrAACtical Resources: Making Decisions about Reading Accessibility Options PrAACtical Resources: Toolkit for ASD PrAACtical Questions: How Do I Find Good AAC Service... [Read More...]

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5 Tools & Tips for Making Transitions Easier

April 22, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

5 Tools & Tips for Making Transitions Easier

Transitions can be hard for everyone, whether it is turning off the TV to finish grading papers or leaving a favorite place to go run some errands or following through to finish cleaning out the garage. For people with significant communication difficulties, there can be additional challenges. Here are some of our favorite tools and strategies for making transitions easier for everyone. – Visual Schedules: Our hands-down favorite way of helping people transition smoothly is to make the expectations visual and explicit. Lots of info on making this strategy successful here and here. Timers, timers, and more timers! We love them because, once the routine and expectations are established, they work so beautifully in so many situations. Social stories:Well-written social stories shared via high quality intervention can go a long way in preventing or minimizing transition issues. Transition items: Lots of families, teachers, and SLP have had success using objects... [Read More...]

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Schedules and Choices

April 11, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

Schedules and Choices

– If you follow our blog, you know that last month we had lots to say on making, teaching, and using Visual Schedules. We ran out of time before we could discuss a question that comes up a lot in our own clinical practice. What role does choice-making play in visual schedules? Here are some of the things we think about when we consider this for the schedules we make and use. We all like to have some say in what we do. Giving the learner an opportunity to make choices in a schedule makes sense when personal autonomy is a priority. Allowing the learner to choose which activities to place on the schedule supports personal autonomy:  Having control over what happens in our lives is a big part of happiness for most people. – Here’s how we might do that with a visual schedule for a therapy session. 1.Select... [Read More...]

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Schedule Changes

April 8, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

Schedule Changes

We couldn’t resist one more video about visual schedules. There are so many things we love about this one from SET BC, starting with the fact that the student sets it up. We also love hearing how they have changed the schedule to meet the student’s individual needs as he has matured. My favorite part was hearing how successfully they used a ‘Something’s Different’ symbol to indicate when an unusual activity was going to occur. – Happy viewing! – –

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26 AAC Posts You May Have Missed-March, 2012

April 1, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

26 AAC Posts You May Have Missed-March, 2012

If March was as busy for you as it was for us, then you may have missed some of these posts. Grading exams, meeting with students, clinical paperwork, grant-writing, teaching, travel, etc. Know wonder we’re tired! Enjoy this bit of catch-up.  – The Fives 5 Great Resources for Helping Individuals with Vision and Hearing Loss AAC on the Go: 5 Tips for Traveling with AAC Tech it Up’- 5 Visual Schedule Apps 5 Resources for AAC Data Collection 5 Tips to Make AAC Assessments Run Smoothly 5 References to Support AAC Use – PrAACtical Thinking 1. The Secret to Succeeding At Anything 2. National Quilting Day & Employment 3. AAC and March Madness 4. Games are More Than Fun… Gaming for ALL 5. Hearing the Knock 6. HijAACked! AAC & Anti-Bullying with Stand Tall, Mary Lou Melon! 7. Emergencies and Resources to Help 8. Random Acts of Kindness 9. Do... [Read More...]

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Visual Schedule Wrap-Up

March 31, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

Visual Schedule Wrap-Up

In this last post on our March Strategy of the Month, visual schedules, we address a couple of questions about using schedules and end with a list of helpful resources. Lots to click on and explore! – What about activities that don’t happen very often? How do we incorporate those into the schedule? Many of the learners with whom we work get quite stressed when the typical routine is violated. It could be an undesired change, like a fire drill or a dentist appointment. Or it could be that a regular event gets cancelled, such as when our music therapist is out sick or when outdoor recess is cancelled due to bad weather. Even changes that involve the addition of a positive event, such as a birthday party or a special classroom guest, could lead to stress and meltdown. If we have advance notice of the change, we can use... [Read More...]

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Video of the Week: Building Complex Schedules

March 25, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Building Complex Schedules

This week, we feature a video that highlights software for making picture schedules by Cognitopia. We like how this video helps illustrate the decision-making process for developing a picture schedule using Picture Planner 3.0. You can download a free trial here and access the lite version of the app here. We like how this video reminds us to consider not just what the person will be doing at a particular time, but also what they will need to bring or have in order to be successful.

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