July 20, 2012
by Robin Parker -
We need to continue to talk about scheduling…..especially as we talk about tools for positive behavioral supports. We know that having monthly, daily, and mini-schedules make us ALL feel more competent and calm. We have written a lot about visual schedules and visual schedule resources because we have seen schedules reduce or eliminate so many behavior challenges. They have helped with transitions, wandering away during activities, activity completion, asking repetitive ‘‘when are we going ________ questions, and with meltdowns during a less preferred activity. We also continue to write about schedules because there are still myths suggesting schedules might hinder independence when exactly the opposite is true. We personally continue to use a combination of no-tech to high-tech visual schedules, but we are loving mobile schedules especially during the summer when we are traveling and moving around from place to place even more frequently than usual. We gathered together... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, behavior management, calendars, daily schedules, mini schedules, schedules, visual schedules
April 30, 2012
by Robin Parker -
Nooooo, not again. A myth about visual schedules continues to rear its ugly head in a prAACtical situation (maybe we can reframe it into a learning opportunity??). Some history- A parent of twin girls with autism (age 15 and two other younger children– yes total 4) stopped by our office to pick up some autism awareness materials yesterday (a super busy mom in so many ways —going out of her way to help our community). As we were exchanging pleasantries and getting updates on how the girls were doing, we heard something that continues to surprise us–(and not in a good way). What did we hear? We heard that the girls were doing relatively well (not the surprising comment) but that mom was extra busy because the girls were no longer independent in taking their showers. They could do it by themselves but didn’t like the sensory input of soap... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: mini schedules, myths, schedules, visual supports
March 24, 2012
by Robin Parker -
We were looking for some specific resources for a distant colleague. We wanted to get as much good information as possible because this colleague was not in our field but in another department that has direct impact over work. We do not necessarily see ‘eye to eye’ on many issues so we thought it might be helpful to our working relationship. In the process, a young man and his family would get some much-needed support. In our exploration, we found some great new videos about schedules- our topic of the month. We found several very prAACtical videos by the Watson Institute about mini schedules. We have found mini schedules to be very helpful for activities of daily living, community activities, leisure time activities and even in special event activities. We love that the Watson Institute put these on you -tube for everyone to learn from. They even have a you-tube video... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: mini schedules, schedules, visual supports