Comments on: Schedules & Task Boards

By: Elissa

Elissa — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:42:55 +0000

We are extremely blessed with our Speech Therapist!!!

And it did take us quite a while to get used to the schedule in the house! Jack wasn’t really interested to start with, but once he got used to the idea things got a lot easier.

Julie L - calendars are really helpful for us too!

By: Julie L.

Julie L. — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:17:16 +0000

I’m relieved I’m not the only who has trouble with schedule boards ending up scattered around the house. I really, really tried, but that was one of a couple of problems I encountered with visual schedules. I’m glad, though, that others like Elissa have had success using them. I’ve had some success in having my son write a h (for home) or s (for school) on our calendar. It gives him some control and our regular calendar tends to stay on the wall. It’s not a task board, but it’s a start…

By: Joy

Joy — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:25:53 +0000

Those look great! You’ll have to show the new ones you come up with. I haven’t used visuals with Adrian too much at home, every time I have tried either Adrian or Nevaeh end up scattering them through the house and they are never used for the intended purpose. That’s great about your speech path. it is nice to feel like you have ‘the best’ for your child. Good luck with the visuals.

By: fw2

fw2 — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:15:27 +0000

Don’t read the book…. I lasted the first chapter before I returned it to the library.

I refuse to routine my home. The pec boards in the house are at the toilet, sink and back door - that’s all. They need to learn to adapt to change. There is routine at school. The elder is totally uptight about time and I refuse to feed it.

Now that the youngest can use words… I’ve taken away the PEC’s unless he’s unable to communicate with us b/c he’s ill or frustrated. Meltdowns… I wait him out.

I refuse to use things as a crutch. They use the PIC’s (since they are no longer being used for communication) are being used as a teaching tool. For ex. “which activities take place in winter/summer etc”. This is a tool, for a child with minimal conversation skills….
They do use them as a schedule at school. This helps with the transitions and independance at school.

By: childlife

childlife — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:42:26 +0000

That’s looking really great! I’m glad you have such a good speech pathologist - that sure helps when you have competent folks working with you.

By: Elissa

Elissa — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:35:38 +0000

Marla - passing of time is a big thing for us too, some days Jack is addicted to the clock!!!
I’ll let you know if we find something that works for this!

By: Marla

Marla — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:14:15 +0000

This is timely for me because I want to come up with a better daily schedule for use at home too. It has been hard for me to find one or make one that Maizie is interested in. I also want to try and include a way for her to understand time in it or at least get used to some of the “passing of time” through the use of it. Please share what you come up with. I would like to see it and maybe get an idea.

By: misha_k

misha_k — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:07:40 +0000

I’m reading “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” right now. This is my second try at it and I’m enjoying it.

I’ve used visuals with J for several years now and they help him so much. He’s able to put together his own daily/weekly schedule and he really likes that. He likes having a schedule book for when we go somewhere too. What program do you use? I have Boardmaker here. It’s the same one his school uses.

I like it that our kids have something they can use and that helps.

By: Julie L.

Julie L. — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:48:06 +0000

I read Mark Haddon’s book and also think it’s a good read. There’s a lot of nonfiction autism books, but there doesn’t seem to be much fiction.
Visual schedules work well with my guy at school, but for various reasons we have trouble using them at home. Same with social stories. I think our trouble is that our son likes to use both on us instead of vice versa. He’s always making signs of what he wants to do. Some wishes are impossible to grant. He thinks up big things. I’m glad the schedule is working for you though.

By: Elissa

Elissa — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:45:09 +0000

LAA and family - the red finished pocket is where Jack puts the schedule pieces when he is finished with them… he loves that pocket!

In the past we have just used our own pictures, and occasionally photos - I’m not sure of the name of the program that our therapist uses.

Jack really likes the photos too, but I think maybe I should look into a program… any suggestions?