Back in the day when we ran an in-home ABA program, I had to come up with some creative solutions for materials, some of which I use to this day. Here are a few that others might find useful.
Since I don't have a colour printer or laminator, I often upload electronic files to my local Staples store for printing. They can even print on card stock, which my regular printer can't easily handle. I've lost count of the number of times I've used this, most recently for a token economy system and for colour photos to use when practicing crossing the road safely.
To avoid wasting paper, I put worksheets inside clear plastic "sheet protectors", then have my son complete them using erasable markers (ones that come off with water: in the olden days I used these to write on overhead project acetates, if anyone remembers those).
Dry erase markers and white boards have to be two of the greatest inventions ever. We have white boards of different sizes all over the house and in the car, along with packets of markers. I use them to give my son a visual reminder of schedules and "to do" items for the day, as well as for impromptu token economy boards, and he has the pleasure of erasing completed items. He also uses white boards himself: I have observed him madly writing out the lyrics to songs he's listening to, or sentences from a "read-along" story or audio book, or dialogue from a computer or video game, then immediately erasing them to start over again. Not sure what that's about, but he seems to enjoy it.
The only things better than dry erase markers are sticky notes. One way I like to use them is when planning a day's activities with my son. We can both write "to do" items on notes, and negotiate together what order they will be done in. I've even experimented with using notes of different colour to distinguish between "must do" and "could do" items, or to represent his choices vs. my choices. Easy to rearrange until we're both satisfied (or both equally dissatisfied) and inexpensive to simply discard.
Thursday, 19 November 2015
Transition planning resources
Note that this list was
first assembled in 2012. I have attempted to validate that all of the linked
resources still exist, but there may be newer documents out there.
Title
|
Region
|
Audience
|
Pages
|
Notes
|
Ontario
|
General
|
119
|
Broad focus, mostly practical, excellent starting
point for Ontario parents, funding and services landscape has radically
changed since publication, but general information useful. Link is to
Toronto/York edition.
|
|
U.S.
|
Parents
|
25
|
Includes good list of lifeskills and
processes for acquiring them, generic information about vocation and
employment
|
|
New Brunswick
|
Educators
|
51
|
Logical, practical structure. Introduces person-centered planning.
|
|
Ohio
|
General
|
108
|
Focus on ASD. Excellent checklists, very
useful structure.
|
|
Ontario
|
Parents
|
28
|
Very general, adapted from U.S. source.
Suggestions of actions for parents while waiting for services.
|
|
Ontario
|
Educators
|
46
|
The Ministry of Education’s beautiful fantasy
of what could be achieved through education system focus on transition.
|
|
USA
|
Parents
|
Despite title, more of a guide than a toolkit.
Good information about self-advocacy, nice stories, but not very
relevant to Ontario.
|
||
Autism Tomorrow: The Complete Guide to Help Your
Child Thrive in the Real World
|
USA
|
Parents
|
225
|
A bit of a grab-bag, some information only
applicable in U.S., has a rare section just focusing on girls.
Available in print form only.
|
Ontario
|
Parents
|
n/a
|
Set of online workshops.
|
|
Ontario
|
Individual
|
28
|
Unique guide with a focus on the individual.
|
|
Ontario
|
Parents and individuals
|
n/a
|
A series of helpful checklists (very high level)
|
|
Ontario
|
Parents and individuals
|
47
|
A research paper, would be of interest to those
considering post-secondary options.
|
|
U.S.
|
Individuals
|
U.S. based but lessons apply generally.
|
||
U.S.
|
Parents and Community
|
68 (also online)
|
Legal, healthcare and other details are not applicable to Canadians, but much of the content is of general and practical use. Also includes links to guides for employers and community members, which can be valuable.
|
Token economy systems for independence
A simple token economy system has been part of my parenting toolkit for a long time. For my guy, I've usually implemented this using a small laminated sheet with a series of boxes to fill in or place checkmarks in, and an erasable marker (not dry-erase). Don't have a laminator? See my blog post about useful materials for home-based learning and programs. I target a behaviour (being quiet for x minutes, trying something new, sitting for x minutes, whatever) and then award checkmarks (or filled-in boxes) to my son, with a defined reward (a break, a treat, a favoured activity) when all the spaces have been filled. What I love about these systems is their flexibility (you can arbitrarily give extra marks where necessary to make the experience positive), their clarity and their portability.
As the years have passed, I've turned to such systems less and less often, finding more natural reinforcements and recognizing my son's maturity and growing flexibility that doesn't require such tools. However, I decided to dust off the old approach when faced with the challenge of encouraging independence. Yes, he does lots of household chores, and is better at following time-based schedules (perhaps he's a little too time-focused: this is a kid who when reminded that he needs to be upstairs at 9:30 will respond "it's 9:29!" - his watch obsession might be a topic for another post), but unprompted daily activities are still not as common as I'd like. So I came up with this, which rewards checkmarks not for doing something, but for doing something without being prompted:
So far it seems to be helping, although I've had to be rather liberal about what the "something" he is doing unprompted might be. Have other practical ideas for promoting independence? I'd love to hear about them.
As the years have passed, I've turned to such systems less and less often, finding more natural reinforcements and recognizing my son's maturity and growing flexibility that doesn't require such tools. However, I decided to dust off the old approach when faced with the challenge of encouraging independence. Yes, he does lots of household chores, and is better at following time-based schedules (perhaps he's a little too time-focused: this is a kid who when reminded that he needs to be upstairs at 9:30 will respond "it's 9:29!" - his watch obsession might be a topic for another post), but unprompted daily activities are still not as common as I'd like. So I came up with this, which rewards checkmarks not for doing something, but for doing something without being prompted:
"He's beautiful"
"He's beautiful", the stranger said to me. I had already pegged her as a good sort, seeing her kind reaction to the sight of my gangly 21 year old son crouched down to examine the children's DVDs on the bottom shelf at our local Value Village. He was gleefully thrusting "Barbie" DVDs my way, looking for that apparently endlessly entertaining reaction of professed horror they elicit from me. She was not looking askance at him, or me, or moving away uneasily, as people sometimes do. But "beautiful"?
There's no denying that as a child my son was physically beautiful, with masses of platinum curls and sprinkling of freckles on his snub nose, but "beautiful" seems an unlikely adjective for him now that he's fully grown (with jeans that never seem to fit properly, a total indifference to his physical appearance except for the logo on his tshirt, and rather odd facial hair). The woman in the store, however, clearly recognized something about him - and, in fact, as we chatted she told me that she has Asperger's. She talked a bit about the challenges she faces and the supports she receives, and when she again said "he's beautiful" I knew she was acknowledging not just his apparent sweet nature and his enthusiasms that is never diminished by the judgement of others, but the challenges he has faced and the value that should be placed on people like him (and her).
There's no denying that as a child my son was physically beautiful, with masses of platinum curls and sprinkling of freckles on his snub nose, but "beautiful" seems an unlikely adjective for him now that he's fully grown (with jeans that never seem to fit properly, a total indifference to his physical appearance except for the logo on his tshirt, and rather odd facial hair). The woman in the store, however, clearly recognized something about him - and, in fact, as we chatted she told me that she has Asperger's. She talked a bit about the challenges she faces and the supports she receives, and when she again said "he's beautiful" I knew she was acknowledging not just his apparent sweet nature and his enthusiasms that is never diminished by the judgement of others, but the challenges he has faced and the value that should be placed on people like him (and her).
Sunday, 1 November 2015
Look left, look right
In the 16 years since my son was diagnosed with ASD, I have spent many hours in informal and informal settings where I have met other parents. No matter the event or the agenda, almost always there’s the opportunity hear a little about someone else’s experience. People have shared the solutions they have sought out, the situations that bring them joy and, more often, the challenges that bring them grief in their life with a child who is, to paraphrase Margaret Drabble (in “The Pure Gold Baby), “the apple of their eye, and the thorn in their heart”.
On every single one of those occasions, at some point I find myself encountering at least one parent whose concerns seem laughingly minor compared to what my family faces. And I have met at least one parent who faces a situation so profoundly difficult that the concerns I had been overwhelmed with suddenly seem trivial. And whichever way I look, whether I’m looking with jealousy or with compassion, I learn something about myself and the way I perceive and support my beloved son.
From the people who seem to have it so easy, I learn to question whether I’m settling too easily, if I’m failing to push my son enough, failing to set expectations highly enough. From the people who seem to be struggling, I receive a gentle reminder about the importance of occasionally celebrating what is good and strong in my life. In either case, I am forced me to re-calibrate my life, at least the large part of it that’s involved with developmental disabilities, in ways both small and large.
So as you attend yet another committee meeting or parent support group or workshop, I urge you to remember to look left, to those you might envy, and to look right, to those you might pity. Listen, and learn, and remember that wherever you are on the spectrum, there’s always someone beside you.
(A version of this was originally published in an issue of Autism Ontario's Autism Matters magazine.)
On every single one of those occasions, at some point I find myself encountering at least one parent whose concerns seem laughingly minor compared to what my family faces. And I have met at least one parent who faces a situation so profoundly difficult that the concerns I had been overwhelmed with suddenly seem trivial. And whichever way I look, whether I’m looking with jealousy or with compassion, I learn something about myself and the way I perceive and support my beloved son.
From the people who seem to have it so easy, I learn to question whether I’m settling too easily, if I’m failing to push my son enough, failing to set expectations highly enough. From the people who seem to be struggling, I receive a gentle reminder about the importance of occasionally celebrating what is good and strong in my life. In either case, I am forced me to re-calibrate my life, at least the large part of it that’s involved with developmental disabilities, in ways both small and large.
So as you attend yet another committee meeting or parent support group or workshop, I urge you to remember to look left, to those you might envy, and to look right, to those you might pity. Listen, and learn, and remember that wherever you are on the spectrum, there’s always someone beside you.
(A version of this was originally published in an issue of Autism Ontario's Autism Matters magazine.)
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