Shari
IsItFridayYet?
I got this on an email list I belong to locally and thought I would pass it along.
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I wanted to share a success that might help some of your families who struggle with getting tasks accomplished independently (like a "list" sequence of "getting ready in the morning.")
My 7-year-old daughter with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (sensory processing) has a terrible time completing tasks independently, due to the "space off" factor. Reminding her intermittently only makes her more mad and defensive.
I tried an experiment after seeing a set of colored magnetic LED lights in the "nightlight" aisle at the grocery store (I can't attach the photo, but they are just small round magnets, about the size of a pencil eraser, that can be turned on and off and have an LED light in them)
We made a magnetic dry erase board list of the usual morning activities - "eat breakfast," "bathroom," "get dressed," etc. Each task is written in a different color and the same color LED light-magnet is next to it.
As each item is completed, she can press the light "on" to show it's "done." The lights we had were the colors of the rainbow, so we went in the ROYGBIV sequence and we tell her to "make a rainbow" if she needs a reminder.
All by herself, she was motivated to get each thing "done" to push the light "on."
For days in a row, we've been ready to go out the door between 20 and 30 minutes AHEAD of schedule (unprecented)!!
***
I wanted to share a success that might help some of your families who struggle with getting tasks accomplished independently (like a "list" sequence of "getting ready in the morning.")
My 7-year-old daughter with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (sensory processing) has a terrible time completing tasks independently, due to the "space off" factor. Reminding her intermittently only makes her more mad and defensive.
I tried an experiment after seeing a set of colored magnetic LED lights in the "nightlight" aisle at the grocery store (I can't attach the photo, but they are just small round magnets, about the size of a pencil eraser, that can be turned on and off and have an LED light in them)
We made a magnetic dry erase board list of the usual morning activities - "eat breakfast," "bathroom," "get dressed," etc. Each task is written in a different color and the same color LED light-magnet is next to it.
As each item is completed, she can press the light "on" to show it's "done." The lights we had were the colors of the rainbow, so we went in the ROYGBIV sequence and we tell her to "make a rainbow" if she needs a reminder.
All by herself, she was motivated to get each thing "done" to push the light "on."
For days in a row, we've been ready to go out the door between 20 and 30 minutes AHEAD of schedule (unprecented)!!