STOP ASKING!!!

Sometimes it bewilders me how simple solutions are often the last result. The thing that most often makes me just have to chuckle is how infrequently visual schedules are used to help children understand what is expected of them and when they can have access to the things they want. In my experience, the use of visual and written schedules are extremely effective and reduce the constant requesting that causes most teachers and parents to exclaim “STOP ASKING!!”

For many children with autism, verbal directions are hard to understand. Additionally, time concept and relational concepts such as “first you need to do this, then you can have that” can be difficult to comprehend. However, when presented visually this is more easily understood.

The most recent example I have of this is one of my students asking his aide for a star wars picture. I was working with another group of students and I heard him demand repeatedly “I want a picture of Anakin”, “You need to get me a picture”. Her response to this was a verbal direction that it was time for math and he could get a picture later if he worked hard. The concept of “working hard” in a very abstract one and he seemed to understand her redirection as “No, you can not have a star wars picture”. This went on for a while until I had to intervene because they both were escalating and there was no math work being completed. I went over to them and asked his aide what he needed to do, then I asked him what he wanted. After getting the answers from both of them I wrote out a simple schedule on an index card: (1) Math (with a 10-star token economy to show him he needed to do 10 math problems); (2) Star Wars Picture (his desired reinforcement). This ended the incessant requesting…and low and behold he completed his work!!

This is a simple example of how a visual schedule can be used to illustrate what needs to be done and when a desired item can be accessed. Schedules can be as simple or as complex as the child can handle and understand. If you’re just starting, it is best to start out small and work your way up to longer, more complex schedules. It is important to remember that schedules are not only effective for children who are able to read, picture schedules are just as effective.

It is a good thing to remember that simple is better…this in the principle of parsimony. It’s much simpler to provide a schedule to a child than to go round and round in a verbal debate which only serves to frustrate the child and the adult involved in the situation.