Visual Timetables

Timetables are the most effective tool to help embed structure into the day. The primary purpose in providing this structure is to enable the autistic person the means to make sense of their day and eventually, to give him the means to accept change to the routine.

Initially, keeping a routine so that you can alter it seems contradictory, but it's not the events or activities on the timetable that become the "routine" but rather the act of following the timetable itself.

Timetables come in a variety of formats and are used on an individual or class basis, but I prefer individual ones that utilise velcro. Individual timetables allow the pupil to take ownership of the timetable and are useful for when the child is in a different part of the school. As well, when the child is "stuck", having the timetable ready to hand, makes aiding the transition much easier.

Each pupil in my class had two timetables, one for the morning (blue) and the other for the afternoon (red).Four of the boys used timetables with symbols and one boy's timetable was a series of photographs in a photo album.

As each activitiy finished, the symbol would be flipped over, so the boy could realise he was finished it and move on to the next activity. By the end of the day all of the symbols would be flipped over, and the boys would be ready to catch their taxis home.

Great Day

Today we used an actual daffodil "borrowed" (okay, taken without permission) from a vase in the hallway as a model for us to use. We noted the colours on the daffodil and then collected the materials need to make one from paper.

The size of the green paper chosen was much too wide, so it was twisted to be the stem. The yellow lengths of paper were much too long when compared to the actual flower so when offered the choice of "do we rip or cut" the paper, "rip" was the response.

The grass was added last and a piece of a4 acted as a visual guide so the grass did not end up reaching to the sky.

He was very pleased with the result and when showing it to a classmate said "tah-dah!"




Proud amazement when one of my pupils clearly yelled "GOOD NIGHT!" at the end of the story. There is something to be said about long pauses. Definetly.

Ros Blackburn - I learn so much

This weekend in Birmingham marks the fourth time I have heard Ros speak. If I have the opportunity to hear her again, I will take it. I always learn so much from what she says.

She ran this lecture as a question and answer session and commented on the following:
the need for people with autism to be told... not just told off.
that keeping crisis intervention procedures / physical restraints "secret" from her is a bad idea...if she is already in crisis, putting her in a hold will only escalate it - and four men from emergency response couldn't restrain her.
that reaching a person with autism can be done through special interests. For Ros, this means that when she is bouncing on the trampoline, she might be able to contain her fear of dogs, if one happens to be nearby.

But what really shocked me what the story she related about her various experiences of the Mental Health department. She has been sectioned on a few occasions (1.6 - she called it) and then said that being sectioned under a 2 was entirely different. The length of time was longer, 28 days instead of a week.

It took her mother 21 days to locate where she was being held. The police would not tell her as Ros was over 18 and had the right to privacy. Her mother's arguments of the nonsence of that with respect to Ros did not sway opinion. Instead, her mother gained the necessary information by posing as a social worker and had the help of an autism expert to get Ros released. Mind boggling.

Making Snowflakes

An effective way of working with children who have autism, is to present the activity via a visual means. You can achieve this by using symbols, pictures or even writing down the instructions. For pupils I worked with, the less auditory input, even for those who could respond to verbal instructions, the more interested they were in the task and the more easily they engaged in the activity itself.

And while it can seem onerous to create the materials necessary (taking photos, printing them out and possibily even laminating them), doing so is worth it in the long run. You will and should use the photos more than once. You use them when you are doing the activity, you can use them afterwards to talk about what you did and you can involve your pupils in creating a display of the finished product, along with all the steps (pictures) taken.

The principles I follow when creating a sequenced photo activity are apparent by the photos themselves. The first photo is of all the materials needed for the activity, and the rest of the photos outline each step required.