Visuals From the Past

David finally tackled that last stack of boxes in the corner of our guest room this morning. This forced me into making a keep or toss decision on a box of paperwork that was labeled “Kaitlin”. What a treasure I found among the old IEPs, teacher notes, etc. So today is your lucky day! You get a glimpse of just a bit of the visual structure we have used in the past with Kaitlin. Shhhh, don't let her know I am sharing her “rock star” story! LOL!

Kaitlin, like many young children with Autism, struggled with sensory issues and bath time was not fun for anyone in our house when she was younger. Not only was she dealing with the sensory input of the water, the noise echoing in the bathroom, but also having to have her clothes off, the learning of the routine of bathing and of drying...you get the idea. So we used this great “jig” that was laminated for bathing and for drying. I have some pictures of the drying one here to show you. After Kaitlin would complete drying each part of her body in order she would close that section (Velcro was used) and it would be “finished”. When the entire “jig” was closed she was finished with drying off.

Once Kaitlin began to shower and bathe independently (YES, it does happen!) we had a week where we would go into the bathroom after her and it was like we were being rained on. We could not figure out what was going on, water was dripping from the ceiling! Finally, I heard Kaitlin singing one night and I snuck in and she was singing her heart out and jumping up and down, slinging her VERY long hair around while she was in the shower. This led to a social story and the image below being placed in our shower. We no longer had that issue! She still has “rock star” potential though <wink>!

Finally, when we began to teach Kaitlin the importance of knowing when to purchase her own personal products we started with her toiletries. Making a shopping list with Do2learn's Make-A-Schedule made this a super easy task on our part and then we just laminated it and used dry erase markers. We had Kaitlin use this list as part of her weekly schedule and check off what she needed to ask us to purchase for her. As she got older Kaitlin began to make these purchases herself with assistance. This was a great way to build into her schedule a way for her look at what she would need supply wise.

Thanks for strolling down memory lane with me today. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you. What unique visuals are helping you get through specific situations with your loved one or students with Autism right now?