Valentine's Day and Other Winter Activities

There are only 14 days to get those Valentine's Day cards ready! So make your list and get to work. No shopping needed. Just click and print! You have your choice of color or black and white so that your child/student can color them any color they wish. These make for a perfect activity on a chilly afternoon. I would recommend breaking down the activity into parts and structuring it. Perhaps making a list of who to give Valentine cards to one day and then addressing them the next. I would also make a sample Valentine card for your child/student to follow if this is needed. Now is the time to get started to make sure you have them all done in time for February 14th!

Here are some other wonderful Winter activities too! Just print and have fun!  These are great to have in a binder for quiet time in a class, at home to work on while getting dinner together, or in the car while traveling.  Let us know how you used these activities. We really love hearing from our readers!

Attention Medical Professionals

My inspiration for blogging is everywhere and for that I am so grateful. Yesterday I was inspired for today's post while sitting in the doctor's office with my daughter. I had plenty of time to reflect on the many visits to many medical professionals we had had over the nearly two decades of her life. Those early visits were very hard. Hey, I had a young daughter who had just been diagnosed with Autism and guess what? She had Autism! Plus, back in the day a lot of the doctors, dentists, eye care professionals, front desk staff, etc. (you get the picture) did not know a lot about Autism. Those three paragraphs in Psych 101 really did not do Autism the justice it deserved. Then the lay folks just wanted to know if she could count toothpicks like Rainman (the answer is still no).

Here we are in 2012 and with it being estimated that 1 in 110 children being born today has some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autism is not a word that needs an explanation to anyone. Medical professionals are learning so much more about Autism and other types of special needs and this makes the lives of the patients they see (and the parents/guardians) so much easier. We thank you for that and please know it is recognized and appreciated.

A lot of your patients may have communication difficulties (Autism is a communication disorder no matter where on the spectrum a person falls) and you can make those office visits easier for them by adding visuals to the visit. I am not suggesting you turn your office into specialized center for those with special needs at all. But why not utilize Do2Learn products to put together 1 or 2 binders to use with those special patients when they come in?

What should be in those binder you might be asking yourself?

• Well, I recommend pictures of things that you would be using during the visits. Laminate these pictures. Three hole punch the pictures so they go into the binders easily and can be removed for each specific patient. Make-A-Schedule is a wonderful resource for these pictures and Do2Learn is adding more and more medically related pictures everyday to the program. Doctors, Dentists, Hospitals and other Medical related professionals are assisting us in what they are discovering they need. Please let us know what you might want too!
  
  
  

• I would also add a few one-page social stories about any exams the patient might be going through. This can be for the parent to read over with patient while waiting. The story can include pictures ( Make-A-Schedule) or just words for someone who may be higher functioning and can read it themselves. This can alleviate a lot of anxiety before a blood draw or a dental exam/procedure to know exactly what to expect. Click here for Do2Learn's example of a picture social story.

• Do2Learn has all of this packaged into one neat area for you on our website. Please click on the image below and get those binders made.
  
  

  

  Do2Learn for Doctors

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

TEACHERS-We want to hear from YOU!

Are you currently using our Make-A-Schedule tool in your classroom? If so, than you know it's an easy-to-use program that gives you access to thousands of picture cards. In minutes, you can create schedules, social stories, story strips, forms, and more.

What we really want to know is what other schedule/picture type programs or tools are you using in your classroom? What do those programs offer that Make-A-Schedule does not? Come on, be honest with us. We can take it. We need the truth and we need your suggestions. We want Do2Learn's MAS to be the main program that you use in the classroom. Feedback, feedback, feedback!  Lots of it!  That's what we want.

I am going to be expanding on this question in the upcoming weeks, but I want to get a dialog going with you, the teacher, the parents, the users of our products. You can leave your comments anonymously on the blog or with your information so we can contact you for more details. We love hearing from you. So let's start talking!