DIY: Creating a Visual Schedule (incorporating AAC symbols)

Project: Create a Visual Schedule (that includes Maya's AAC symbol language) is completed!  Finally.  And it looks pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.   Check it out:

Again, I made the visual schedule to support Maya's interests.  She's into knowing what's going to happen next (we've made schedule on wipe-off boards when she's upset about stopping an activity to show her that we have to do a-b-c, and then you can play with the bus again).  However, even if your child isn't super into schedules, I've seen a lot of stuff online (and heard from therapists) that schedules can be beneficial to have on hand and refer to.  (But don't take my word for it, feel free to talk to your own therapy folks and see what they think.)

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to recreate this visual schedule:

Note:  I built this schedule horizontally (instead of vertically) to support pre-reading skills.  We read from left to right, and it's nice to expose little ones to this idea.

1. Setting up the background:  I got the idea to use a frame as a schedule background from a blog reader, and I loved it!  Prior to seeing her frame I was going to just stick velcro on the wall, but the frame makes it look so nice and finished.  I used a 12" x 36" frame.  For the background I picked up a yard of fabric at the craft store (actually, Maya picked it---see the alligators?) and just folded it inside the frame.  Fabric was easy to put in and will be easy to switch out when we move on from alligators.
 

I put two rows of velcro onto the glass.  I left some extra space at the bottom (you'll see why when you scroll down).  Helpful hint: Attach some word cards to the velcro before sticking the velcro on the frame---that way your velcro strips will be placed far enough apart to accomodate the word cards.

2. Making the word cards:  Since Maya doesn't read yet, her word cards include pictures and printed text.  If your child uses (or will use) PECs or an AAC app/device, it's best to use the symbol language of that system as your pictures.  (Maya uses Speak for Yourself, and so we use the Smarty Symbols that are found in that app.)  In Maya's app each word is represented by a sequence of two pictures, and that's why each word card has two pictures.  (You can read a bit more about that here.)

The general steps for making our word cards went like this: print images, cut out images, tape them onto index card, print word at the bottom, laminate the index card, cut it out, attach velcro to the back.  Time consuming, but in a channel-your-inner-middle-schooler, arts-and-crafty sort of way.

Helpful hint: Use small pieces of velcro.  If you use larger pieces, they become challenging to unstick, especially for kids with any muscle weakness.  Also, small pieces ensures that your child won't pull hard enough to rip the velcro strip from the wall, or crack the glass in a frame.

3. What to do about word storage?  When you make a schedule you're going to end up with a lot of words that aren't in use at any given time (at the bottom of this post I'm including a list of all the words that I've made so far).  I puzzled over what to do with these not-in-use words.  Poking around online, I found that many people kept their spare words in a binder with velcro pages (very similar to the Word Book).  I didn't love this idea, because I wasn't sure where I would keep the big binder.  Since our word cards are 3x5 index cards, I also thought about buying index card boxes----but again, where would they be stored?  Dave came up with the magical solution:  binder rings.

I love binder rings---they're easy to open and close, so we can pop the cards off the ring to lay out choices for Maya, but clean up would be easy as well.  So I punched holes in the sides of the word cards and sorted them into a few separate piles. 

This ring holds the cards for places that we go.

Binder rings make storage really easy.  I bought some of those adhesive hooks at the drugstore and hung them next to the schedule.

4. When the cards are done: As we move through the day Maya will be able to pull the completed cards off of the schedule and put them away.  I wasn't sure what to use for a "done" area until Maya's speech therapist suggested using a folder-brilliant!  I cut the bottom off of a folder, cut down a bit to make the pocket more shallow, covered the edges with tape (in a bid to prevent paper cuts), and added two small pieces of velcro to the back:

Again, small piece of velcro on the folder and a large strip on the frame.

When words are done, they go into the pocket.  Ta-da!

And so the schedule project is mostly done.  I say mostly because I'm 100% sure that over the next week or so I'll realize how many words I forgot to make and be slowly churning them out.  Here are the words that we started with:

Go-to daily words: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, ready (get ready for school), bus (to school), school, bus (from school), home, bedtime

Places we go: park, playground, library, museum, zoo, dog park, grocery store

Stuff we do at home: toys, paint, color, dollhouse, read, draw, puzzle, play dough, chalk, play kitchen, choice time

Miscellaneous words: therapist's names, learning time, mouth exercises, bath

(Note: There aren't a lot of details in the morning and evening routines because I'm planning on making a little morning checklist and a little night checklist.)

 

For the therapists, from the mom

It's been over 2 years since we started therapies.  We are lucky to have a spectacular team of therapists who love Maya dearly, and I consider to be surrogate family members.  But we went through a few others before we had our perfect team, and before I forget what the beginning was like, I thought that I should write this stuff down.  So, here are my thoughts for the therapists, from the beginning.


Come on in, stranger.

Welcome to my shambles.

My sweet, beautiful, wonderful child has just been through a series of evaluations specifically designed to figure out exactly where she doesn’t quite measure up. Then I got to read about her shortcomings (quantified . . . lovely. How lucky are the parents who never get to know their child’s percentile ranking on their worst skills). I sat before a scary official who’s primary goal is to keep costs low, and I fought to get as much therapy as possible . . . I have no idea what you all will do, but figured that “more” = “better”.

And here you are.

And I can’t help but slightly resent you (Just scheduling this initial meeting was challenging enough. I don’t want this for my kid. I want to be at the park, or the zoo. Not here.) and have all of my hopes pinned on you at the same time.


Please help her.



Please help me to help her.



We’re going to spend the next few years together, for better or worse. So let me share a few thoughts right up front----

First, the basics. Timeliness. You might be of the mind that 5-10 minutes late isn’t really “late”, it’s basically on time. I am not of that mind. Here’s why. I will always have my child ready for you 5 minutes early . . . so, if you are 10 minutes late we will have spent the last 15 minutes waiting around talking about your arrival. Also realize that we have 2 other appointments today . . . I knew that we had exactly 35 minutes between our last session and your arrival, which was, sadly, not enough time to get to the playground, so instead we had to settle for a quick snack and a walk around the block. Had I known we would actually have 10 extra minutes, we would have had time for the playground. I could have talked to neighborhood mom friends, and she could have played like an average kid. But here we are, sitting in the living room and watching the clock tick and getting more sad and frustrated with each passing minute that we could have been doing anything-other-than-waiting-for-you.

If, for whatever reason, you are running late, please let me know. If you are supposed to arrive at 3:30, texting me at 3:33 is not letting me know. It’s better than nothing, but only slightly.

And for the love of all that is good, if you arrive late you better be staying late. I don’t care if you have another appointment right after us. If you arrive 5 minutes late and leave on time, I will question your devotion to my child and think that you are just trying to pass the time.

Next, involve me. You have the therapeutic knowledge, and I have the knowledge of my kid. Let’s work together. If you ask me “Hey, are you open to taping her hands? Here’s why I think it would be a good idea . . . what do you think?” I will be open-minded and work with you. If you tell me “I’m going to tape her hands”, I will feel bossed around. Remember, we currently have 5 therapists, and each of you has your own agenda (and don’t even get me started on the doctors). Please let me be the mom and make decisions for my child, even if sometimes we don’t see eye to eye. If you let me be involved in the plan, I will be much more likely to go along with your ideas, because I will trust you.

Thirdly, I will ask a lot of questions. I will learn to watch my child and make mental notes, and hit you with a list of questions. (“Why does she move her tongue like that?” “How can I get her to unclench her thumb?” “ Is there a way to position my hands to help her balance better?”) I will not expect you to know every answer, but I would greatly appreciate it if you could help me find them. A simple “Hmm. Let me talk to my colleague and get back to you on that. We’ll figure something out.” will make me indebted you---you listened to me, admitted that you’re unsure, and committed to trying to learn more about how to help my kid. I will love you for this.

Finally, above all other things . . . please love my child. Or at least pretend that you do. I am scared for her, and I feel like we’re alone. I worry about if people will understand her, or put in the effort necessary to do so. I worry about whether people on the street will look at her differently. I worry about whether she’ll have friends.

You, therapists, are her first friends. She’ll learn to expect one of you when the doorbell rings, and (hopefully) she’ll get excited when she realizes that you’re here.

You’re the first people that she gets introduced to, and I’m nervously hoping that you’ll offer her smiles and hugs and encouragement.

If you love her, her days aren’t filled with “sessions”, they’re filled with “playdates”. She will have fun and learn and grow, and I will be eternally grateful that a) you are helping her and b) she is none the wiser. I want to think “she’s so lucky to have all of these great therapists coming to shower her with attention!” and not “poor kid, never gets to play with other kids because all we get to do is therapy.”

Time slips away, and leaves you with nothing, mister . . . *

I haven't written since Monday?  Really?  Well, that's what happens.  Dave gets a week off from work, projects take over, time slips away, and the blog gets bumped down on the list of priorities.

We've been having a great week :)

We had some therapies on Monday and Tuesday, but canceled them all for Weds-Thurs-Fri.  3 days of blissful unscheduledness.  I'm sure that Maya misses her buddies, but it's nice to have the time off.    We've hung out with family (both sides), Maya's gotten to play with both sets of grandparents, 3/4 of her aunts & uncles, and 5 out of 7 cousins.  We've played, ran errands, and created another fantastic holiday card---coming soon to mailboxes nationwide :)

Oh, and we picked up these:

AHHHHHH!  (that's the angels singing) 

If your a real life friend of mine, or a regular reader, you might know that I have a thing with iced coffee.  I have 2 per day (ok, occasionally 3).  It has to be iced, has to be strong, has to be in a large (venti, whatver) cup.   A few years back Starbucks made these reusable iced coffee cups, which flew off the Starbucks shelves----and unfortunately, flew off of my desk at school, cracking mine straight down the side.  (Dave ordered a replacement for me from Thailand.  Seriously.)  Since then, we try to have a few back-ups on hand.  They only come out twice a year (holidays and summer) and don't last long.  So we grabbed 2 new ones this week.

And then, my fabulous sister-in-law brought me a blue one!  Blue! Someday I'll have all the colors of the rainbow.

And we even got this teeny tiny Christmas tree ornament cup :)  It's too cute (and perfect)!

(If you like iced coffee, a cup like this is really worth getting---it's double walled, so no water beads up on the outside of it.  More importantly, it's reusable (good for the planet).  AND, I just make a pot of coffee and then keep it in the fridge (in a Tupperware style pitcher) so it's cheap and always on hand.)

On the other end of the relaxed spectrum, this week we will be SERIOUSLY OVERBOOKED.  (That's in all caps because it's a scary, intimidating week.)  Maya will have her full schedule of therapies, plus a pediatrician appointment (2.5 year check-up) plus 3 evaluations for CPSE.   I'll explain what that means some time this week, but for now just know that it's stressing me out.

So we will be completely booked, from breakfast until dinner, nearly every day this week. 

Monday: (breakfast/walk Parker) Therapy A: 8:30-9:30,  (walk or dog park, lunch) Therapy B:11:30-12:10, (nap) Therapy C: 3:15-4, (snack) Therapy D: 4:30-5:15 (dinner, play, bed)

Tuesday: (breakfast, dog park) Therapy A in Manhattan with travel time 9:45-12, (nap), Therapy B: 3:15-4, (snack, walk in lobby) Therapy C: 4:45-5:30  (dinner, play, bed)

Wednesday: (breakfast, dog park) Therapy A in Manhattan with travel time 9:45-12, (nap), Therapy B: 3:15-4, (snack) Psychological Evaluation 4:30-?  (eat, play, bed)

Thursday: (breakfast, walk Parker) Music class: 9:30-10:15 (walk home, snack, play) Therapy A: 11:30-12:15, Pediatrician 12:30, (nap, walk Parker) Speech/feeding evaluation 4-? (eat, play, bed)

Friday: (breakfast, walk Parker) Therapy A: 8:30-9:30, Psychological evaluation 10:30-? (lunch, nap) Freedom!

I'm sure that I'm not alone on this front---sometimes it's really hard to explain to people how we "don't have any free time" even though Maya's little and I'm a stay at home mom.  Our free time really exists in 30-60 min blocks, which isn't quite long enough for a play date or lunch or whatever.  It can be really isolating.

So those are all of my random, strung together thoughts on the past week.  Oh, and I should include this, which was our Facebook status on Thanksgiving Eve, in case you didn't see it:

A year ago today we were having Maya's brain MRI done. This year we had breakfast and dinner with family, ran some errands, and enjoyed a therapy free day. Sometimes a year makes a big difference :) Happy thanksgiving, everyone.


:)
Hope you all had great Thanksgivings!