Taking the Scenic Route

 We stayed up until the wee hours last night making some PEC – type cards for Zane for the visual schedule and a ‘choice board’.  I am not sure what they usually look like, but below is our visual schedule (My written schedule is what is blurred out next to it).  On the fridge is a place for his choices…for example, things he wants to eat, but needs our help.   I am trying to curb behaviors like him bringing me the physical eggs when he wants eggs and things like that.  (being handed an egg while going to the bathroom and holding Zora is less than convenient.  lol).

To make these things we find (or take) a picture of the item and put it in a template for a 2″ x 2″ card, and write a title on the card.  Then we print it, cover it in tape (a laminator would be handy here, but tape works too) and put a piece of velcro on the back.

I made a template for myself with Photoshop that uses layers.  If anybody wants it, along with the dimensions and font information, let me know.  I still takes some effort to use, but basically is free instead of paying the insane amount they want for the programs to help do it.

the visual schedule outlined in red to the left, the choice board on the front of the fridge in the middle/right side of photo.  The choice board will have more lines on it as we get more cards and more velcro strips to put on the paper taped to the fridge.  I also have a ’sentence strip’ that attaches to it, but it was on the top of the fridge when we made this.  His therapist started working with that today.  (He began “I want…” today at ST)

 eta:  notice the ’schedule’ only has one thing on it?  I learned the hard way not to put the entire day’s activities on it at once.  When there is a sequence of related events, I put them on there.  Today for instance, we had ‘bath’, followed by ‘get dressed’, then ‘Heartsprings’ and then ‘xxxx’ (speech therapist’s name and photo).   He really got excited and actually was willing to choose an outfit for himself and it wasn’t a struggle to get him dressed.  Progress!

eta again:  they do look like the PECs cards from his ST except that most of the ones from her are drawings instead of photos.