Maintaining Routines for Neurodivergent Learners
Hi there! How are you? It’s so nice to see you here!
OUR TOPIC THIS QUARTER
Throughout this quarter in the months of January-March we will be looking at all of our to begin exploring, creating, implementing and maintaining foundational routines for our families.
March - Maintaining Routines
This month, our focus is all putting the routines we’ve identified that our family has (or wishes to have) into place, step-by-step.
An object in motion, stays in motion, right?
Once you get a routine and rhythm into place, it just naturally works out well and stays in place, right?
Doesn’t everything naturally just work out the first time? We wish, right.
Sometimes we fall into those magical moments where it does work, the learning is taking place and the learner is really understanding the skill well.
Other times, if things don’t work out right away here is what we can look for and ways we can adjust.
STEP 3: Fading Prompts and Monitoring for Changes
You’ve talked with your home team, practiced, practiced, practiced and now you’re probably wondering - will it be like this forever?!
The answer is no, you won’t! Now we’re going to work on fading the way we support our learners in a systematic way, focusing on how to help our learners grow to their own level of independence.
Let’s do it!
Prompts are support. The goal is to help your learner gain a level of independence they need to be the most independent version of themselves.
Prompts fall into a hierarchy meaning there are different levels of support we can provide. This hierarchy in the ABA world starts with the greatest amount of support you can provide such as physical prompting (which is broken down into fully or partially providing the physical support) all the way down to the least amount of support you can provide such as visual prompting. Once visual prompts are faded this is when a skill is considered “independent.”
Fading prompts can be very intimidating. From where to start, to how we can help grow skills to a level of independence for our learners, its a lot!
[CLICK HERE FOR A FREE DIGITAL GUIDE FOR PROMPT LEVELS]
When considering how you’re giving your learner support (is it enough or too much), ask yourself this question:
“Is the skill within the routine becoming easier for your learner at this prompt level?”
If the answer is yes, try fading to the next level of prompting where the learner can be a bit more independent.
But if the answer is no and you’re struggling with the learner completing the skill or routine at that prompt level, try moving up a level with more support.
The goal is never to frustrate or stay stagnant. We want to make growth and growth isn’t linear. When we see our learners gain understanding, we try the next step.
How can you tell if something isn’t sticking?
If something isn’t working, you’re going to notice changes with your learner in their actions and behavior. This could look like new or old behaviors popping up as a way of resistance or refusal to complete the task.
When your learner is showing you with their body or telling you with their words, in opposition of a task or activity, its there way of telling you “I NEED YOUR HELP!”
While not the most ideal or functional way to do that, behavior is a form of communication, so let’s figure out how we can adjust our approach to help your learner where they need it most.
If you’re noticing new or old behaviors popping up, schedule a coffee break with me and we can brainstorm together ways to provide your learner with sustainable tools and strategies to use at home and beyond.
How can you adjust what isn’t working?
Continuing to be aware of how your learner is responding at that prompt level is key to know - do we stay here or do we take a step back or forward?
Amount of Support: Do we need to adjust the prompt level to one that is a little more supportive (e.g. move from gestural prompt to model prompt or model prompt to partial physical prompt.
Adding in and changing up how we provide support for the learner increases their confidence with the skill which helps their learning with other skills in that sequence. It’s a tower effect, one step builds on another and you can’t build more without a solid foundation.
Too Many Steps: Does the step you’re currently working on need to be broken down more (e.g. does your current step have a step within a step)?
If you’re noticing the skill has a lot of parts that need to be broken down and it seems “clunky”, try breaking the skill down into even smaller parts. I typically do this by writing down each and every movement I make and take note of where in that sequence the learner is having difficulty. It really helps to pinpoint and target that area more.
Just like with any other learning keep this memento in mind - learning is different for everyone. What your learner needs today may differ from what they need tomorrow. There is no one size fits all approach and you can always adjust to meet them where they are at.
This Month on Instagram
As we shared in our quarterly blog post, our Instagram feed may look a bit different this year as we’re now going to be giving bite sized video content through Instagram Reels and Instagram Stories with plenty of examples and step-by-step tools. Think of it as a “Mini Coffee Break” with strategies on the go, similar to grabbing your favorite drink from the drive thru; quick and to the point!
So be sure to follow along on Instagram @coffeemugsandclipboards as we bring this quarter’s content to life!
