Saturday, September 26, 2009

Visuals in the Inclusive Classroom 101

I would say that the most important visual supports in a classroom including young children with disabilities are the picture schedules. I like to have a long strip for each student hanging in a central location so that students can go up and check to see what the next activity is. Picture schedules may include Boardmaker pictures or photos, depending on the level of abstract understanding that the student has.



The "I want" picture can be used in almost any setting. Here it is shown requesting Goldfish crackers. It can be used during centers, meals, group time, etc. This is a visual to prompt verbalization.



These are examples of the pictures that I use during art time. These are printed from Boardmaker. I like to have a set of the pictures of art materials for each student so that we don't have to pass the pictures around between multiple students. I keep a set of color pictures for each staff member so that we can each go around and show students their color choices. This gets the job done much more quickly than if only one person does it.




The "first/then" picture is a great way to remind students that they have to work in order to play...or do whatever it is that you ask them in order to get the reward that they seek. Remember that rewarding is not bribery. We are rewarded for working by receiving a paycheck-students should be rewarded for their work in an appropriate way.



Sometimes pictures can be used to promote appropriate behaviors, such as the "don't cry" and "quiet" pictures shown here. Be careful, though. I actually had a student once who would cry in order to get the "don't cry" picture. The SLP and I came up with a different system....we would show him a picture when he wasn't crying that said "be happy." He could only have the picture if he was happy...he even carried a small version in his pocket. If he cried, he had to surrender the "be happy" picture. This greatly decreased the crying!




Predictability is great for students with disabilities; it gives them a feeling of security and control. I kept a schedule hanging on the wall where we did circle time. Before each circle (I had 3 per day-morning meeting, storytime, and music time) I would put up a schedule showing my students exactly what order the circle was going to go in, including when they would be rewarded for appropriate behavior (a reward would be something like bubbles, throwing a ball to them, or getting to hit the switch on a switch toy). I also kept a set of behavior pictures in the area so that they could be quickly grabbed to quell inappropriate behaviors.









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