Picture Schedules
Picture schedules are great for our kiddos who are visual learners. Use these as an additional support for routines that may be frustrating, or contain multiple steps that may be hard to complete from memory. As a child can do part of a routine independently, you can phase out (simplify) parts of the schedule, until there is no longer a need for it. Use them as is, or as a template that you can customize for your child's specific needs.
Contingency Maps
Contingency Maps are used to visually illustrate choices. These types of visual supports are useful for children who want to exhibit control over their environment. Contingency maps enable children to feel like they have some control over what is happening, but the parent can help lead the choices in a positive direction. Contingency Maps are also useful for illustrating the positive and negative consequences of a certain choice, for example, "if you get mad, you can... Ask for help, or hit someone. If you hit someone you will have a timeout/make them sad/etc." When children find themselves in an emotionally state, they may be escalated to the point of not being able to use language.
Scales
The use of visual scales can be very helpful for when a child is experiencing a negative emotional state. Whether it is anger, anxiety, or sadness, scales can be beneficial in processing events that can lead to uncomfortable emotional states. Make sure to include things like, "How my body looks", "How my brain feels", "What Happened?", and "What can I do?". For some children, taking photographs of them while they are feeling a certain way may be helpful, while others may prefer to draw a depiction of the emotion, and others may prefer to see a pictoral depiction (PECs symbol, Clipart, etc.). Photographs are developmentally the first thing a child draws context on.
Most of the scales provided contain the basic structure of the scale, but are left blank so they can be customized.
Most of the scales provided contain the basic structure of the scale, but are left blank so they can be customized.
How Much Help Scale
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**Many of these scales are adapted from Kari Dunn Buron's original "The Amazing 5-Point Scale", and some have been downloaded directly from her website. Visit her website http://www.5pointscale.com/ for more information about her visual support scales.