Creating a Schedule

Getting into the swing of things can be HARD! Especially for young children... especially for young children with disabilities!
This is Trevor (I've changed his name for privacy sake, but the following is true).

Isn't he just precious! (In this photo, I actually gave him play dough to play with, but he's obviously having more fun with the container the play dough came in... )

Anyway, Trevor has Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (or CdLS). It's quite a rare and confusing disease, so I looked up the definition. www.cdlsusa.org describes it as " a genetic disorder present from birth, but not always diagnosed at birth. It causes a range of physical, cognitive and medical challenges and affects both genders equally. CdLS does not discriminate—it’s seen in all races and ethnic backgrounds. The occurrence of CdLS is estimated to be 1 in 10,000 live births."

For Trevor, this means that although he is 5 years old, he is unable to speak (although he giggles all of the time), is not potty trained, struggles with fine motor activities, and is fed with a feeding tube. He also has a very weak immune system, so he gets very sick a lot... starting Kindergarten this year has definitely been a struggle for him.

But, school has also been very helpful, because although he was doing physical, speech, and music therapy, now he is able to interact with his peers and learn at a whole new level! I am his caretaker, and a close family friend. I am also an elementary education major, so of course I want to see him progress! But how can I keep him learning when he hardly seems to comprehend who I am?

My thinking is to use a schedule system, to keep not only me but Trevor on track. He has learned this year that pointing to pictures can communicate, but is not using this system consistently. So I have been taking pictures as he is doing activities, such as playing with blocks or reading (as seen below... but don't let him fool you, he's not always this studious.)

Trevor studying Cookie Monster.   

I want to take these pictures, laminate them, and attach velcro onto the backs so that I can put them in order on a large poster board in the kitchen, and he will be able to see what comes next in the schedule. As we complete each activity, I will mark a sticker on a schedule for the week. Hopefully this will ensure that we change up the activities each day while still making sure that he gets as many experiences as possible. I hope that this will also give him positive reinforcement for doing educational activities, not just the fun ones.

Sorry for the poor quality, maybe I can figure out a better way to post a document as a picture next time...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Comment and let me know what has and hasn't worked for you, or maybe if you just have a strike of creative genius! I am open to new ideas for the success of Trevor, and the future students in my classroom. I am so excited to embark on this new adventure and will post soon to show you more! :) Have a blessed day!