RE: visual supports

February 12, 2006

I have to respond to this as my personal point of view....although my son

has ALWAYS utilized visual supports, as he was an extremely early reader....he

does have a certain level of learned helplessness, which is sometimes worse

than the apraxia or the epilepsy...just a word of warning...I dont know that it

was the visual supports or not...but I can see this being somewhat true, but

visual supports are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT !!!

Michele

February 12, 2006

In a message dated 2/12/2006 11:23:25 AM Eastern Standard Time,

kiddietalk@... writes:

as said visual supports may be important -but for

who? All who are " late talkers? "

It can be extremely helpful for all who are late talkers, but every one is

different, and if applied in an appropriate manner, but like I am unsure

about the context (cues?) as well, so feel free to KABASH my whole posting,

because its kinda hard to respond, but I do want to share my personal

experiences, because not everything works for everyone.

Other than simple picure exchange

never used for nor needed by my son Tanner who also has apraxia.

, I must say that this was quite a shame that they never used visual

supports with Tanner, as it may have cut down on quite a bit of frustration on

his part, especially in the early years. (just my opinion, its not a dig, or

anything wrongly intentioned) I believe the post was in regard to visual

supports, and not necessarily PECS. My response is mainly regarding visual

supports, and learned helplessness, not PECS. PECS to me is a whole different

story, that I can gladly share at a later time, my experience with PECS, was an

absolute nightmare, and definitely was not an option for my son, and if we

continued, it would have been proved detrimental, although Ive witnessed with

my own two eyes, it work wonderfully for other children, some autistic, some

not, some with other types of disabilities, and I knew that early on !

But perhaps I just don't in what context you're talking about visual

supports (cues?) Just about all if not all of the literature I

found in a quick search on " visual supports " and " learned

helplessness dependence " had to do with autism.

I agree with you there about the literature, but according to my neurologist

and pediatrician, it is not only autism, ANY child with ANY disability,

including apraxia, can end up with a learned helplessness, even neurotypical

children. Due to my son's seizure disorder, his motor skills really suffer,

and

it has produced some learned helplessness but with the right therapists (OT,

PT, SP) and having his seizures under control, it makes a HUGE difference.

From my personal experience, it has nothing to do with his routines, or lack

there of. He just COULD NOT do some things on his own, especially while

having seizures, and this includes even the simplest tasks like putting on his

own shoes, and in his case he has a double whammy, because with global

apraxia, if he even could produce the motor plan to put on his shoes and then

BAM! a

seizure cluster, mind you 200+ seizures per day is quite alot, and thats

what the EEG marked, and I think if it were me - I also would end up with

learned helplessness as well ! And there is quite ALOT of research and

literature

on Epilepsy and over-parenting, or over protecting, which can also be a cause

for learned helplessness.

So to make my long story short, visual supports are not only recommended for

autism, I'm sure if you speak to any teacher, not just special ed teachers

either, they all use some type of visual supports at one time or another, and

Im sure it may help some apraxic children, as well as children with epilepsy,

CP, Down Syndrome, or even a child with sight in one eye, in my opinion, if

it works for your child run with it. , if you feel that your child

needs it to learn, sit with the teacher and ask, ask 1,000,000 questions if you

need to...each child with a special need, has a different learning style, just

because some people have success with one thing, it doesnt mean that

everyone will have that success, and different approaches, methods, treatments,

therapies etc, will affect every child differently. Just as I mentioned above,

what could have been detrimental for my son, will not necessarily be

detrimental for yours, it may work wonderfully, but just as 's post stated

there

are all different types of visual supports, my son had other types of visual

supports that helped him immensely! So if you feel your child needs visual

supports, or you need to research it further than go with your gut ! Mothers

intuition moves mountains!!!

Michele

February 12, 2006

as said visual supports may be important -but for

who? All who are " late talkers? " Other than simple picure exchange

never used for nor needed by my son Tanner who also has apraxia.

But perhaps I just don't in what context you're talking about visual

supports (cues?) Just about all if not all of the literature I

found in a quick search on " visual supports " and " learned

helplessness dependence " had to do with autism.

(but even then appears your child's teacher took statements

out of context)

Did you ask this teacher where she found this research on apraxia

and visual supports? (research? On children with apraxia?! On

planet Earth?!)

Here's some of the info I found: with the search " visual supports "

and the words learned helplessness dependence

" If you are too closely positioned to the students during classroom

activities, the student may become overly dependent on you.

Students will develop cue dependency or learned helplessness. Your

goal should be to encourage self-management. Visual supports (e.g.,

cue cards, schedules, lists, graphic organizers, written rules) can

assist in this process. "

http://ideal.sf.edu/10046/narrative.asp

" I wondered if you had any info to share about the problem

of " learned helplessness " . Do you have any info we can use to

educate parents about it? Thanks for all your help. " MC

Answer: Kerry Hogan, Psychoeducational Therapist, Chapel Hill TEACCH

Center

In our eagerness to see students with autism succeed, we often end

up helping people so much that they become dependent upon our help.

This is a particular danger with students with autism because of

their preference for routine. " (goes in the correct ways to use

visual supports)

http://www.do2learn.com/disabilities/asktheexperts/december1.htm

Instructional Approaches and Classroom Management

1. Use Visual Supports

Visually cued instruction compensates for a child's difficulty

integrating social and language information and it uses the child's

strengths in processing visual information. Visual cues can outline

and organize expectations. Daily schedules, displays of activity

sequences, and lists of work expectations clarify expectations and

decrease the need for a child with autism to make socialjudgments or

to follow social cues. Visual cues are also useful whenever the

child is demonstrating difficulty responding to verbal language

instruction. Because children with autism are better able to attend

to, process, and remember visual materials than language or social

material, visually cued instruction decreases their reliance on

verbal and social prompts, thus increasing independence.

Schedules: The main function of visual schedules is to clarify the

sequence of social events. Schedules specify where to go, what to do

next, for how long, and are typically presented in linear order.

Visual schedules can be made with photos, pictures, pictographs, or

written language. Some schedules can be made with concrete objects.

Schedules clarify expectations and can increase independence in

solitary and social activities. Sample schedules include:Daily

schedules (i.e., the sequence of daily activities) & mini-schedules

Transitional objects (i.e., a specific object linked to an activity

to prepare where to go. Activity lists (i.e., sequence of game or

activity substeps) Play schedules (sequence of play activities)Time

boards (i.e., a visual representation of time in sequence or puzzle

form)

Cue Cards: The main function of cue cards is to remind the child

what to do. They silently refocus a child's attention, thus making

them less intrusive than other forms of prompts. Cue cards are handy

in the classroom because they replace verbal or other social

prompts. Cue cards can be particularly helpful in situations where a

child is disorganized or upset/anxious. Individualized visual

social " rule " cards (can be taped to desk or written on index cards

and laminated as a visual reminder regarding appropriate social

behaviors to exhibit.)

Social Stories: Social stories are used to explain expected

behavior, to prepare for a new situation, or to distinguish

inappropriate behavior. A notebook of social stories that the

student periodically " reads " is helpful. The complexity of

information in a story should match a child's language comprehension

ability. For children who do not read, social stories can include

illustrations.

Social Scripts: The main function of social scripts is to clarify

choices in situations. Social scripts are help to simplify social

open-ended social situations by presenting limited options.

Socialscripts are different from schedules in that they provide more

flexibility and the information shown on them should not be arranged

in a linear fashion. Sample social scripts include: Checklist of

activities that will occur in random order Story about an upcoming

event that includes what-to-do options Circular board of different

solitary or social play choices Play script: a visual depiction of

play options within an open-ended activity that can bepresented on a

circular board or as a series of individual cards held together by a

key ring.

http://www.hisd.k12.mi.us/specstuserv/ Child%20with%20Autism%20Handbook.pdf

=====

February 12, 2006

I think the important thing here is that it's written into the IEP

and the teacher is non-compliant. It doesn't matter what the

diagnosis is - it was deemed necessary by the entire team -

including you,the parents.

And don't feel badly that certain folks are trying to extend

additional diagnoses because your child needs the cues. Tact isn't

always the strong point of this board. Feel free to email me

offline if you'd like to know how I've used visual cues with both my

kids - including visual cues to assist with creating proper speech

patterns.

Best,

Marina

February 12, 2006

I've seen " visual schedules " used for an autistic boy who attends OT at the

same place does, and it basically spells out what will happen during

the course of OT. After each activity is completed, that " picture " is removed,

and he knows what will happen next. I'm guessing, though, that " visual

schedules " could be helpful for any child -in fact, as a kid I'm pretty certain

that we had them in our classroom - something that described what would happen

that day, so we could all follow through. I'm not sure why this wouldn't be

especially helpful for a child with severe apraxia since it would eliminate the

need to ask " what happens next. " Wouldn't that relieve frustration? I've

noticed how much likes the calendar at school - it's exciting when the

month changes, for example, and following the special events that happen each

month - like Valentine's Day - means something because he can " see it " before

it happens and anticipate it accordingly. I would think the same would be

true if he were in a classroom where schedules typically changed frequently

(unlike the one he's in now, where the routine is very established).

February 12, 2006

Thanks for explaining a bit more about visual supports -but

I'm still not quite sure of what is meant by visual supports for a

child that is not autistic. I am aware that there are some

therapies used with success for one condition that also works for

those with another...and aware that there are methods used for one

condition that some just may be comfortable with and assume it will

work for all even though it's not needed by all...but from what I

found about visual supports I really didn't find anything that would

have helped relieve frustration, or how it would help all late

talkers. But again perhaps I'm missing something?

I looked at the Hanen method since it's a method for late talkers

with delays with some practical advice, and even they have visual

supports in their program for autism -not late talkers.

" More Than Words – The Hanen Program® for Parents of Children with

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

.... They also learn the More Than Words Program's core strategies –

such as when and how to follow the child's lead, how to structure

routines, ways to use visual supports within everyday interactions,

and how to help parents apply these strategies flexibly and across

contexts. "

http://www.hanen.org/Hanen2002/pages/SpeechLanguagePathologists/HanenWorkshops/H\

anenWorkshops.htm

Did you use any of the following visual supports? (I know these are

all for autism -but again that's all the examples I found)