Guest guest Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 My girlfriend did an awesome communication book. Her son was totally nonverbal at the start and it really worked for them. She found out how their day was structured..i.e. circle time, PE, art, playground, computer, etc. Then she made a page for each area. She created pictures from either software or her camera about everything they could be doing (for example, in circle time they could hear a story, sing a song, play a game...). She laminated the pictures and then velcroed the pictures to the book page (three ring binder, laminated pages). Then when he came home, she could ask him about his day and he would pick the appropriate icons. She had the school tell her what they did so she had a check. It took a lot of initial work. For a while, the picture bank kept needing to be added to but after a while it was complete. BTW, this child is now talking (beginning to answer yes/no questions, prompted responses...). This parent has not done any biomedical (much to my chagrin) but this system was part of the success. She was able to work with his vocabulary from the pictures. I don't know if she also wrote the words under the picture but his child can read well and spell well. HTH, Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 HI Jaci In my experience a combination of tick box and 'prompts' for the staff to write in are best. We all want more information than we ever get but if you ask for too much then the quality goes down. Are they getting any special funding for your child? Something that can be built into an IEP type thing? Never mind, IME that deosn;t help much. Its more about the attitude of the staff and whether they even understand the importance of why they are being asked to do it. At Sams school the Early Years class staff were brilliant, the flow, quality and detail of information was excellent but since he moved up class I still battle daily to get any more info than whats already in his timetable and what he ate for lunch Part of the problem with this teacher, is she refused the the tick/info sheet I supplied, she is dyslexic (hates writing - wants to type and therefore spell check a paragraph a week) and she and her mentor and Team Leader (her mother!!!) believe 'teachers are the experts and parents really shouldn;t be so involved'. I could send you the sheet (its a Word.doc) I used to use, best to try and keep to one side of A4, you supply the sheets and a folder for them and give space for you to report to them how he was at home that evening and before he went to school. The 'reinforcing item' of the moment is often useful to them (if of course they understand why he might need to motivated at all - another bone of contention with Sams class staff). Does he use PECS or some other system fo his communication? OOh I could write about this for ever lol MAndi in UK > Because my son is effectively non-verbal we really need to have good > and comprehensive information about how he spent his day so we > can " talk " to him about what he did, etc. > > The day care centre is suggesting using a proforma which only needs > to be checked off (e.g., " We did these things today: > pasting......colouring.......dough play...... etc) but I'm > concerned we won't get the info we need to help my son tell us about > his day. Also, about the challenges he faced and any new > developments in behaviour or social skills, etc. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 Hi all, I'm getting ready to send my little boy off to day care and want to know tips and hints for devising and using a communication book. Because my son is effectively non-verbal we really need to have good and comprehensive information about how he spent his day so we can " talk " to him about what he did, etc. The day care centre is suggesting using a proforma which only needs to be checked off (e.g., " We did these things today: pasting......colouring.......dough play...... etc) but I'm concerned we won't get the info we need to help my son tell us about his day. Also, about the challenges he faced and any new developments in behaviour or social skills, etc. Any hints would be gratefully received! Jaci, Australia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 Wow, my process is nothing like that described in the other post, but in case this helps... My son's school uses both communication books and forms. They are very specific on the forms -- for instance, they don't just list the songs they sang in circle, but what songs were my son's favorites (Take me out to the ballgame has been a big hit lately). Then I can talk specifically to him about what he did. The big component missing here is that there isn't anything to prompt HIM to **initiate** conversation. For that, they always send home the pictures he drew, the cookies and pudding he made (don't worry -- he'd NEVER eat them, lol...), etc., then every day I pull them out slowly, one by one, and encourage him to " talk " about them. I also took pictures of all his teachers and therapists, the room, the building, the bus, etc. and we use those as we " talk " about his projects. This is his FAVORITE part of coming home. I can see now how that amazing picture book would be such a great help in helping him communicate. Hmmmm. Looks like more work on the horizon for me... > Hi all, > > I'm getting ready to send my little boy off to day care and want to > know tips and hints for devising and using a communication book. > > Because my son is effectively non-verbal we really need to have good > and comprehensive information about how he spent his day so we > can " talk " to him about what he did, etc. > > The day care centre is suggesting using a proforma which only needs > to be checked off (e.g., " We did these things today: > pasting......colouring.......dough play...... etc) but I'm > concerned we won't get the info we need to help my son tell us about > his day. Also, about the challenges he faced and any new > developments in behaviour or social skills, etc. > > Any hints would be gratefully received! > > Jaci, Australia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 I can offer the suggestion of what not to accept. Just vague check boxes won't do as you guessed. We also ran into trouble when I asked how my son did it school and they said, " He is very good. No trouble at all. " What I discovered that meant is that he was not running around requiring their energy. He was in the corner banging his head lightly. Also he wasn't talking in class at 3-4 years old although he did at home. So I was not very pleased when when I found this out because I don't consider that 'okay' even though he literally 'wasn't any trouble' for the teachers. Just be wary of non-specific statements like that because it could mean very different things to you and the teachers. If you aren't getting the answers you need, try re-wording the questions. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 Thanks , Very helpful advice to keep in mind when trying to get info from carers/teachers. Regards - Jaci, Australia > > Just be wary of non-specific statements like that because it could > mean very different things to you and the teachers. If you aren't > getting the answers you need, try re-wording the questions. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 We had this same predicament when my daughter started preschool. I did not find a check off sheet to be informative enough and insisted on a daily narative to go along with it. I have been lucky in that in preschool and now grade school her teachers and aides have been very dillagent about writing in her book. I find in to be so very valuable and wonderful to look back on and see how she's changed. -- - In , " Jaci Wiley " <jaci.warren@b...> wrote: > Hi all, > > I'm getting ready to send my little boy off to day care and want to > know tips and hints for devising and using a communication book. > > Because my son is effectively non-verbal we really need to have good > and comprehensive information about how he spent his day so we > can " talk " to him about what he did, etc. > > The day care centre is suggesting using a proforma which only needs > to be checked off (e.g., " We did these things today: > pasting......colouring.......dough play...... etc) but I'm > concerned we won't get the info we need to help my son tell us about > his day. Also, about the challenges he faced and any new > developments in behaviour or social skills, etc. > > Any hints would be gratefully received! > > Jaci, Australia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 ---Hi, My son is high functioning so I had very optomistic expectations of what could be achieved at school from teachers, (dont mean lower functioning shouldn't either) But was horrified to discover he was being parked in quiet corner of class with simple work sheets to make it look as if they were doing something for him (some teachers only not all) I found if you don't badger some they will cop out of input required of them ( In , " jornmatt " <kjorn@t...> wrote: > We also ran into trouble when I asked > how my son did it school and they said, " He is very good. No trouble > at all. " What I discovered that meant is that he was not running > around requiring their energy. He was in the corner banging his head > lightly. So I was not very pleased when when I found this out > because I don't consider that 'okay' even though he literally 'wasn't > any trouble' for the teachers. > > Just be wary of non-specific statements like that because it could > mean very different things to you and the teachers. > > . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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