Schedules
One effective way we can ease transitions is to use schedules that cue students as to what is coming up next in their daily routine. Schedules can help students anticipate activities, lessen their anxiety, and organize their day.
Visuals
Visuals, such as photographs or Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) can be used as cues. They can be placed in an individual customized visual schedule, or a whole class visual schedule can be used.
There are also several good visual schedule apps available. Apps allow greater flexibility than laminated pictures on a board. If a schedule changes, or a new activity comes up on short notice, images can be moved around on the app, or new photographs taken quickly. Apps have the added advantage of providing a bright image. Since most students with complex needs have some sort of vision difficulty, they may be able to see and take more meaning from visuals on an app than from laminated pictures. However, laminated pictures are low cost and portable and provide a backup to higher tech tools.
Moving Images
Some students respond best to moving images. Tablets and phones give us the ability to make short video clips with audio quickly. When sound accompanies a visual, such as a teacher welcoming a student to their next class, the cue can be even more meaningful.
Objects
For other students, objects can be more meaningful than visuals. Tangibles, as they are known, can be placed in a Calendar Box, a box with compartments in the order in which the activity occurs during the day. The student picks up the tangible at the beginning of an activity and returns it to the appropriate compartment in the box when the activity is completed before moving onto the next activity.
Another more portable approach is to hang tangibles on a ring that can accompany the student as they move throughout the school during the day. If something changes in their daily routine, the appropriate tangible on the ring can simply be presented. Taking the tangible to the activity can make it easier for the student to remember and anticipate what’s coming next and ease the transition. When using tangibles, it is important to select objects that represent the student’s experience of the event. For example, a sample of the seatbelt they wear when riding in the bus may be more meaningful than a toy version of a bus. Present objects within their visual field where they see best. Moving the object slightly or giving the student the opportunity to explore the tangible with their hands can help increase understanding.
Verbal Instruction
Some students manage transitions when they are told what’s coming next. Use short simple language and pause frequently. Give the student time to process the information about what is coming next.
By intentionally spending some time prior to an activity cueing your student as to what is coming next (verbalizing, tangibles, photos, PCSs, videos), you help them learn new vocabulary associated with the activity and facilitate their ability to understand what is coming up next.
Prompting
Prompts are teaching strategies used to encourage a learner to make the desired response. To further support a student's competence with a task, different types of prompts can be used. The following prompts are listed from least to most invasive. The level of prompting will be reduced as the student’s skills develop:
- Eye gaze, such as looking at the hook on the wall where your student hangs their coat
- Facial expression such as smiling when your student gets near to the object
- Peer modeling, by having peers engage in the same activity to demonstrate
- Gestural prompting such as pointing to the object
- Verbal prompting, such as saying, "What comes next?"
- Physical prompting, such as a light tap on the student’s elbow of the arm they need to lift
- Full physical support such as hand-under-hand to guide the student's hand toward the object to be used
Ideally, the least invasive prompting method should be tried first, such as eye gaze, facial expressions, and gestures. If those are not enough, introduce a verbal prompt. Then physical prompting can be added if needed. Students require time to get their body organized to respond before receiving another prompt.
Fading Prompts
As the student’s skills develop, prompts are faded in frequency and intensity and eventually eliminated. For example, as a student develops their competence with hand-under-hand assistance, fade to a tapping the student on the elbow to initiate their response.
