INDEPENDENT ACTIVITY SCHEDULES Workshop presented to Blue Print For Educational Excellence Reading Public Schools April 11, 2013 Margery K. Lerner, M.A., BCBA SEEM Collaborative mlerner@seemcollaborative.org

Who do you work with? Age of students 1:1 versus classroom para Particular issues with your students? e.g. are your students prompt dependent?

What is an activity schedule? “…a set of pictures or words that cues someone to engage in a sequence of activities.” (McClannahan & Krantz, 1999, p.3) Ranges in complexity from two simple photos of play materials to more complex written schedules with multiple steps. Typically presented in small binders or photo albums.

More on what is an activity schedule The learner independently completes the sequence of activities using the schedule to prompt him/her rather than an instructions from an adult Can be used to teach routines, use of leisure time, social interactions, and more complex skills/chains of behavior. Can also teach planning/choice making Utilizes graduated guidance to teach the routine of following the schedule.

Why do we use Activity Schedules? Increases/promotes independence! -decreases the necessity of adult prompting and guidance - develops independent routines, longer chains of behavior Promotes choice making - students can choose sequence of tasks as well as type of specific

We all use schedules…. Schedules prompt us to engage in certain activities at certain times They make our lives predictable and allow us to plan future activities Examples include: -appointment books - Google calendar - calendars - “to do” lists - sticky notes

Prerequisite Skills Basic attending skills Effective reinforcement system (or reinforcers) Accepting of manual guidance (not tactile averse) Can discriminate picture versus background Identity matching Picture to object correspondence Repertoire of independent activities (work, play, or social)

Selection of beginning activities Familiar, and easy tasks. Discrete activities (with clear endings) Highly preferred items that can be stored easily. Developmentally appropriate materials

Activities to include…. File folder games Puzzles Block designs (legos, pattern blocks) Pegboards Sorting tasks (e.g. silverware, colors,,etc.) Books Worksheets Dot-to-dot Books on tape Greeting a peer Reinforcing items (chips, popcorn, candy, drink) .

Let’s watch! Zuli – teacher choice Zuli – her choice Caterina Go to file on desktop for videos to show

Some examples

Some examples

Preparing the environment Take photos of materials on plain background (if using photos) or prepare text cards Identify reinforcers and have them available within easy reach Have materials in the same location and within easy reach of the student (on table, in bins, on shelves)

Schedule Following Sequence Open schedule book Point to the page Get the item depicted on page Do the activity Return item to its place Turn the page of the schedule book

Prompting Procedures “Prompts are instructions, gestures, demonstrations, touches or other things that we arrange or do to increase the likelihood that (the learner) will make a correct response (McClannahan & Krantz, 1999, p. 37)” Outside of the initial instruction to “do your activity schedule”, no verbal directions are given during the training. The activity schedule directs the student to do what he/she is supposed to do.

Prompting Sequence Manual guidance (Hand over hand physical assistance) Graduated guidance (giving only as much assistance as is needed- allows for probes to see if the student can complete some parts of the schedule independently) Spatial fading (location of manual prompts changes – hand, wrist, forearm,etc.) Shadowing – following movements Decreasing physical proximity – moving further away from the student.

Manual Guidance Let’s try!

Reinforcement and Motivation Higher density when beginning a new schedule Deliver reinforcers from behind the student. Use a reinforcing activity or item as the last step/picture in the schedule If using tokens, the last token should coincide with the completion of the schedule

More on reinforcement Do not reinforce for delayed responses, errors, stereotypic behavior or tantrums. If using tokens, reinforce for each step in the chain the student performs appropriately. When fading manual guidance, reinforce more independent behavior. No praise is given during the procedure. Eventually reinforcers are faded out during the sequence and only given at the end. The schedule itself should become reinforcing itself.

Graduated Guidance and spatial fading Check to see if the student is starting to complete parts of the schedule independently. Student may require manual guidance for some steps but not others. This is based on data/observations. Spatial fading involves changing the location of the manual prompts – from hand to wrist to forearm to elbow to upper arm to shoulder

Shadowing and Distance Fading Follow movements with hands Fade distance from the student until you are several feet away and/or out of the room. The goal is for the student to be able to follow the schedule fluently and without errors. .

What If My Student Makes an Error? Start the sequence again Return to the previous prompting level. Re-teach the schedule with manual guidance. Consider the effectiveness of your reinforcers Assess the activities/materials – student may be bored Rehearse so that there are no inappropriate behaviors or mistakes in the chain.

Measuring Progress Helps us identify where errors are occurring and where changes need to be made. Score each item in the schedule as correct and/or the prompt level required to make the response in the chain. Score a minus if an error was made, not completed, or if there was a delay of more than 10 seconds in between steps.

Additions/Changes to the Schedule Change the order of the pictures/items in the schedule to insure that the student is “reading” the schedule and not memorizing the order. Rearrange materials so that they are not “in order” Add new activities (including socials) to lengthen the time the student is engaged in independent activity.

Independence Has Been Achieved The student completes the schedule without any help when the photos (or text) are regularly switched. New activities have been added. Materials are frequently rearranged. Your presence has been faded from the room or area completely.

REFERENCES Activity Schedules for Children With Autism: Teaching Independent Behavior. By Lynn McClannahan & Pat Krantz. 1999 Woodbine House. Useful apps for ipad, etc. First Then Visual Schedules $9.99 Choiceworks (schedules, waiting, and feelings skills $9.99 123TokenMe Pro $24.99 Wait Strip has visual representation of time, # of steps to be completed, minutes to work, etc. $.99

YOUR TURN Questions? Comments?