Below are a sample set of supporting tools based on our emerging approach. If you click on the name of the tool, it downloads a sample so you can take a look and try it out.
Positive Statements: Used on a daily basis to emphasize the Can do focus. The statements celebrate what my brother can do. There are different versions of the statements on a daily basis so it enhances his vocabulary and he does not get into a habit or get bored with a certain set of words.
Daily Talking Journal: One of the biggest challenges my brother faces his inability to express how he feels. This often results in anger and frustration. The daily talking journal was an exercise where I would put myself in my brother’s shoes and write a set of sentences to describe his day. Then I would have him repeat those sentences. The purpose of this exercise was multi-fold: it would celebrate his daily successes, it would provide language and vocabulary related to challenges and frustrations, and would serve as speech and vocabulary practice. After a few months of doing this exercise, we have seen my brother talk more, especially working to retrieve the right language for his frustrations. Nowadays, my brother looks forward to these sessions with me which he calls “talk.” He asks for the sessions particularly on days he has had a rough day as he wants an outlet to talk it out.
Reading Comprehension- Fill in the blanks and multiple choice: Adaptation of reading comprehension to break it down so that he can focus on the key elements. We found my brother would often get lost in the sentences and words of large blocks of text. We would complement the original version of the text with a version that had blanks for the key words. Hence, we would make him read the text and fill in the blanks — as he filled in the blanks, we knew he was paying attention to the key words to be able to fill in the blanks correctly. Then we would follow this up with multiple choice questions to test his comprehension. The multiple choice would again help him focus on the key words and relevant terms. Link provides an example of how a passage can be adapted.
Break down the steps in Math: We found one of the key challenges my brother faced in math was to remember the next step, especially when there were multiple implicit steps, e.g., ratios. Here is an example of how we broke down the steps for ratios using multiple lines and blanks. For the first few days, we would have an example filled out on top and he would complete the rest. However, soon we were able to fade the example off. Also, making him practice with ratios about items he liked, e.g., cookies, candies, Mexican food, helped him further pay attention. Download a few sample ratios by clicking on link.
Change it up Math Worksheet: As my brother would easily get bored, we would mix up a math worksheet with multiple concepts he knew. This would make sure he was engaged and also helped reinforce multiple concepts. Download a sample worksheet with the link.
Practical math: My brother was particularly excited about math if it had to do with something that mattered to him, e.g., buying his favorite things. Hence, we tailored his worksheets to be about purchasing his favorite items. This was particularly convenient as I could explain to him why it was important to do math — I would tell him, he needed to help me know how much money I would need to buy his lunch, etc. He would complete the worksheets quietly and with extreme focus. Linked is an example with shopping.
Continue to watch this page … I will continue to add sample tools for you to explore and experiment with. The tools help provide another way to process, learn, and understand information.
