Ideas for organisation and planning

J has struggled with keeping track of 'things'... whether they are physical belongings or the passage of time and the need to move onto a new activity.  We are experts in charts, lists, timetables, visual cues, reminders, tick sheets to name a few.  Early on, I realised the laminator would be my friend.  J hates the feel of certain types of paper but if it's encased in a bonded plastic wallet - hey presto, he will touch it!  Not only that but if we make a sufficiently 'generic' template, we can laminate it and then use dry wipe pens to customise it as appropriate.

For things like hand washing, when J was younger, we took pictures of each of the steps involved so he got them in the right order without having to always ask (or, more often, forget what to do so didn't bother).

Blank month template - created in Excel

We use timetables - monthly overviews and then weekly detail is added on a Monday. Ours are laminated sheets and J uses whiteboard pens to fill them in.  Using them to put on the 'definites' like therapy appointments and activities as well as maybes like seeing friends or chores around the house/garden.  J likes to see his weekly timetable updated on a Monday and, if there's a hated dental appointment ahead, he DOES NOT want that mentioned again until we set off.

Tick lists are good for 'what do I need in my bag' and used to consist of things like water bottle, fiddle toy, items for activity, snacks, suncream, hat, glasses and so on.  But these days, after years of learning, J will talk these through 'out loud' to himself when getting ready for the day rather than use a physical list.  Actually, he talks through most tasks if he's undertaking them 'solo'.  He seems to need the repetition to consolidate the action.

A great part of J's organisation and planning 'training' has been cooking.  He follows a recipe and will take each piece step by step.  He likes the familiarity of gathering the ingredients, checking for the equipment and then following the method.  Recently we have started to type up and laminate favourite recipes.  With a clear layout and step by step instructions, these sheets are also used as tick sheets to keep track of where in the recipe has been reached.

We often use a cooking analogy when taking on other things like packing an overnight bag or sorting out what is needed for a hydrotherapy session - remembering 'ingredients' (things needed for the task/outing) and 'method' (what will be done, in which order to achieve the outcome).

Shoe sticker

As a younger child, colour coding things also worked well.  Obviously, he loved all things yellow (hence the name of the blog) and
so, where possible, we gathered items that were yellow and then when looking for 'our stuff' when leaving Nana's or coming home from sports club, he'd look for yellow items that may be ours.  We had a blue bag for school so things related to that were also blue. 

Home made shoe sticker

He had stickers, cut in half, in his shoes so that the picture was showing properly when the shoes were put together.  He then knew the shoes were the right way round and would go on the correct feet.

Counting down the time to a change of task or getting ready to go out is still something we do.  J has very little concept of the passage of time and hates to be 'surprised' by what he sees as a sudden change.  In school he had a sand timer (which he'd tip onto its side) and we have digital timers that we set for him to see and hear the time passing.  These days, for going out of the house, we do a fifteen minute warning, a five minute warning and a 'right, time to get going'... the dog has picked up on the word "right" and dashes about which is an additional cue to make J realise his time's up!

Of course, there are resources aplenty to buy online... usually at great cost because anything labelled SEN or disability aid appears to have a hefty mark up added.  So, I have spent hours trawling sites, reading books, chatting to therapists and seeking our own 'version' of things that work for us.

Key Marking

J has a problem with locating things.  As mentioned in this blog, he likes the colour yellow. A lot.  Wandering around Homebase the other day, a small pot of Rustoleum Painter's Touch gloss finish in Bright Yellow was spotted... and, looking at the materials it can be used on, metal is covered.  So, a 20ml pot was bought (for £1.99).  We would paint the keys we need to find quickly - key covers have been tried in the past but they never last long.

Today, we assembled our equipment - old newspaper, small paintbrushes, keys and paint.

Covering the table with newspaper, the paint shaken and the correct key identified.

The key was painted yellow (we were lazy and didn't take it off the key ring)...








...and left to dry in the sunshine.

Once fully dry, it took about an hour, we had two sets of keys with a lovely bright yellow key for us to spot - effectively, a visual "USE ME" for all of us to see.

As shown in our pictures, we also use yellow wristbands on key rings as these allow the keys to be seen and held easily.  J's getting used to using keys when we go on dog walks - locking the door and keeping the keys safe - and having a wristband means he worries less about losing them.  Attaching them to his wrist gives him the security to know he has the keys with him and also has them readily available when arriving back at the door.

Modelling with Meccano

Keeping things interesting for J whilst trying to improve his manual dexterity and co-ordination is a daily task.  Finding items and activities that appeal to him is all important (we have used therapy putty many time in the past, blogged about his Hama beading and he is keen to Lego whenever he can).

We were lucky enough to be sent some meccano for J to review.  He had looked on the meccano UK website and chosen a Gears of War Helicopter - King Raven which was the model he was keen to assemble as soon as he set eyes on it.  Meccano was a good choice as it has small parts to deal with, over 300 in this set, and clear instructions to follow which help J with his planning skills.

True to form, J laid out all the pieces and inspected the manual to start with.  Then building commenced.  This was a task which took us a few days to complete and was a collaboration where J was project managing me when his dexterity let him down.  I am pleased to report, however, that towards the end of the build, J was able to complete most of the "structural assembly" himself.

J opened the plastic bags containing the parts with scissors and what follows is a montage of the build... and the comments are from J.

That's looking like it should...

These are a bit fiddly but the slots are good.

Nearly got the front wheel attached.

What's the next step?

It's looking good.

This is easy to follow...

...this is a bit more challenging!

It's looking like we're nearly done.

Ta dah!

This is bigger than I expected.

J loved working, over a number of days, on the model building and is looking forward to assembling the Space Chaos Heart of Darkness when he gets the chance!  He's particularly keen as it has "real life, working lights".   This set looked rather a challenge at the outset (having many pieces and almost 70 instructions) but J said of the whole undertaking "It was amazing and all my pals will be shocked at the size of the model!"

Disclosure - We were sent the meccano for free but these are our own views and pictures.  No fee has been paid for this blogpost.  Many thanks to Liz and Meccano UK.

Helping Hands with Hama Beads

J has worked a lot on trying to master fine motor skills.  Because of the extreme hypermobility of his fingers, he finds handwriting a real chore and his stamina in much reduced.  Working with occupational therapists, he has done loads of exercises to assist his motor skills - starting at gross motor which feeds down to fine motor - using therapy putty, stress balls, scissors and so on.  But, one of the activities that J chooses for himself, and has done for years, is making Hama bead designs.  We have a houseful of them.

In view of this, it was a delight to be invited to take our pick from the wonderful range on offer at Craft Merrily.  So, J had a look and chose the UFO set as he was keen to get his hands on some new coloured glow in the dark beads. The set arrived in the post and we saved it for a special activity afternoon. 

First of all, J checked the contents, luckily they were all present and correct.  Next, he decided which model to attempt... and went for the rocket.  So, the bead bag was opened and the beads were sorted into 'old' glow in the dark colour and 'new' colours.  Then beading began.

Hama patterns are great to get J focusing on planning what goes where and hand eye co-ordination is a major part of the task.  He spends time considering what bead to use and is very good at following the pattern.  Once the desired pattern has been made, the dangerous walk to the ironing board begins... 

Once safely left on the ironing board, it's over to me for the delicate task of using the ironing paper and a hot, dry iron to ensure all the beads fuse together.  There's nothing worse than a loose or floppy bead, apparently!















When the beads cooled, the paper was peeled off to reveal the bead masterpiece.  It was left to 'charge' its glow in the darkness on the windowsill and, then, removed from the peg board.


The final stages - and we have lift off! 
This is a great set, with a number of models to make.  When they're all done, there's a frame and thread to use to hang them from.  J is hoping to have them all done in time for Hallowe'en and, if there are any beads left, he's already planning a spooky spider web design with the hexagonal template.

We try to integrate J's therapy into his learning each day by using many techniques, products and strategies.  Hama beading doesn't feel to him like he's doing therapy and, even better, at the end of a session he has something to show for his efforts.

Thanks to Merry for sending us this to try.