Building Routines that Stick – Part 2: Free Choice Schedules

Week 2: Let your child select from three to four part routines and activities

 

If you are new to this series click Here to start at Part 1: Learn the “first/then” technique. Be sure to check out our Helpful Hints.

1. 1. • Provide three choices of activities. Some kid favorites include:  art, ball catch, cars, bubbles, playdoh/slime, and blocks. Playful and fun is best! 

1. 1. • Early on the activities should be:
        1. An activity your child likes to do.
        2. An activity your child has the skills to complete successfully.

1. 1. • If your child is visual: use pictures! We love velcro boards with PECs pictures. You can also hand draw on a piece of paper or whiteboard or print actual photos of the activity.

1. 1. • If your child is movement seeking and a kinesthetic learner: Set out the actual items in separate areas of a decluttered environment or along a simple obstacle course.

1. 1. • If they are auditory: Tell them the choices and have them verbally tell you which selection they choose.

1. 1. • Introduce challenging but fun activities (like perfection, barrel of monkeys, pickup sticks, jenga, etc.) before introducing non preferred activities (like brushing teeth).

1. 1. • Stick with flexible schedules where your child chooses the order for about a week. You can try testing to see if they are ready for the next stage by taking turns choosing what to do next from the options available.

1. 1. • If your child insists on doing an activity other than the ones selected go back to the “first/ then” techniques trained in Part 1.

1. 1. • Learning is a fluid process. It is perfectly normal for kids to seem to “lose skills” for a short period of time. Maybe they are tired, or in a bad mood today. The program has not failed if they need to go back to an easier schedule for a while. Stick with it, be consistent, and try progressing to the next stage another day or time.

Next Up: Part 3: Sequential Play