What type of schedule does the student need (a written schedule, an electronic schedule on a tablet or mobile device, timed reminders on his watch, etc.) to independently determine where to go for each event of the day and in what order?
Be careful here! Just because the student is brilliant with technology does not necessarily mean he is good at managing time. A schedule can organize the student’s time around specific jobs and places to work within a job setting. Since time organization is often difficult, use a daily schedule to help the student attend to where to be and when.
*Consider if the student has difficulty prioritizing. Does the student get focused on a specific job and lose track of time? Does he need an electronic schedule on his tablet, mobile phone or laptop to keep him attending to where to be and when?
If the student has the capacity to look at a set of daily priorities and schedule his own day as a result of that list, he is more likely to stay organized and complete necessary tasks as desired by the supervisor. If he needs assistance in setting up the priorities, is there a supervisor or experienced co-worker to whom he can take his schedule after he makes it at the beginning of his shift? This person can quickly check the priorities and the schedule and support the student in his self-management of time around his duties. The student may need someone else to set up the written schedule of times and tasks and then the student programs this information into his mobile device or his watch.
How will the student interact with his schedule to ensure that he is consistently using and referencing it?
It is likely that a student interested in IT will be able to use a mobile or computer-based scheduling program. These are great options because they often provide audible and visual alarm reminders, encouraging the student to progress to the next task at certain times. For example, if using Google Calendar on a computer or mobile platform, these reminders can be set so that the user has to click a “confirm” or “accept” key to acknowledge the alarm. There are numerous options for scheduling apps and more are always being developed. It is highly recommended that you work closely with the student to try a variety of options, and then spend time to focus instruction on teaching the student to use the scheduler independently.
Is the schedule available to the student at all times? If not, what adjustments should you make to ensure its accessibility?
Since the student is invested in technology, it is most often the case that the schedule is programmed within the device that he has with him at all times, namely, his phone, his watch or possibly his tablet, depending on the student. The motivation to use this device is obviously high and thus the use of a schedule, alarm reminders and text reminders can be easily programmed into the device of choice.
What additional cues (e.g. time durations, highlighting, reminders) might you add to the schedule to clarify expectations and activities?
Should text reminders be programmed into the device at certain times of day to support his time organization and prioritizing? Specifically, text reminders that deal with time organization, priorities and transition between spaces are under the umbrella of those provided in a schedule.
In order to align this intervention topic area with the unique needs of the student, do you need to create a schedule in the View2do program?