What type of schedule does the student need (a written schedule, a picture-written schedule, a picture schedule, or an object-based schedule) to support this skill?
In many instances at school, the student will need an agenda that provides a record of assignments in classes. It is best for many students if the agenda includes a calendar that can be used to record due dates for steps of assignments, for meetings with peers on projects and for timelines. The student will need to maintain a calendar that may be attached to his agenda since the calendar will provide a way to see the sequence of task steps in a timeline. This calendar is critical to keeping up with assignments and due dates. The watch, the agenda and the calendar are key tools in this process.
The daily schedule is crucial with regard to daily tasks. For some students with an agenda, they may use the agenda as a daily schedule. Will the student need daily support at the beginning of his day to insert specific daily tasks on his agenda to assure that priorities are addressed? One objective inherent in this topic is making adjustments to one’s own schedule. Such a skill is not necessarily within the capacity of some students. Will the student be able to adjust his schedule to address a change in priorities? Create a system that makes schedule adjustment routine, predictable and understandable, but only for those students who have necessary prerequisite skills and the capacity to learn this skill. By providing multiple opportunities for the student to use the agenda/schedule to adjust priorities, to negotiate change and to monitor co-operative performance, you are setting up a skill that will be useful in many future work environments. Think about how to transfer this process from the agenda to a daily schedule that the student will use in a club, a school project or a volunteer work environment.
*For other students who are dealing with a simpler written daily schedule, building the skills of meeting with a peer to create a plan, self-management with individual tasks, monitoring for completion on time and simple problem solving may be too difficult. Often it is best to provide supervisor or job coach guidance in making the schedule adjustment and in dividing the expected work. Tolerating Changes is an important first step for these students. Those on a track for post-school employment still will face working with co-workers to complete a project. However, the complex social and cognitive process of negotiation can be avoided by having someone in authority help the student see a schedule change on his schedule such that he can complete a needed job in a timely manner.
How will the student interact with his schedule to ensure that he is consistently using and referencing it? Will he check items off, delete items, place completed events in a folder, etc.?
The student may check off or cross out completed tasks on his calendar and/or his daily agenda. He may use the calendar to plan his daily agenda and to complete assignments. Provide practice in checking the agenda against the calendar to address all priorities.
Is the schedule available to the student at all times? If not, what adjustments should you make to ensure its accessibility?
What additional cues (e.g. time durations, highlighting, reminders) might you add to the schedule to clarify expectations and activities?
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?