What visual instructions or reminder cues should be present in each space to support sequenced and organized performance? Where should these be placed?
Attached to the planner, possibly after the assignment sheet and before the weekly/daily planner, there may be a need to provide a set of written instructions that lists the steps of the process that the student will use in organizing priorities and deadlines. It is important to word the instructions so that the student can use them:
Organizing Time Around Priorities And Deadlines - Visual Cue 1
The student may need a reminder card placed on his desk to remember to perform his ‘in class’ responsibilities.
How can I organize the materials (or help the student organize) to support independent performance? Where do materials go when they are finished?
Does the student need an ‘assignment sheet’ at the front of his subject binder for each class? This assignment sheet becomes the place where the student always writes down the assignment and deadline. In this way he focuses on that first step in the problem-solving process and does not yet focus on deciding where to put it or how to organize it. Your goal is to get him to write it down in one predictable location where he can always find it for later organization and action.
Some students will need one binder for all subjects due to the severity of organizational difficulties they face. Some will need a planner or agenda that is ‘attached’ to the binder (a pocket in the front of the binder) where the agenda is always kept.
For more advanced students, separate binders by class will be required. The volume of assignments, materials, partially completed work and completed work may lead to this subject separation. The planner or agenda may need to be separate from the binders to these students. Even so, an assignment sheet in the front of each binder may be worth considering as a starting point for self-organization. Another possible approach is to place the assignment sheet in the front of the planner, not in the subject binder. In this way there is one place for all assignments and organizing the priorities into the planner is direct and neat.
The organization of the binder is crucial. The student will need dividers for ‘new assignment materials’ and ‘completed work.’ Consider what else he may need in the binder to organize the materials.
In my design of each visual support, have I considered whether the student may need visual clarity cues (added to the communication script or scenario, schedule, to-do list, social narrative, and / or video model) to highlight (label) or emphasize key features or concepts?
In order to align this intervention topic area with the unique needs of the student, do you need to create visual instructions and reminder cues in the View2do program?