Let’s start with making a list. Take sometime to list out all the activities your child likes to engage in. Now, make a list of activities, or task that your child does not prefer. Next, make a list of neutral activities your child engages in with minimal assistance. These can be activities, or task you ask your child to do. The list you are making is key to creating a successful activity schedule.
Activity schedules are beneficial because it allows your child to work on transitioning between activities throughout the day independently, or with minimal assistance. It provides your child with an overview of what they day will look like, as well as what expectations are going to be presented. It gives your child the ability to predict and plan what is going to occur in their environment. This also serves as a list for you as a provider, so that you are aware of what is coming up and how to prepare. An activity schedule overall helps people understand and manage events that are occurring in their lives.
The components of an activity schedule include either pictures, or words that describe a list of activities that are going to occur in sequence. It provides information of what is currently happening, what is going to happen next, as well as when the activity is completed. An activity schedule also presents opportunities to plan for changes that might occur throughout the day.
Making an Activity Schedule:
When making an activity schedule, have your child participate. Have your child select from the neutral, non-preferred, and preferred activities from your list you made in advance. Provide choices to your child when making the schedule. This will promote “buy in,” meaning your child is more likely to engage in an activity that they selected versus when they are not given the option to choose.
If your child has difficulty with transitions, start by setting time constraints for each activity. You can provide more time with preferred activities if needed. Setting a time limit will assist your child in knowing when the activity will be done, so that they are able to successfully transition to the next activity. You can write the time next to the activity or even present visual timer.
Using an Activity Schedule:
Once the list has been created, and activities have been selected, have your child do the following:
Step 1: Child selects the first item on the schedule (i.e., marking a check next to the activity, stating aloud that the activities is being started, activity, starting the timer, etc.).
Step 2: Have child complete the activity (activity should be something your child can do independently or with minimal assistance).
Step 3: Have child then indicate when the activity is completed.
Step 4: Next, have your child then identify the completion of the activity
on the schedule (i.e., marking a check next to the activity, moving the activity to a completed side, stating, or gesturing that they are “all done,” stopping the timer, etc.).
Step 5: Repeat all the steps until the activity schedule is completed.
Thank you for reading!
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