tip of the month: january 2108

PUZZLE ORGANIZATION & CREATING VERBAL OPPORTUNITY FOR NON-VERBAL CHILDREN 
Shortly after our son Dean was diagnosed with Autism, my husband and I discovered that he had a difficult time with verbal communication. At the age of 2, Dean was diagnosed with speech delay. At the time, he was completely non-verbal. We began our journey to find every opportunity we could to work on strengthening his communication skills. First, we needed to find something that provided Dean with enjoyment. We found that Dean enjoyed puzzles more than anything else. Once we discovered his passion for puzzles, we immediately started purchasing them in all shapes and sizes to support his learning process. We never thought about how much clutter puzzles would take up in a room or how easily pieces could go missing. It wasn't long before I set out on a mission to come up a with a way to organize them and at the same time use them as a re-enforcer to assist in teaching Dean how to communicate verbally.

First, I came across a post on the web that provided a suggestion to place puzzle pieces in pencil bags. This was an inexpensive way to keep his puzzles in order. The organization portion of it was easy enough. Second, I had to find a way to create verbal opportunities for Dean. I thought the best way to do this was to create a visual aid for him. Third, I created the visual aids. I searched for images of each puzzle he now owned. These images were transferred on to a document and resized to fit around a standard size binder ring. I made two copies of each image and laminated them. One copy of the laminated image would be attached to the pencil pouch that contained the corresponding puzzle. I attached the other laminated image to a standard size binder ring so Dean could use it as a  reference. Finally, in order for the process to work, I had to place the puzzles out of Dean's reach. By denying Dean access to his puzzles, it made it necessary for him to approach me for help if he wanted to play with them.

I began teaching him the following process: 1) I showed him that each puzzle was placed in a pencil pouch.  2) I gave him the visual aid I created containing the laminated image of each puzzle. 3) I asked him to show me which puzzle he wanted by pointing to the corresponding image. 4) I asked that he attempt to make a verbal one word request for the puzzle he wanted. For example, I started by asking him just to repeat or say the word "puzzle." Once he mastered the word "puzzle" I started to expand his vocabulary by asking him to repeat character names or phrases that relate to the puzzle. For example, if he wanted to play with a Disney puzzle from the movie Frozen I would ask him to repeat or say such words as "Elsa", "Disney", or "Frozen". He was rewarded for his efforts by large amounts of praise and I allowed him to play with his puzzle until he completed it...no matter how long it would take.

The puzzle project has been great for Dean! It has really helped our family to better communicate with him. I am so proud of all the progress he is making. Sometimes it is the small things can really make a big impact on the development of an autistic child. Consistency and allowing him to grow and learn at his own pace has really helped us bond as a family.  The most important thing is for us to make sure that he is challenged and learns something new on a daily basis.  It is also necessary to make sure that he is still having fun while doing so!!
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