Billy's break time

Billy was an 8-year-old boy. I was the lead teacher at the Center. The other students would have no problem getting out their snack and drinks and eating. But Billy would not. He would be loss in his own world, occasionally flicking his fingers. Angela, my assistant teacher, and I would constantly prompt him verbally.
“Billy, take out your food”
“Billy, drink your water”
“Billy, hurry up, we have to clean up”
“Billy, put the bottle back”

When I left, Billy was still dependent on the verbal prompts, not only during breaks but also during other everyday routines. I did not teach him any skill that would help him be more independent in his routines.

What would I do differently now?

I would start with some permanent picture prompts; either step by step photos of him performing the routine, or simplify picture cards that represent each step of the routine. At the beginning, I would have a card for each of the following steps:
- taking food container and water bottle out of his bag
- opening the container
- opening the bottle
- eating and drinking
- closing the container
- closing the bottle
- placing the food container and water bottle back in his bag

The cards will be laminated and placed on a flip-chart or small ring binder.

I would teach Billy to refer to the first card, perform the step, flip the card, read the next card and so on. At the beginning, I would praise him for completing each step. But I would slowly fade out the verbal praise to just one very excited, “Good job, Billy, for being responsible during your break time,” or something else that’s more natural at the very end.

As he gets better at this, the number of cards could be reduced, and even word cards could be used instead of picture cards.

Then there’s the issue of Billy taking his own sweet time to slowly savor his snacks, but I will deal with that another day.

Buzzword for this intervention:
Permanent picture prompts
Self-management