+ Activity Schedules Presented by: Abraham, Brenda, Ruth, & Marcia

+ What is an Activity Schedule? Activity Schedules (AS) are a visual schedule comprised of pictures and/or words that show the sequence of steps needed to complete an activity.

+ Importance of an activity schedule Children with autism usually process visual information better and therefore faster than auditory (spoken) information (reference) Increases on-task behavior It is easy for children with autism to become interested in something else To decrease inappropriate behaviors Socially unacceptable behaviors occur when individuals haven't learned to regulate their own behaviors in response to other people's actions.

+ Importance of an activity schedule To facilitate smooth transitions from one step to the next To increase independence Eventually, the student should be able to use the activity schedule without adult support. To promote self-management building change into an activity schedule can teach children to tolerate changes in routine.

+ Importance of an activity schedule Going through a sequence of steps or activities repeatedly moves the child toward mastery, and helps children carry a sequence or process through to completion An AS can enable children with autism a chance to make choices and participate in decisions about their own activities and daily schedules.

+ When can you use an activity schedule? School, home, fieldtrips, community It can be used at anytime for any situation Toileting Dressing Cooking School work Any others……

+ Theory Operant conditioning (BF skinner) Uses the relationship between behaviors and respective consequence to influence the ocarence volunterly Classical conditioning (Pavlo) involves presentations of a neutral stimulus along with a stimulus of some significance over a time to evoke voluntary behavior Both theories use fading of reinforcement to gain independence

+ What does the research say about activity schedules? Most research supports the use of activity schedules. One study showed students ability to increase on-task behaviour with the use of activity schedules. The students also requested use of the activity in other environments. In Marchalicek, Shogren, Lang, et.al’s (2009) research, activity schedule intervention is used to increase play activity and decrease challenging behavior for 3, children with moderate to severe autism. The result showed that all the 3 children responded positive to the intervention

+ What does the research say about activity schedules? Four children with autism were taught to play Guitar Hero 2 using an activity schedule, simultaneous video modeling and the training of multiple exemplars of songs. (Blum-Dimaya, Reeve, S.A., & Reeve, K.F. (2010).

+ Are these schedules harmful? We have not found evidence of AS’s being harmful but there are some concerns…. the teacher must insure that the student has the prerequisite skills to use the schedule (McClannahan, 1999). Children must be able to distinguish pictures from a background and match a picture to the respective objects.

+ Concerns The child accepting manual guidance from the teacher. A child must also be able to follow a sequence. A child becomes dependant on the schedule Prompting fading (McClannahan, Krantz, 1999) A child learning to identify pictures A child completing a chore list with an AS

+ Who can use AS? Teachers Family members Professionals Children, and students

+ Where are they being used? Locally, case support workers and teachers are using activity schedules at Children’s Autism Services of Edmonton (CASE), and the Glenrose Hospital school. St. Albert Catholic High School, Leo Nickerson Elementary School Linda Hodgdon, Communication Specialist, CCC-SLP Early intervention programs, autism organizations The majority of the research found has used activity schedules with students who have a developmental disability (machalicek, Shogren, Lang, et al, 2008) but it is not limited to them.

+ Demonstration Implementation of an AS in a school setting Primary school science project: “Dancing Raisins” Exploring cause and effect relationships.

+ Pour raisin CupPour pop Reward Materials

+ Conclusion This is a useful, practical educational tool Research shows AS are effective in moving children with ASD toward independent task completion, social interaction, and acquiring workplace, educational, and leisure skills Because we all use them, they are inclusive. Research shows that the skills and practice the child learns in following an activity schedule often generalizes to other settings and other activity schedules Activity schedules can begin very simply and gradually increase in complexity; they can “grow with the child”.