ICAN home about ICAN Tour Modules Glossary Search  
Your Path: ICAN Home > Modules > Environmental Interventions > Strategies for Less Structured Times of the Day: Lecture Page 4
Characteristics assessment Academic Interventions Behavioral Interventions Communication Interventions Environmental Interventions Sensory Interventions Social Interventions

1 2 3 4 5 6

Levels/Types of Interventions

Forum References FAQ's Quiz Lecture Introduction The intensity level or the type of intervention can vary widely depending on the student and the circumstances. However, they, generally fall into a few categories, including:

Providing for the student

  • An appropriate “sensory diet” of effective sensory motor activities throughout the day
  • Visual supports (visual schedules, social stories, lists, scripts, etc.)
  • Structured activities with typical peers and adult facilitation
  • A plan for coping with troublesome times or settings
  • Mentoring by an adult and/or peer
  • Opportunities to assist others, such as becoming a peer tutor of a younger child, reading to the kindergarten, working on the hall bulletin boards, helping in the office, etc.
  • A Circle of Friends
  • Plans for playground time (i.e., a recess club or a map to follow)
  • A “safe person” or home base to report to in times of trouble
  • Appropriate social classes (such as acting lessons, small-group social skills training, problem solving strategies, etc.)
  • Passes to get out of an environment to prevent meltdowns
  • Assigned jobs or tasks during less structured times (for example, a map of the museum to follow along while on a field trip, a job of passing out food and napkins at the holiday party)

Providing for the setting

  • Adding cubbies or quiet areas
  • Providing a box of favorite activities or “fidgets” (in the cafeteria, during an assembly, etc.)
  • Establishing an alternative setting, such as a room with a computer and a few students rather than the playground or a smaller, quieter room for lunch with a Lunch Bunch
  • Providing opportunities for participation in a special interest
  • Targeting selected peers to participate in small-social group activities

Providing for the typical peers

  • Encouraging mentoring/tutoring opportunities (by offering incentives)
  • Teaching peers about disabilities in general, and about social disabilities in particular
  • Making the experiences FUN for playground buddies, social group participants, etc.
  • Establishing an anti-bully curriculum (Gray, 2000) and maintaining zero tolerance for bullying
  • Establishing a system of rules and incentives for classroom cooperation and assisting fellow peers

Providing for the family

(note: do NOT assume parents already know how to do this)

  • Instruction on how to structure environments and time outside of school (the child’s room, where to go to escape siblings, the dentist’s waiting room, grandma’s house, etc.)
  • Instruction on how to provide visual supports
  • Suggestions for sensory motor activities, toys, “fidgets,” etc.
  • Assistance in locating appropriate peers in the school that the student can interact with after school as well
  • Assistance with problem-solving ideas (finding a family member to act as a mentor, establishing home rules for family cooperation/understanding, plans for coping with troublesome situations, etc.)

Watch out for structuring that leads to dependence on environmental supports and arrangements. A student could become more capable only when in the structured environment, and never progress beyond that … UNLESS he has also been taught the necessary skills.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6