Kirkleatham Hall School
"Unlocking Potential"
Videos of Stephanie undertaking Attention Autism Stage 1 - Bubbles
Stage 1 - Using bubbles as the visually engaging item in the cool box (Bucket).
I have had to split the video of Stage 1 into four separate videos in order for it to upload. This isn't ideal as it stops the flow of the session. However if you watch each in turn it will hopefully give the general idea about how the session progresses.
The children are sat facing the adult who is undertaking the session. They sit on chairs with other adults sat next to them/close by if needed for support. The supporting adult/s encourage them to focus on the session and the activities.
1. Setting out the session.
This is done visually. There are various ways to do this. You can omit writing 'First' and 'Then' and just say them. In Rainbow Class pictures are drawn to represent the various parts of the session. As you can see from my drawings you don't need to worry too much about them! I sometimes write a word/s under each picture. Here I could have written 'Cool box' and 'Garden'. It just depends how much detail you feel you need to give the children in the group.
2. Singing the 'Bucket' (Cool Box) Song.
This is the Song we always begin our sessions with. Obviously in this video I have swapped in the word. 'Cool Box' because that's what I'm using at home. Whereas at school we have the 'Bucket'.
3. Looking at the visually engaging object/s, toy/s etc - bubbles.
I have chosen bubbles because I think all of the children in Rainbow Class like them and we have put some in their Home packs. I had to shorten the amount of time I used the bubbles in this video because of uploading difficulties. You will probably find that you can extend this and as a result get some lovely responses from the children. They like to catch the bubbles and pop them . However in class we also encourage them to remain on their chairs whilst gaining shared attention.
4. Stage 1 'Finishing' and ' What's Next'.
The use of the First/Then board, clearly shows that the session has 'Finished' and then what will be happening 'Next'. I have chosen 'Garden' but you may chose a different thing that you would like the children to do next.
You will notice that I have my pen hidden in my pocket. We find in school that if we leave items laid around on the floor the children will naturally want to pick them up, investigate etc. In fact they can become more focused on these than the actual activity. So we try and enclose, keep out of reach anything that we aren't directly using at the time. The lidded 'Bucket' is ideal as items not in use can be stored away. Out of sight out of mind!
You will notice that I have my pen hidden in my pocket. We find in school that if we leave items laid around on the floor the children will naturally want to pick them up, investigate etc. In fact they can become more focused on these than the actual activity. So we try and enclose, keep out of reach anything that we aren't directly using at the time. The lidded 'Bucket' is ideal as items not in use can be stored away. Out of sight out of mind!
It's you turn to have a go!
Let us know how you get on.