Currently, you may think about programs being grouped together by curricula areas as that is the way they are listed in the IEP/ISP. But that grouping isn’t the most efficient when you are actually implementing programs.
In Big Data, Routines refer to a grouping of programs that go together by where they are taking place. Routines utilizes the concept of behavioral chains to help you plan out a daily sequence of activities. In the same way that your day has Routines that are chained together in a sequence, Big Data allows you to set up the programs for your client in a similar chain. So programs that are part of that Routine are grouped together. Some programs, like Communication, may actually appear in multiple Routines.
When thinking about a specific Routine, you should be thinking about programs that teach the following skills:
- How does the client know that the Routine is beginning? This could be a communicative response or a motor response that the client makes.
- How does the client navigate to the place where the Routine is to occur? This refers to the motor skills involved in moving from one place to another in their environment, and whether the client can independently follow the mobility route.
- How does the client know that they have arrived at the place where the Routine is to occur? Again, this is often a communicative or motor response depending upon the client’s skill level or the routine.
- Are there materials that are needed for the task and can the client get the materials independently?
- What are the actual skills the client needs to perform for the specific task?
- How does the client know that the Routine has ended?
When thinking about assigning programs to a Routine, assign the programs that address all of the above questions to the same Routine. When you assign a program to a Routine, it will show up on the iPad App Rolodex icon with all the programs also assigned to that same Routine.
One Routine for the Shoe Tying program might be Independent Living Skills. In this example, programs in the routine might include the following:
- A communication program could work on expressing “I need shoes”
- A mobility route to the closet or locker may be a second program in this routine
- Saying “I see my shoes” or reaching and picking up the shoes would be next
- No materials other than the shoes would be required
- A program for teaching the child to tie the shoes would be in the routine next
- A program to indicate that the child knows he is done might be for the child to say “I’m done.”
It is NOT a requirement that all steps (#1 – #6) have programs. Someone may have already mastered the mobility route for walking to the bathroom for instance, or a step might be something that you are planning on working on in the future. Any additional pertinent information about the Routine can be added to the Schedule section of the Routine Order set-up. This information will then appear on the iPad on the Routine Order tab and can act like a prescription sheet for that Routine.
- For the Routines field, hilite all the routines that you want this program to be part of, then click on Add.
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