Autism

Thank you for writing about this. It reminds me of something Donna Williams wrote about "not thinking in pictures" (as opposed to the "Thinking in Pictures" described by Temple Grandin), but rather she described thinking in terms of motion, and needing to see things move to recognize them, like seeing a shaker full of toothpicks but didn't recognize them as toothpicks until she picked up the shaker and shook it up and down - when the toothpicks moved around, THEN she realized they were toothpicks. It's important for people to remember that any given thing isn't gonna work for everybody - and that applies just as much to autistic people as anybody else.

Charlie still has trouble (lots) with drawings (those pesky PECS cards.....); he does best with photos. But its visual stimuli that can definitely overwhelm him and I've found aural methods more useful for him.  He does need visual supports, but they're not the be-all and end-all that they are conveyed to be.

This is a very good point.  Like any other group of people, autistics are individuals and have different learning strengths.  I do best with written words and have a relatively poor visual memory.

Dora,
I am so glad that you made this point--sometimes visual supports can be a help and other times not.

My daughter did well with PECS, but I started out with photos, and very clear photos at that and gradually introduced/taught some symbology, so that use of pictures, with some symbols, as AAC was helpful.

Conversely, I learned that visual schedules really fouled her up. At school they kept trying and trying and trying to teach her a simple sequenced task with a visual mini-schedule and as it turned out that if you just showed her what to do smoothly and in sequence a few times without the schedule that she picked it up quickly and smoothly. It was as if the additional demand of having to switch her attention to the visual aid broke up the flow of the sequence into random bits for her. So that aid was not an aid at the time, but a distraction. She still does better simply seeing what to do and observing environmental cues than with an iconic visual aid.
Now we do work on using a schedule, but it's with written words, using a clock and much bigger "chunking", kind of like what we do with our day planners. It seems to work much better for her than the visual schedules.

@Regina. "sometimes visual supports can be a help and other times not".
@Fleecy. It reminds me of something Donna Williams wrote about "not thinking in pictures" (as opposed to the "Thinking in Pictures" described by Temple Grandin), but rather she described thinking in terms of motion.
                 (Very interesting comment).


Learning has to do with categorizing(goldfish is fish) and sequencing(first, second, third) information.  If you can do both than you can put the information into short, then long term memory. There are activities to teach categorizing and sequencing skills. 'The Critical Thinking Co." has great stuff. But there are other online companies. Clapping can help kids with sequencing. The nervous system kicks in with motion and an imprint is made into memory.

It could be that not all steps are covered in the visual mini-schedule. Information needs to connect without gaps.  It sounds like she needs an assistant to work with her and get non-verbal feedback from the child that she is understanding what she is learning before moving onto the next piece of information.

Some kids need a preview of the steps first so they can understand the Big Concept/idea). Helps make a picture in their minds. Mind pictures are recorded in memory.

Details/parts(chunking) vs Concept- how does your child learn best?

The best type of learning is multisensory, tactile, hands-on, using visual/auditory/tactile learning simultaneously. Hands on learning is best because movement kicks in  the nervous system.  If they have difficulty learning visually, they can still learn the material with touch and sight. In other words they are learning even with a problem. The more senses they can use at the same time the better their memory of the task is.

Orton-Slingerland learning method uses the child's 2nd and 3rd finger to 'air write' while simultaneously looking and saying something the child needs to know. This 'air writing' with look/say at what you are drawing/writing simultaneously puts the information into long term memory. It is very easy to use.

All this information is based on research. For over 40 years Dr. Mel Levine, a pediatric doctor, who specializes in learning problems, gives excellent information but no longer practices as a medical doctor. He explains how we learn, developmental problems in learning, suggestions to help our children.

Parents have given the teacher Educational Care with highlights of the information that is important to the parent. These are a few of my favorite books on learning.

Dr. Mel Levine's Book, Educational Care: A System for Understanding and Helping Children With Learning Problems at Home and in School (Hardcover) $15-$27
http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Care-Understanding-Children-Learning/dp/0838819877

Dr. Mel Levine's book, This is my favorite one- cost $91.
Developmental Variation & Learning Disorders (2nd Ed)
Author: Dr. Mel Levine
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Developmental-Variation-and-Learning-Disorders/Melvin-D-Levine/e/9780838819920
This reference guide offers comprehensive information about developmental variations in children that can lead to learning disorders. It is a difficult book to locate. Other sites have information on it.

Dr. Levine has written a book on nonverbal learning disorder. I have not read this book.