ideas pls for posting cards (SALT) — Scope | Disability forum
Please read our updated community house rules and community guidelines.

ideas pls for posting cards (SALT)

toast
toast Community member Posts: 46 Listener
Hi! My daughter has PMLD. We are just starting to show her photo cards of family and friends - asking her to listen and choose the one we are asking her for (ie 'where's daddy?') Her SALT feels like she needs something by way of reward / motivator for doing this. Like a box to post it in or something. She did mention about some product that takes cards and flutters them about - but said you could only use this with cards that come with it. Does anyone know anything about this? Or have any other ideas as to what we could do with the photo card after that would be fun / rewarding?? I'm stumped!

Comments

  • Natasha Brown
    Natasha Brown Community member Posts: 108 Courageous
    it would make more sense when starting out if you chose cards that have built reward ie relates to something she wants eg music she likes (we started with nursery rhyme symbols so he could get us to sing the rhyme he liked) ; a toy; food (does she eat food?)

    if she chooses daddy and daddy then appears it would make sense.
    choosing daddy and then card flutters around might not make much sense - what is the point of choosing daddy versus mummy? unless you are at the level of doing this task for checking verbal understanding.

    point of using cards/symbols is the meaning -
    so if she chooses between biscuit and hairbrush then she gets a biscuit,

    if she has a favourite toy she likes - show picture and if she chooses picture correctly - she gets the toy to play with.

    or is she already using cards to express wants and needs? so if she points to milk she gets milk?

    use a different reward if the task is purely about discriminating and listening - i think it depends what you are trying to do here - teach her communication with cards ?

    i just dont think having something happen to the card itself is the right way to go - if you going to build towards a communication book system (low tech) or eventually high tech then you need to be keeping the communication system as it is - no flashing light or fluttering cards for choosing right one on voice command - find another separate reward or motivator that does not involve the communication system itself.

    but it does depend where you at in communication and what you getting at with the photos - if you showing two people and saying "who did you see today?" might make sense.

    what are the things that motivate her? what toy/game/response would work? rather than looking to do something with the card itself .

    (my son is at ABa school and tasks like this he gains tokens for each correct answer which then lead to him getting eg play on computer - when first started it would have been immediate reward, the working towards something came much later. but they have never done something with the task itself or the cards used . and i think it makes more sense for correct answer = something else happening outside of the task itself. not to the tools being used. if that makes sense.

    if she progresses in communication and ends up with an ipad showing familyphoto sand she points to correct one or the one she wants to talk about - you dont want to start now with her thinking that touching a photo will make it explode or flutter if is correct answer. tho correct answer could lead to another reward (which will change over time)

    if you just want to know if she recognizes photo of daddy versus mummy "which one is mummy?" then the reward for correct eye pointing or touching should be something different eg well done if she responds to verbal praise, play on toy, or whatever.

    or if you want to flutter some cards by all means but not the communication card itself... dont flutter the card itself. if you trying to build a communication system.

  • toast
    toast Community member Posts: 46 Listener
    wow thanks Natasha - that's really helpful

    Think you've hit the nail on the head there - what we are doing now with the pictures is a bit confused / confusing

    we are getting her to choose photos - I guess largely this is to test her listening and understanding. She's recently had cochlear baha implants. But we are also using the cards to get her to choose toys. We've just started using a communication book - she chooses from 3 things. Still at the stage where she choose one card but is looking and reaching for a different object at times. She has an iPad which we are mainly using for simple cause / effect apps at the mo. I would really really love her to be using it more as a real aid to communication but appreciate we are not there yet

    years ago we tried with PECS and it didn't go anywhere - problem was that she really wasn't very motivated by anything. She would just as happily chew the card. Probably being deaf wasn't a great help (we wasn't aware how bad her hearing was deteriorating)
  • Natasha Brown
    Natasha Brown Community member Posts: 108 Courageous
    there has to be something she likes/is motivated by whether toy food object.

    PECs worked for my son but his communication has really taken off with high tech software.

    [ and he is a chewer too... ]

    you can also go back to objects of reference -so a flannel to say bath time; car to say we going in the car now etc.

    hopefully you can get (or do get) SLT/ ENT/hearing /teachers people altogeher to agree strategies and way forward with communication and hearing and listening?

    so you migh have specific tasks around hearing/listening - but the communication strategy needs to be across the board....

    does she see well? vision ok? what kind of movement does she ahave ?
  • toast
    toast Community member Posts: 46 Listener
    she sees ok with glasses on, movement wise she can sit and shuffle short distances but can't stand / walk, struggles to purposely hold stuff a lot of the times, has a lot of movement in her arms so she tends to drop things. She's tube fed but does have some pureed food from a spoon and bits of melty food - like skips, little bits of chocolate buttons. Overall, I guess she is rather passive - most of the time she is happy and content sitting and watching. Really that's been the biggest problem with pushing her communication - finding that motivator. She seems equally pleased / content with most things. We did try chocolate buttons years ago - but even that didn't work. I'll give it a go again - she could prob manage about 1 crushed up button before swallowing probs kick in

    Will get together a song bag too. Inwardly am shuddering at the thought but I will try and dredge up some genuine enthusiasm (!) I know that sounds awful but these 'targets' were first set about 6 years ago and over the years I really have tried up until that point it felt like a horrid chore iyswim. I think she regressed quite a bit between her 1st and 2nd year but because she was so smiley and happy or just v ill we didn't really notice. But basically her targets were too high

    Have had some meetings with specialist hearing impaired SALT, deaf teacher, TA etc which is where we came up with this. Trying with 10 basic makaton signs to help reinforce what we are saying. Unlikely she'll really be able to them back to us. Tbh I think the deaf specialists were a bit out their comfort zone with her as they tend to mainly work with deaf mainstream children

    thanks so much for taking the time to reply btw - much appreciated

Brightness