Oh I am so excited to blog this entry, you have no idea!!  My good friend Lucette, who I met before either of our sons were diagnosed (God is so good), has shared a resource with me that I believe is going to change attitudes and outlooks in our home forever!  Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit, but I am so psyched about this new discovery.

Lucette's son has autism and, like Jeremiah, he is visual and also does not take to changes in his routine very well.  That's probably putting it mildly!  Lucette discovered a site called Mrs. Riley (http://mrsriley.com/introduction) and armed with just her handy dandy laminator, some paper, laminating pockets, Velcro, and foamboard, she has created a visual world for her little guy AJ that he just LOVES!  And I was blessed enough to spend some time picking her brain and have her share her resources with me to get Jeremiah started on these wonderful picture cards as well.

Ok, so what am I talking about?  Well, here's the breakdown.  On a cut rectangle of foamboard, you add a strip of Velcro and you have a schedule board.  Then on Mrs. Riley, you search for, personalize, and print out picture cards to go with every possible schedule scenario in your child's day.  For example, I have cards that have pictures of a dentist, eating dinner, visiting grandma, speech therapy, going to the park, taking medicine, getting dressed, taking a bath, brushing teeth, going to bed, and more.  The pictures were printed, cut out, laminated, cut out again, and afixed with a piece of Velcro to their backs so that they will stick to the schedule strip of foamboard.  Here's a picture of one:

I make two of these up a day.  One is from wake-up until lunch and the other from after lunch until bedtime.  They are AWESOME.  They take only a few minutes to put together the night before and then Jeremiah knows exactly what to expect (barring unforseen circumstances) the next day.  We store the cards in a recycled wipes container and, as Jeremiah completes each day's task, he pulls the card off of the schedule strip and put it into another wipes container.

Lucette also gave me a piece of  particle board and some felt and I covered the board with the felt and there we keep picture cards of  feelings and emotions.  Sometimes, when Jeremiah is in full meltdown mode, he can't verbalize how he's feeling.  He just grunts and cries and hollars.  Now I can take him to this board and ask him to show me what he's feeling or why he's crying.  It's also great because Jerry often cannot verbalize when something is hurting him, like his head or stomach.  Picture cues help.

I also made a board to use with fun activitiy picture cards for Jerry.  I can use it to give him fun and safe play options and, the best part is, he gets to CHOOSE what he wants to do next.

One of my favorite strips we made is a step-by-step how-to for Jerry on teeth brushing.  There are too many steps for him to remember them all and so now he has a visual aid to help him!  We just keep it propped up behind the sink in the bathroom.

Then Lucette laminated a piece of cardstock with the words "First" and "Then" in columns at the top.  She folded it so that it sits like a tent.  Now I can SHOW Jeremiah, "If you clean up your toys first, then you can go outside and blow bubbles."  I'm really praying this will help with his extremely low patience level!  It's a great way to show rewards for behavior too.  For example, "If you don't hit your friends at the park today, then we will go for a Slurpee afterwards."  Yes, there are even pictures of Slurpees on Mrs. Riley!  And if there weren't, you can upload your own photos to make your own personalized picture cards!

Now you know this infectious new obsession has to spread to everyone in the family and that's where our new chore chart comes in.  Each child's name is at the top of a sheet of foamboard.  Under their names is a strip of Velcro.  On each strip, I place their daily chores on picture cards.  As they complete each task, they remove the card and put it in the Ziploc baggie Velcro'd to the bottom of the board.

Yes, Lucette has created a monster!  If people thought I was dangerous with my labeler, then just wait until they get ahold of me with my laminator and laminating sheets....my only request for Mother's Day!

Ok, I'm done sounding like the guy on the Oxy Clean infomercials!  Did you hear me screaming at you and pounding my fist on the table?!  Is this idea revolutionary or what?  Probably or what!  Many of you may already know about these wonderful little aids and resources, but I just caught on and had to share.  Thanks, Lucette and AJ!!