Life is full of events and circumstances that are difficult for children to understand. How do you explain? And explaining doesn't mean that they comprehend.

And what happens when children don't understand? Emotional outbursts? Difficult behaviors? Problems can occur for good events as well as bad ones.

Writing down information can provide a way to help understanding. Here is an example of how it can work.

A letter I received
Dear Linda:
I had a student whose life was about to change in a major way. You see, his grandfather, who was his favorite person in the whole wide world, was diagnosed with cancer.

This little boy's family was concerned about how they would explain what was happening and wondered if he would understand why he didn't see his grandfather anymore.

His treatment team decided that we would use story books to explain what was happening to his grandfather. We created stories showing the relationship between this child and his grandfather, what was happening to his grandfather, and how the relationship was changing.

We covered the period from the time of his grandfather's diagnosis, through hospitalization and hospice, his death, funeral, and burial. This was a Christian family who also wanted their son to know that his grandfather had
gone to live with Jesus, so we incorporated that into the stories too.

Some months later, after his grandfather's death, the child's mother reported to me that while they were relaxing at home one day, he looked at a picture of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child that was hanging on the wall and uttered his grandfather's name.

Prior to his grandfather's illness, this little boy would frequently run to the window, anxiously awaiting the visits from his grandfather. After his grandfather's death, he no longer did this. I know that visual strategies work. I am a witness.
Pam Martin

The strategy worked
Thanks to Pam for sharing. Writing down all those stories gave enough information to this little boy so he handled this significant event without major problems. The strategy was successful.

Five steps that help

1. Write many little stories. You don't need to say everything in one story. Let each one tell about one specific idea.
2. Write the stories at a language level the student can understand. Add art as appropriate.
3. Save all the stories in a binder so you can read them like chapters in a book.
4. Read the stories to the student. Use the stories to talk about the information. Students don't need to be able to read well for stories to be meaningful.
5. Keep the book so you can go back to it as needed, even after the event.

Where do you begin? It's a frequently asked question. Once we decide that using visual strategies makes sense for a group of students in a classroom, it can become instantly overwhelming.

There are so many ways to use visual strategies, so . . .
where do you begin???

Engineering the Classroom with Visual Strategies has never been offered for sale before. This DVD program is an informal explanation of the procedures that were followed to set up a new classroom with visual strategies. Linda Hodgdon describes the procedures that were followed during her consultation with a classroom staff.


SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER                                 EXTENDED

There were lots of calls from people who needed more time to get Purchase Orders completed. So QuirkRoberts Publishing decided to reduce the pressure by extending the special offer for one more month.

Offer extended until April 9 - ORDER TODAY

I love to hear people's stories. Do you have one to share? We can all be encouraged when we hear about the experiences of others.

How do you use visual strategies? If you send me a story I can share I will send you a Visual Strategies T-shirt.
(Offer good while sizes and supplies last).

Email: Linda@LindaHodgdon.com

             Autism Spectrum Quarterly is the MAGAJOURNAL™



Why do we call Autism Spectrum Quarterly (ASQ) the magajournal™?  Because it combines the best of both worlds:

• high-interest articles from parents and professionals
• cutting-edge information that can help you translate
  research into effective intervention practices

Linda Hodgdon, M.Ed., CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist and a Consultant for Autism Spectrum Disorders. She is the author of the bestseller, Visual Strategies for Improving Communication, one of the most recommended books in the field of autism.

Internationally recognized as a powerful and informative speaker and consultant, Linda has presented her insightful and dynamic workshops to audiences of educators and parents worldwide.

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