Working Independently

Life is settling down for us and yet still busy.  I hadn't realized that it has been a week since my last post until I got here to post.

Things are pretty much the same.  Mark is having real problems with the "no prompting" and "no hand over hand".  Whenever possible, I don't prompt at all.  When I do have to, I start with simple verbal.  I don't physically prompt him at all if it is possible.  And so far, despite his protests, it is possible.

My solution for the letter tracing in the Fisher Price toy was simple.  We are using stencils until he gets the idea.  I will fade each stencil throughout the week until he's doing the letter on his own.  If necessary we will take two weeks.  Frankly, we will take however long Mark needs to be able to do the task independently.  The focus isn't just learning how to shape the letters but for Mark to be able to work independently. 

Mark working independently is the overarching focus throughout every task.  Now, my definition of independently is simply that Mark does the task without anything more than simple verbal instructions with infrequent simple verbal prompting.  I do not give him a task and then walk away.  He's nowhere near ready for that.  Many of Mark's tasks are designed with this independence in mind and don't really give him, or me, much room for physical prompting.  Ok, maybe they could but since it's an absolute no-no in my mind it just doesn't happen. 

In my mind, if I assist him physically, then I am the one answering the question or doing the task - not Mark.  And Mark's behavior when he tries to get me to physically prompt him only reinforces this view.  Mark only reaches for my hand to physically prompt when he continually gets an answer wrong or does a task wrong.  Instead I will verbally prompt him.  Or I will show him the task separately and have him do it independently.  But truthfully, typically, Mark wants physical prompts only when he doesn't want to do a task or is being lazy.  And while it's painfully slow going, he is beginning to realize that I won't physically prompt and that laziness only makes the task harder.  While this stretches my patience some, I realize that I am trying to undo over 7 years worth of behavior training.  So my patience stretches and we get through the tasks.  His patience stretches, he tantrums, and we get through the tasks.  I think we are both getting extensive lessons in patience.  :-)

My normal response to slow going tasks is to find a new angle or new way to teach it.  That way we can keep moving.  But this is just one of those things that will take time. 

On the fun front, I made Mark a mini geoboard.  It's square and only 6 inches by 6 inches.  The pegs are an inch apart and I give him the small, small, small rubber bands to use with it.  It's great for finger coordination between the first fingers and thumbs.  Sometimes the second fingers get involved.  And in his mind, it's all play.  It's two sided and we have playing rules.  On the first side he can only put one rubber band between the same two pegs, and he has to do angles as well as straight lines.  When he's done most of the board, I flip it and the second side it complete free play.  Which for Mark means that it's all straight lines with lots of rubber bands on each set of pegs.  Regardless, his fingers are getting better at coordinating together and this is showing in handwriting.