We wrapped up our mini-blitzes this week with simultaneous patterns. You may be wondering why RCR patterns are so important or why our consultant typically has families do blitzes, two or three weeks per pattern! Because Pamela caught on to the patterns when our consultant tried them with her, she assigned mini-blitzes for us, two or three days per pattern. I think she wanted me to learn from them more than Pamela!
What did I learn? I can take something as dull, boring, and possibly static as a pattern and imbue it with the joy of interacting. Whenever I showed facial expression and other nonverbal communication and slowed down enough for Pamela to process, the quality of our interactions shot up. The most fun patterns for us were the ones which did not come naturally: reverse assembly and simultaneous (to be described in this post). Why? We both were forced to slow down and work together as a team. We felt like we were in the zone, even if we were moving slowly. One person commented that Pamela and I shone in one of the video clips! In the RDI world, that is called dancing . . . the intangible ingredient that "makes everyday social encounters so wonderful" and "the simplest forms of communication" that "lead to the most wonderful moments" as described in the book, My Baby Can Dance.
Simultaneous patterns are when you do something at the same time. As always, I came up with a list, simultaneous patterns that include an object and those that do not include an object. The ones in italics are the ones are shown on the video clips:
With Object Hitting drum, cowbell, cymbal with a drumstick. Moving maracas side-to-side or back-and-forth. Building paper cup towers. Folding clothes. Making a bed. Taking trash to the trashcan. Tossing balls at the same time. Counting coins. Folding paper (airplane, basket, origami, etc.) Rocking in a rocking chair.
Without Object Doing the alphabet in sign language. Spelling words for shopping list in sign language. Clapping games. Walking up and down stairs. Hopping on two feet or one foot.
One thing you will notice in the clips on the maracas and rocking chairs is that I broke down the actions into clear steps and slowed down the action to a pace that she could manage. I gave her nonverbal feedback so that she had to pay close attention to me and what I was doing. I varied the pattern enough that she could not go into automatic pilot. I would love some insight on something we picked up on the rocking chair segment. David, the cameraman, zoomed in on Pamela's face and we noticed how she couldn't give me a steady gaze. She consistently shifts her eyes away from me and back to me when I stopped the action. That makes me admire her even more because it must take much more work to offer full attention! Any thoughts?
One of the hardest things to do in getting started with RDI and even homeschooling is establishing the master-apprentice relationship between parents and children. We managed to figure this out in our first four years of homeschooling (1995-1999), and I wish I would have had Awakening Children's Minds when I first started teaching Pamela at home! One key element is how to respect what Pamela wants without letting her take complete control. One way to do this is to keep in mind your objective and reframe it! In the following clip, we were taking turns building a house with index cards (an idea from 365 TV-Free Activities). Pamela wanted to shop and told me she was tired of the task. I realized that I could reframe turn-taking around writing a shopping list and picking out items at the store.
The activities we did on this day revolved around reciprocating (turn-taking patterns). We either share from a pile or perform a task, alternating between Pamela and me. Here is a short list of some of the things we did:
Moving dining room knick-knacks Dusting dining room Feeding dogs Working on puzzle Putting kitchen rugs in wash/hamper Sweeping kitchen floor Putting away clean dishes Wetvac kitchen floor Folding clothes Putting gemstones on magnets Camping trip Washing and refilling hummingbird feeders Building index card house Chain drawing Guess the objects
Pamela enjoys drawing, something she did not enjoy when we first started homeschooling. Actually, she hated it. She kicked and screamed at the sight of pencil and paper. Another idea I found in 365 TV-Free Activities is chain drawing: we take turns drawing a picture together. The first time we started going back and forth with different shapes and no plan. When finished, Pamela called it "Christmas Tree Machine." On different day, we started another chain-drawn picture, but Pamela had a plan, unbeknownst to me. When she did not like what I was drawing, she cried, fussed, and SCRIBBLED OVER my drawing. I was glad to see how she communicated her ideas well and we flipped over the paper and started again. The following clip is another example of playing "Who's the Boss?"
Pictured are really cool capsules for productive uncertainty--I found them at Wal-Mart in packages of twelve capsules for three bucks per package and saw the potential for RDI lifestyle activities. First, you place a capsule in warm water and watch the gelcap slowly melt away. Little shapes and parts start popping out, unfolding the shape of the item made out of foam. During the minute it takes for the object to emerge, you have plenty of time for guessing what it is. Pamela LOVED it!
Then, we took all twelve sea creatures (that was the theme) and played a guessing game. I closed my eyes, picked out a sea animal, and guessed what I was holding. Pamela could tell me if I was right or wrong. Then, we switched and she had to guess. This activity also worked on separating self and other because she could see the object and I could not. Then, I could see the object and she could not. The clip below shows our guessing game.
Last Thursday, we picked, washed, and cut up strawberries to liven up our work on patterns! We even made strawberry ice cream from scratch and rolled a canister back and forth to freeze the ice cream as one of our turn-taking patterns!
At the autism remediation email list, we discussed the question of chores. Many parents doing RDI turn to chores as activities to frame objectives. For example, right now, I am working on RCR cycles with Pamela and we have been focusing on reciprocal (think turn-taking) patterns. So, I included getting hangars, hanging clothes, and putting away folded clothes for my list of patterns. Choosing chores means they actually get done (you should see my lovely hampers) and frees up more of my time. Pamela can learn valuable life skills that will serve her well whether or not she is ever able to live independently because she will always be a blessing to the people who care for her. You can see a wide variety of activities, some more fun than others, for Thursday's list.
Material
Place
Type
Getting hangars
Basket
Reverse Assembly
Hanging clothes
Closet
Reverse Assembly
Putting away clothes
Drawer
Reverse Assembly
Putting away dishes
Cabinet
Reverse Assembly
Picking strawberries
Basket
Reverse Assembly
Washing strawberries
Collander
Reverse Assembly
Cutting strawberries
Bowl
Reverse Assembly
Rolling canister
Canister
Sharing
Eating ice cream
Spoon
Sharing
Tossing ball
Ball
Sharing
Coloring Diego
Crayon
Sharing
Playing War
Cards
Sharing
Throwing frisbee
Frisbee
Sharing
Scooping seeds in feeder
1/4-cup
Sharing
The turn-taking styles we used were reverse assembly line and sharing an object. The first is alternating between Me-You-Place and You-Me-Place. Pamela and I are so used to other forms of turn-taking we found this one tricky! Sharing an object came more naturally to us.
One of my problems as a "get on with it" kind of person is I have a hard time slowing down for the sake of the interaction. I go checkmark crazy with a list in my hand! In my mind, I do not always separate the efficiency of doing a chore on my own from the objective of framing chores, slowing down enough to give Pamela time to process and express her thoughts and feelings. If you watch the video clips, you will see how the quality of Pamela's expressions shot up when we played catch and Frisbee. Why? Dropping and retrieving the tossed object stops the action long enough for Pamela to process and react.
Pamela has not done a major coloring project in years. I have not bought coloring books in years because they end up in the toy box with a couple of sporadic scribbles. The other day Pamela picked up Diego Color Pencil By Number. Since she has not colored something like this in years, I thought it might make a great lifestyle activity. I figured it would take at least a week to finish! When I pulled her out of school in 1995, she cried at the sight of things like this because she hated drawing, coloring, and writing. Imagine my surprise when it took us only two days to finish it! Rather than use the pencils provided, Pamela choose from her 64-crayon collection. She would color one spot, and then I would touch it up before going onto the next spot. When we did the frame, she colored the paw prints and I colored the frame, going back and forth.
When Steve saw the finished product, his jaw dropped. He blurted out, "I can't believe how well she stays in the lines!" Yep! She has come a long way in her years as a homeschooler!
My consultant's handout listed five skills for parents to learn under the "how" of RDI. I have blogged three of them many times (declarative communication, framing, and scaffolding). I will address the fourth skill today: RCR cycles. The acronym RCR means Regulation-Challenge-Re-organization. Basically, the parent sets-up an interaction with competent roles for parent and child, performed in some kind of pattern. When the child is doing well in the interaction, the parent makes little variations to the pattern to make it slightly more unpredictable, but not overwhelming. The child learns to accept the slight change and continue the pattern without getting confused.
You can see this in the clip of us putting butterflies away in an assembly line pattern. The pattern is Me-Pamela-Elephant. She quickly gets into the swing of it, so I start doing little variations for fun.
My consultant assessed Pamela for all three beginner patterns, and Pamela had no problem. The first year we homeschooled Pamela and I did patterning for her fine motor issues. I have never thought of interactions as patterns, but I know we have been doing all three patterns for years and years. I am not surprised Pamela did well with them. Just to be sure that I am on track, the consultant asked me to do two or three days of each pattern (15 to 18 patterns each day). She wants to make sure that, when Pamela struggles, I will remember to fall back on these RCR patterns. If Pamela gets angry at a restaurant, we could do something as simple as empty sugar packets out of the holder one by one and then put them back one by one. Reestablishing a sense of competence is an effective way to prevent meltdowns.
First, I made a list of activities that had patterns. Interaction patterns are in almost any activity. Random on-the-fly thinkers can probably join in what their child is doing. I am not one of them. I need a plan from which I can vary.
Then, I picked a competent role for both of us. Some roles might be too difficult (such as putting clothes already on a hanger in a closet), so I took the harder role. Physical roles help children get regulated. Since Pamela is under-responsive, I made her the active person in some roles (the one who goes first).
I made a list of assembly line patterns I had planned to do today. I tried to spread them out into three batches during the day, all patterns done one after the other. I tried to balance practical things like chores with fun things like toys and crafts.
Material
Pattern
Butterflies
Me-Pamela-Elephant
Homeschool books
Pamela-Me-Shelf
Wet clothes
Me-Pamela-Dryer
Dry clothes
Pamela-Me-Basket
Lite Brite
Me-Pamela-Paper
Knick-knacks
Pamela-Me-Furniture
Stuffed animals
Me-Pamela-Floor
Stuffed animals
Pamela-Me-Basket
Dry dishes
Me-Pamela-Cabinet
Dishwasher dishes
Me-Pamela-Cabinet
Crayons
Pamela-Me-Bowl
Pamela is a great apprentice. Some children might fuss, argue, and complain (feel free to ignore them, if you can)! The handouts my consultant gave me talk about doing the pattern first so the child can see the roles. Then physically turn one role over to the child when ready.
Pamela has an acute eye for patterns because her mind is so sequential. She caught on to all of my patterns right away. I always know when the light bulb goes off and she smiles. Once she grew competent in the role, I varied the actions in my role.
Our patterns ended when we placed all of the items in the right place. I usually vary how I acknowledge completion, but some times I just move onto the next pattern. For each batch, I tried to put the most fulfilling, emotionally engaging activity last to end on a positive note.
The high for me was playing the Elefun game for the first time ever! I thought she might enjoy this game which just might inspire her to move. She helped me add the batteries, fix up the nets (first clip), and position the butterflies. Her nonverbal and verbal communication is beautiful when she sees the fake butterflies floating in the air (last clip). They do not inspire her enough to move, but I plan to use a sensory integration approach to address her under-responsivity. If your time is limited, watch the last clip--it is a treasure that will make you smile!
I plan to cover two more patterns on the days in which we will be doing them. The fifth skill covered in the handout is elaboration. I have not talked much about elaborating on my blog because I am not knowledgeable enough to go there. I will quote directly from the handout,
Elaboration is how the parent grows what the child learns and makes it increasingly dynamic. It is a way for the parents to help the child increase areas of competency. Elaboration is how the parents will take a discovery, and help the child develop a deeper meaning to it. Elaboration techniques include use of same-but-different thinking, relative thinking, and retrospective and prospective thinking. Elaboration grows directly with Episodic Memory development.
With Object
