I recently attended a training on supporting students with autism. It was a wonderful training with plenty of practical implementation strategies.
One such takeaway was visual cue cards. Visual cue cards act as a bridge between receptive and expressive communication for students with autism. When cue cards are attached to a lanyard, educators can access them quickly and easily.
EXAMPLE
Cards Courtesy of Victories ‘N Autism
I got to thinking.
- There are times when I struggle to communicate with adults.
- There are times when I don’t want to verbally communicate with adults.
- There are times when adults don’t understand clear verbal communication.
Adult Cue Cards!
*I used education as the context for my cards, but I believe the ideas (frustrations) are universal
Reply to My Email
I sent you an email last week. You haven’t responded. Do I need to put an exclamation point on it?
Groundhog Day
This is a two for one.
- We already talked about this. Why do you continue to do it wrong?
- I heard you the first time. Why are you mentioning it to me every time I pass you?
1-Up
Someone shares a story. Why can’t you listen without needing to top it?
*the 1-Up cue card is frequently combined with the Groundhog Day cue card
Straight to Shred
Someone shares a not so great idea. What if I don’t have the positive vocabulary at the moment to shut it down respectfully?
Wasting Time
The agenda said we had five minutes for this item. Agendas are never wrong. Why are we still talking about this?
Crazy
Someone says or does something crazy. I pretend to not see or hear it. Why don’t you just back away from me slowly?
This one would have been perfect when a parent once told me that her son was struggling to comply with expectations at home. She wanted me, as his assistant principal, to commandeer his cell phone as a consequence for his shenanigans. Mind you, this student had no concerns at school. Mom wanted me to be the bad guy.
Maybe I should have offered parenting lessons? Or maybe I just should’ve used a cue card.
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