Structured Work Environment

I often come across instances where the curriculum needs to be adapted to the unique needs of my students. While it is not necessarily my role to adapt the curriculum, as an OT I can provide suggestions to team members and staff as far as types of activities or in which type of format activities could be presented that would be beneficial to our shared student.

In our special services unit, we often use portions of the TEACCH model to set up a structured work environment for students with ASD. You can learn more about the TEACCH method here:

https://teacch.com/

Structuring the work space that our students work in is important to limit distractions and provide predictability- what is being expected of them now and next. It is also important that activities be presented in a clear sequence so that there is a definite plan of how to complete them, with a clear beginning and ending to the tasks. An example of a structured work space that I recently help set up for a preschooler is below:

On the wall is the visual schedule of that task boxes to be completed. The student chooses the top visual card, and matches it to a bin on the shelf to find that task that is to be completed. Bins/boxes that contain the work tasks are located to the left of the student's work space so that the tasks can proceed in a left to right progression. The student completes the task at his/her desk/work space. When finished with the task, the student places the visual activity card in the "done" container (in this case it's a small orange bin on the table) to indicate that that task is finished, and sets the finished work task bin on the shelf to the right of the work space. He/she then checks the visual schedule of tasks for the second task to be completed, and so on. The number of tasks to be completed depends on the individual student. Sometimes even completing one task at a time is the goal- some kids can complete several in a row. Task boxes provide organized activities that have a clear beginning and end.

To make things easier, I went to Teachers Pay Teachers and found some visual supports for task boxes that I paid a small fee for and downloaded- much easier and faster than making my own. They are available from Melissa Finch at Autism Adventures. Check them out here: 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Task-Box-Labels-832997

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Task-Box-Visual-Directions-Templates-For-Autism-Programs-2003038

There are many ways to set up a work space that works for your student, a variety of visual supports that can be used for the visual schedule and many many types of work tasks that can be incorporated into a work format such as this. This particular work station and the visuals provided suited the preschooler that it was set up for. Use your knowledge of the student's individual strengths and needs and your own creativity to come up with a work environment that will allow your student to be successful.