Structured Work Systems: Objects

Purple square with handwritten yellow text reading Tips and Tricks, surrounded by wavy green and black lines and colorful stars in yellow, red, orange, and blue at the edges.

Ever have a student who has difficulty differentiating pictures and then realize how many pictures we try to use to communicate with the student (for his receptive understanding)? If he can’t differentiate, or match pictures, for instance, how can he use a picture schedule to complete a structured work system. Same issue with students who are visually impaired on the spectrum–how do you communicate to them what work you want them to do in their work system? Here is a solution that one teacher I work with came up with for a student who can’t match pictures yet but can match objects. Instead of matching pictures, he matches objects and places them inside the container velcroed to the front of the bin. It really helped him to be more independent at using the schedule for the work system. Kudos to the teacher at Roxbury Elementary School!

A large blue plastic bin with a clear plastic tube attached to the front sits on a wooden shelf. Inside the bin are small white cartons and cardboard pieces. A white bin with a slot is below.

A clear plastic bin with a round opening covered by a blue flap sits on a shelf above a gray bin with a white lid. Both bins are inside a wooden shelving unit.

In contrast, for a student who is visually impaired, think about putting a tactile or object cue INSIDE the bin so that when he pulls it forward to work with it, he can feel it with his fingers hooked inside the basket. I have seen students who are completely blind be able to complete a structured work system without any assistance using tactile cues instead of visual ones. Any other strategies out there that you have tried?