Changing Behavior is a Process, Step 1

Protecting "private time" for both of my children has been a tricky challenge.

My daughter needs more quite time than my son, and her current mechanism to get it involves fighting on the stairs. This must change.

Her room is located on a separate level from the other rooms of the house.

She is eight and he is ten. He has a cognitive disability diagnosis. They have a habit of problem solving through high drama. I want to refine that.

The question became, how do I create a visual way of understanding to fill the gap caused by my sons under developed temporal system?

The battles were daily, time consuming and nerve racking. There was a process of fear, anger and anxiety. One led to another in a never ending escalating loop. No one was getting what they needed.

Question: So. How can we build success?

Answer: "Story telling" in a language my son understands, using "cartooning", photographs and text to build a scaffold that layers in context for enhanced learning.

Eventual result: more self-regulation, independent thinking and success for both of them.

When we have succeeded both children will have less anxiety and need less support.

It benefits our family unit--everyone wins!

Equipment: Picture, Clock and Bell.

The picture shows the relationship between the current situation and the expected behavior.

It shows the stairs to my daughters room and my son. It shows the passage of time and the bell that my son can ring when she is in her room and he wants to be with her.