Do you find that visuals is too much to process for your kids

[adrianna22]

DS has a LD, ASD and a severe speech and language delay.

I've been teaching DS numbers, but ( from the schools request to use lots of visuals) his finding it hard to process the visuals, so he shuts down. :(

I've realised it's because DS doesn't understand the images. First he needs to understand eg. What a dog is in RL, then he needs to understand that the image is representing a dog etc before he is able to process and so on.

Sorry, pressed "post" too soon.

.... Carrying on.

I've learnt that DS likes doing things, rather than taking in things by pictures. So I brought him some number puzzles 1-10. I took out the remainder 6 pieces, which only remained 4 and he started to enjoy the learning.

I'm a bit worried now as DS latest ep report highly recommended loads of visuals and timetables. But I actually don't think this will help him really or get down to the route of the cause. His the type of kids that needs to understand to process something. So they need to work on his understanding.

I did put down on my parental views- regarding the statement- that DS would benefit from cooking classes, karate as he learns better by doing something and these skills can also work on his understanding.

What could be my next move.

Sorry for the grammatical errors. I make mistakes when I type too fast. Oh well.

Maybe he is a kinesthetic learner, as opposed to an auditory or visual learner. The EP should be aware of this learning style.

I told the EP about this, but she said most 4 year old kids are kinsetic learners...

My experience like Polter has also been that visual stimulus has been absolutely vital and necessary for us. The visual stimulus actualy helps ds process language.

We started with makaton which was like magic for us and prompted ds to attempt speech. Then we used symbols and for sequencing events I would count them off on my fingers but watching that would help him process.

Now he uses a visual timetable highly successfully at home and school. I reaally didn't want to introduce a timetable at home but I could see how much it reduced ds anxiety so it's worth it. It is only very loose at home showing when we are out or in, when lunch comes etc.

I totally disagree they need to understand all symbols first. Especially in the case of timetables etc they are representations and are used just as that to add structure to something that can't be seen ie: time. They learn the system as they use it.

Used appropriately they are very useful and essential to some.

DS hated visuals in ms. Since he's moved to a specialist school he uses them without a fuss. I would imagine it's because they are used properly now instead of just being velcroed to a bit of card and shoved at him.

We don't use visuals at home because he has a set routine but we use them for holidays or if there is a major routine change.

It's probably a good idea to get the visuals in place so your son can get used to them. You might not feel that he needs them atm but as he progresses through school the demands on him will increase and visuals can help alleviate anxiety that comes with it.

around age 5, visuals became very beneficial to my ds. Before that I didn't think they were helpful. Not sure why, maybe I was not using them in the right way or ds just was not interested at that time. At 5 he was able to use visual aids with help from me and school.

DD has a severe information processing disorder, so while the auditory is hard for DD to understand, visual is not the be all and end all either - because she has severe visual perception problems. She needs multi-sensory teaching.

Thanks for the replies.

But if say your kids no issues with change, like my DS, was you worried that they would become dependent on the visuals and not live without one?

Thank you zzzzz, I was worried because most of his recommendations were for him to use and understand a visual timetable.

I will mention (again) that DS will benefit from other supports i.e. cooking classes, gym, music etc.

What I mean is- i.e. Cooking classes to help with understanding and building vocabulary eg. Cup, jug, bowl etc.

My local special school, the kids take karate lessons to help them learn about directions, turn- taking etc.

So I assumed that this may be placed in the statement. Silly me. I'm learning as I go along.

zzzz- what do you mean by ".... Communicates invaluable..."?

Do you mean if the visual timetable ain't used properly, then it's useless?

"communicated is invaluable...." I meant.

None of that gets put in the statement adrianna. DS gets swimming lessons, music lessons and weekly outings to parks or cafes etc but none of that is put in the statement. It comes under things like increasing opportunities to develop social skills or independence and so on.

That is what my daughter is like. She learns by listening and seeing the actual object. Getting her to understand the visual timetable is so hard.

I think a lot of people assume that asd kids are visual learners.

ds2 is very much a kinaesthetic learner, he cant cope with too much visual info or auditory.
I few do use visuals the pictures have to be as plain & simplistic as possible otherwise he is overwhelmed.