Children thrive on structure. Daily routines can help a child make sense of his world because they are repetitive and predictable. The more times a child does something the same way, the clearer the meaning of what is happening becomes. When an adult-led activity or routine is fun, motivating and interests a child, they are more likely to attend for longer and to want to participate. The strategies below explain how you can support a child to join in and engage in routines such as story/song time, hand washing, snack time, getting dressed

Create desirable and meaningful activities.

Ensure activities are developmentally appropriate. Use sensory materials or toys to bring the story to life and help your child understand. You could use tissue paper for the grass, playdough for the squelchy mud, a toy bear for the child to move when reading We’re going on a Bear Hunt.

Activities should include the child’s interests, sensory preferences and motivating topics. If your child likes dinosaurs, you might want to choose a dinosaur book, get a toy dinosaur to help sing the song or turn the pages. If the child loves their car or teddy, brush car/teddy’s teeth to encourage teeth brushing. Use a flashing tooth brush if your child is fascinated with light.

Alternate between movement and sedentary activities. E.g. start with action songs, then read a short story, then get up and do some actions from the story.

Use visual supports and language at the appropriate developmental level for the child, e.g. gestures, objects of reference, single words, word combinations and appropriate body language.

Encourage communication and interaction by creating opportunities for your child to join in, e.g. by making a choice, pointing to something, answering a question, holding hands with a peer in an action song like ‘Row your boat’.

Keep activities short and playful. Use fun words, such as ‘wow’, ‘uh’, ‘oh’, gasps, and an excited tone of voice.

Make sure activities are predictable. Ensure there is a clear beginning, middle and end to the activity.

Adding Structure

Beginning - Always announce the routine by saying its name and do something specific associated with it, for example say ‘bedtime’ and show the child their pyjamas or ‘snack time’ and show the child’s bowl. You may want to sing a special song, like ‘This is the way we wash our hands’ to introduce a daily activity. Be consistent and ensure all family members/staff use the same language and visuals.

Middle - Repeat what you say and do during the routine. Do the actions of the routine in the same way and order each time you do them, until the child is very familiar with them. Keep what you say simple and consistent. For example, in circle time always do the activities in the same order such as ‘action song, day of the week/weather activity, story’.

Use visual support to help the child understand the steps in the activity (e.g. objects of reference, photo timeline, pictures, depending on the child’s level).

End - Always make the “finished” sign, saying ‘all done’ or ‘finished’. If you have used a picture to support your child’s understanding, you can now put it in the “finished” container/pocket. You can then say the next instruction, with visual support e.g. ‘And now bed’ or ‘Now outside time’ to let the child know that it is time to move on.

Once the child is able to stay with you for the whole routine, help them get involved. E.g. you can ask them to turn on the water when they wash hands or put arms in sleeves by themselves when they are getting dressed. You could encourage them to make a choice about what song the group is going to sing, supporting the options you are offering with pictures or objects.

Transitioning between activities – define the time the child has to stay in an activity and when it finishes. Use visual support such as a timer. This could be a sand timer or a more flexible ‘token timer’, which adults can speed it up or slow it down depending on how long the activity needs to last and on the child’s mood. If the child is struggling to attend, adults can expect the child to stay for a shorter period of time and can move the tokens more quickly. See the picture to the left – the timer shows the child they have 5 ‘minutes’, then 4, 3, 2, 1 left before the activity finishes, which is when the child or adult can take off the token (that is blue tacked or velcroed on) and put it in the blue pocket. Throughout the activity, the child can clearly see how long they have left to play before they need to move on to the next activity. Adults should do this consistently for each activity, including free play, so that the child understands how the timer works and that they will need to move on once the activity is finished. The adult would then show the child the next object of reference or photo on the visual timetable to show them what is coming next.

Keep it fun and persevere.

Adults can use the same principles (doing things repeatedly and keeping them the same), when teaching the child a new skill, for example how to play a particular game. Always name the game and play it the same way for your child to know what to do.

When your child understands and cooperates with routines, what next? Repeat the routine often with different people and in different places Offer new opportunities for your child to do part of the routines Work on your child’s participation in other daily routines Offer opportunities for your child to communicate with you during the routine - your

Speech and Language Therapist can help with ideas of how to do this.