Predicting the Future: Ideas for Helping Your Learners Understand Time (and Why It's Important)
Part 1
Our ability to reliably predict something in the future is important to us. Predictability is reinforcing. Many of us don’t like surprises. We like to have control of our lives. In the event we can’t control something, we generally like to know as much about that thing as possible. The more information we have on something, the more we can predict its locations or actions.
Time is relevant to all of us and it’s sometimes hard to understand. The future is unknown. The past is sometimes so distant that we struggle to remember things. Time can slip away quickly and other times it stands still. We lose track of time a lot. In the same way that space is an abstract concept so is time and the future. We use maps, states, counties, and cities to help us understand and organize the abstractions of space. Similarly, we use days, dates, months, years, hours, clocks, and calendars to help us understand and organize the abstract nature of time.
Clocks and calendars are basically maps. Clocks help us measure time as it relates to events that might happen today (When is my next meeting?). Calendars help us grasp those events that are a little more distant (When is my next dentist appointment?) They give us an idea—a context—in helping us understand where we are in the present relative to where something is in the future (or past). And, since it makes the unknown future a little bit more predictable, it’s comforting.
Imagine you were given a deadline for an important project but weren’t given a due date nor could you access a calendar or clock. The anxiety would creep in immediately. It’s because tools like calendars and clocks are reinforcing in and of themselves. They help us make sense of our environment. They themselves comfort us, too.
Our learners aren’t any different. The ability to predict what happens next or later on is just as comforting to them as it is to us. Unpredictability leaves them just as anxious (and even more so if they can’t vocalize their concerns). The use and knowledge of tools to help them understand time is just as important for their anxiety as it is for you and I.
So how do we do it?
This week I render the tip of the iceberg when it comes to helping learners measure and predict what is happening in their days, months, and futures. We’ll focus on the beginning stages of visual schedules, the most basic kinds, and the various phases of getting your learner to a place where they reliably can predict what will happen in their more immediate futures. We’ll call today’s newsletter “Part 1” of a more elaborate series on helping your learners use tools that help them understand this strange concept.
First-Then Boards and Token Economies
At first glance, one might consider first-then boards and token economies as tools that simply remind learners about what they are working for or what they have to do to get it—it helps them understand a contingency. First we go to the bathroom and then we get to play legos. For the purposes of helping our learners understand time, however, these items are more than that. Our basic goal in the beginning stages is to help our learners get in the habit of looking at a symbol or tool that helps them predict the onset of another thing.
I’m not as crazy about first-then visuals as some people are. But their value in what we’re trying to do is priceless. As I mentioned, our goal here is to help our learner resort to a tool that helps them understand the passage of time. Most of these tools are visual ones and the first-then is one of the most basic visuals you can use. It doesn’t measure time as we might consider it. But, it visually informs the learner about what happens next. Again, this gets them in the habit of looking at a symbol or picture to make an inference about the future. That’s basically the same thing we do every time we look at our watch or calendar.
In some corners of ABA, there’s an over dependency on token economies. That’s another conversation for another time. However—and again—token economies help learners judge where they are at in the present as it relates to something preferred in the future (aka the reinforcer they get when they earn all of their tokens). It’s an advancement from the first-then board because a learner now notices that there are incremental steps to gaining access to the reinforcer. Each step is represented by a token and it allows the learner to measure where they are at in relation to that future event (the reinforcer).
Basic Visual Schedule.
When I say basic, I mean basic. No words. And the visuals should be limited to only three or four pictures (in the beginning, anyway). So often we like to introduce a visual schedule with a picture for circle time, for outdoor time, for lunch, for snack, for social time, for toileting. Not a bad idea, but in the beginning stages, you might want to introduce pictures that represent events that are very unique and salient parts of the day that generally don’t change from day to day either. Here’s an example scenario for a kiddo receiving full time, center or school based services.
The schedule (pictures should be presented in a column from top to bottom):
Picture of Caregiver(s)—removed first thing, right after arrival at the center
Picture of ABA center—removed at lunch time, when grabbing lunch box or entering lunch area.
Picture of Lunch (removed after lunch when discarding lunch items)
Picture of ABA center (removed right before caregiver exchange at the end of the day)
Picture of Caregiver(s)—never removed
You’ll notice that these are three basic events that follow the same pattern every single day. We’re trying to sell the learner that this visual schedule actually helps them predict their environment. So, we need to include only events that are very predictable. Arriving, eating lunch, and leaving are three events that are just about guaranteed to occur each day. If a visual schedule isn’t accurate and doesn’t predict future events, the learner is likely to find it useless.
Additionally, you’ll also notice that each of the events are salient and pronounced events. These aren’t events that you miss if you blink. Drop-off, lunch, pick-up (and maybe nap) are arguable the most salient parts of the day. If I’m a learner, a change to my visual schedule needs to reflect that a noticeable change in my environment is about to occur.
Finally, you’ll note that there are only three pictures we’re using: A picture of caregiver(s), a picture of the center, and a picture of lunch. At this point in time, these are new symbols of upcoming events and we don’t want to overwhelm our learner with 10 different symbols to start. As it often is with programs, starting small is the name of the game.
In the coming weeks I’ll talk about the next phases in using visual schedules. This ultimately culminates in the learner reading calendars and to-do lists. Additionally, I’ll do my best to put together a skill sequence in this area to make things more comprehensive. As always, remember that every learner is different and it’s up to you, the clinician, to make the right judgement call. The above information is only general framework that I’ve used with success with some of my learners.
With all of that said, what questions do you have? What are some of the things you’ve done to help your learner predict and measure time? Hit me back!