Have you driven the same way to work so many times that you feel like the car could drive itself? Does it ever feel like your car is on autopilot? When you drive the same way from home to work day after day you establish a routine. It is familiar and you know what to expect. Routines are vital for children who have deafblindness. They need the consistency that routines provide. Routines also help children learn what is going to happen next in their lives, (anticipation). Just like you easily learned the way to work when it was in a routine, children will learn a lot easier if the activities are in a routine.

Routines are discussed throughout this book. They are an important strategy in learning for our children who are deafblind. This section focuses on how to establish an effective routine.

Any activity can be a routine. Diaper changing, bedtime, bath time, meal time and getting ready for school are examples of things that happen every day and can easily be structured as a routine. The routine must have a clear beginning. The routine needs to be done in the same way each time. Remember to let the child do what ever they can and reduce your assistance whenever you can. Make sure the routine has a definite end. Knowing that an activity has ended and another has begun is often not understood by children with deafblindness. They are confused and don't know what to expect next. Effective routines eliminate this confusion.

More information can be found in the following links

"Make it Routine" - From the See/Hear newsletter. It is an excellent article about establishing routines.

Getting Started with Activity Routines by Ann Rash and Nancy Toelle, TSBVI Outreach, is also from the See/Hear newsletter.

"Routines", "What do routines look like?", and "Why are routines worth the trouble " - By Millie Smith and found on the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired website.

DISH stands for Deafblind Intervention Strategies for the Home,
click here for the intro and index page