More on Communication: Index Cards

As the boys learned to read they became fascinated by written words. Everywhere we went they wanted to read the words on signs. I made this work to our advantage. I started carrying index cards and a marker around with me at all times. If I needed the boys to focus on something I would write the word down on the card and hand it to them. For example, at church their classroom was upstairs in the preschool wing and to get to the outside door we had to walk all the way down a very beautifully decorated, very distracting hall. It would often take us 15-20 minutes just to make our way out of the building. This was only serving to get me, my husband, and our daughter very frustrated. One day we decided to try the cards approach here - I wrote in big letters "CAR" on two cards and handed each boy one while telling them that it was time to go to the car. It worked! They walked down the hall while looking at their cards and we made it all the way out in less than five minutes!!! I did have to remind them a couple of times when they would start to get distracted, but as soon as I would remind them they would look back at their cards and keep on moving.

This, of course, was a continuation of the picture exchange method. Without the groundwork laid by the pictures, the cards would not have worked at all. The main point is to find what interests your kids the most and use it to your advantage. With my boys, written words worked wonders. With your children pictures or sign language may work better. The most important thing is to know your kids and be willing to think outside the box to find what works.