What Does Your Mom Do?

In the past few years I have made some changes in my job.  I went from working in the private setting getting most of my clients with private insurance between the ages of 3 and 7, to working in the homes with clients between birth (realistically 18 months) to 3 years, to working in the public school setting with the Autism program.  During all that one thing still was the same I am still a speech path.  In my current job I work with visual cues, visual schedules, and visual everything.

As a mom, my little child has grown to an almost 5 year old and is a great child.  Don't get me wrong I love my child but let's face it. He is an only child and being so most of our lives revolve around him. If we say let's play a game, he gets to pick the game. If we ask for suggestions for dinner and he gives us a good one, we cook it. However, now he has figured it out and will whine/cry/be utterly obnoxious.  I was at my wits end, lots of yelling at my child and sending him away because I was so frustrated with him asking and asking and asking the same question with the answer not changing.

What did I do you ask? Oh you know, I meshed my first occupation with my second occupation and created this: 

Seeing as most of our issues revolve around technology that's what we are working for.  He has to earn 10 "stickers" for iPad and 20 "stickers" for extra tv time.  Some ways to earn stickers are independent tasks like the getting dressed, brushing teeth, and feeding the dog. Where others are adult directed like working on our reading, and cleaning up. Yet there are still others that are randomly given such as no whining, and no timeouts.  

This chart was a simple make (other than the laminator not working), I also found the stickers that have been sent to us in the mail, I laminated it all and put velcro one the board.  I also attached the side strip with velcro so that can change as he gets better at these and gets older.  We will see how it goes tomorrow, but I already know it will work.