Hello Friends,
Welcome back to another #TogetherThursday This week we are sharing resources on setting up a physical space and routines! Now that we are living in a digital world what kinds of things can be leveraged for our Deaf and Hard of Hearing children, especially when we are trying to be safe? How can we support our kids to be independent and re-focus themselves, even in small spaces?
Tactile and “Real” experiences: No matter the age or modality your family uses, having things your child can touch, interact with, and debrief about are important, especially for a Deaf/HH child. If you have toys, materials and experiences together, make time and space for conversations and routines together.
There is an up and coming idea called a “Yes” Space. Having a “Yes” area can support you when you’re working from home and have half an eye on your work zoom meetings and the other half on your child on the other side of the room.
This is especially important for small children, toddlers and younger elementary friends. They should have an area set up where:
- They have complete physical access to the space(safely)
- They are able to interact and make decisions on what to play with
- They have access to everything they can and should be interacting with(i.e. Toys, materials, art supplies)
- They know that within this space, these things are allowed
This can grow and change as your child grows and changes. As mentioned, clearly this initial idea is for younger friends, but for older tweens and teens, having them set up their own “yes” space with current available snacks for the day, checklists of things to get done and do, ensuring they have a safe space to digitally check in with friends is important. Which can include planning snack time and ensuring healthy choices for snacks within a “self serve snack box”
These yes spaces don’t have to take up a whole room, they can be a corner of a room, a designated rug area, or even a small desk area for older children, where they can complete independent projects. This is especially true for families who may not have a whole lot of space to begin with. If everyone has their own safe “yes” space, then we can learn how to co-work and play together better.
Here are some helpful blogs regarding a “Yes” space:
“The Peaceful Home Part I: Creating “yes spaces”
Parents magazine has something wonderful in regards to “snack planning” for independence and “self serve snack boxes”.
How have you and your family set up for success to support independence in your home with your physical space? What new ideas are you going to try as we move into this school year and there will likely be some part time work from home for most students?
We can, Together,
Ms. Leslie