Daily Share
At this stage of Michael’s development, he was using his talking iPad a lot. We wanted to try moving his journal to the iPad. We thought that might allow him to share more easily and more often throughout his school day. So, I wrote this note to his pals in his journal.
It didn’t end up working for us for a few reasons. First, Mikey liked the journal format as he had known it, and he wanted to do it that way. Second, the kids were used to seeing his journal and they continued to ask him for it. Lastly, programming a whole sentence into Mikey’s iPad for him took a lot of his autonomy out of the equation. It felt more like me sharing about Mikey’s day instead of Mikey sharing.
For us, the process of him choosing a photo or two, writing a sentence with help and sharing his completed journal entry with his friends at school felt authentic to Mikey. So, when we experimented with a digital method, we quickly ended up going back to basics.
Hindsight
Part of the beauty of sharing our family’s experiences a decade later is that time has let hindsight make things clearer. Why did I look at it as a choice? Why not do the journal with Mikey as always and then program the daily share button for him to use throughout the day? I could have recreated his thoughts from the journal which would have kept his autonomy intact while expanding his ability to share even when he didn’t have his journal with him.
Maybe my reflection and LATE revelation will help some of you as you start your journaling journey with your special little one. I sure hope so!
Note:
This digital trial was very short-lived! For the blog, to accommodate our special features like Manic Monday and Flash Forward Friday, I sometimes shift the journal entries around. In other words, sometimes I share one that Michael wrote a few days before or a few days after he wrote it. Although the digital trial did last more than one day, I don’t have any of the ‘daily shares’ from the iPad saved. So, to avoid a big gap in our entries, I have shifted some things around and we’ll be back to our usual format tomorrow.
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About the Author
Erica Mauro is a mom to two teenage boys, Will who is neurotypical and Michael with Autism and cognitive delays. She holds a BA in Psychology from Colgate University and a Masters of Psychology in Education from Columbia Teacher’s College. Before staying home with her children, she worked as an elementary school teacher. For five years, she served on the Board of Directors of the Molly Ann Tango Memorial Foundation, a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of children with special needs. In partnership with her husband Dave, she aspires to parent by using daily life as an opportunity for therapeutic intervention, seizing on real experiences as opportunities to build skills and strategies for Michael in a joyful, loving home environment. On the tougher early days, she just tried to get everyone safely to bedtime and start fresh in the morning. *wink* 
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