Starting a Journal?

Here are some things to consider…

Why use photos? We used photos because visual cues were very helpful for Michael.  If your child loves drawing or words or videos, you could use those as cues. 

Do you need to use composition books? Absolutely not! If your child loves technology, they could create their journal on the computer. Your child could send an e-mail or a quick video to their teachers to share with friends at school the next day. They could send an e-mail each week to a beloved family member.  Be flexible in your thinking and see if you can facilitate your child’s communication.  Maybe they’d like to facetime with a cousin and they could use a visual cue of things they’d like to share.

Michael liked to look at the books he had created, but it is pricey to buy ink for the printer and a pain to print out, cut and paste the photos (if your child can do these steps on their own, great!) They have safety paper cutters, safety scissors and glue sticks or double-sided tape that make the task easier. 

How did you choose which picture to write about? When we began his journal, I took pictures of a few different things during the day and then asked Michael which one he wanted to write about.  He could point and choose reliably at that time.  Once we got started, he seemed to enjoy doing it, so we sometimes did more than one picture/sentence each day.  He also went through a phase in which he enjoyed going back and adding sentences to old journal posts…it is your child’s journal so let their preferences guide you and don’t be afraid to switch gears if needed.

Did you change the format? Yes.  At times, we used underlining and highlighting to help guide his handwriting. We also ended up switching to having him build the sentences on his ipad and then I took a picture of the screen and added it to the journal. This added work for me, but at that time, I felt that the communication piece was more genuinely Michael’s when he used his ipad to build the sentence. There is no one right way…work with your child to figure out what works for them.

How much did you help? As much as Michael needed.  At the beginning, I was modeling how to write a sentence.  Your child might use their communication device to create their sentence (as Michael did with his journal later) or they might type their sentence.  This is your child’s journal so the more autonomy they can have, the better.  Maybe you can start a sentence and let them finish it with icons of a few choices.  For example “I feel…” and present a happy and sad face to choose from.  This can get more complex as your child can handle more vocabulary and a greater number of choices.

How often should they create entries? Again, this is totally up to you.  If you work during the week, maybe you pick one picture to write about each weekend.  Then, at the end of the year, you’d have 52 entries to look back on. At the start, we journaled several times a week and as time went on, Mikey felt strongly that he wanted an entry each and every day. Since it is his journal, we did it the way he wanted. Take your cues from your child and if they don’t mind, maybe start with a weekly entry and see how they like it.

Guiding Principles

Any guiding principles you feel strongly about? As usual, yes.  Thanks for asking!  There are two.

1. KEEP IT POSITIVE. Would you like to look back on a journal of your worst days? I sure wouldn’t. Provide choices of photos or ideas that will help your child build a positive sense of self.  Ideas could include: family, friends, feelings, accomplishments, fun experiences, moments of independence, connections. Like everyone, your child will go through challenging times.  Give them a gift of structuring the journal as a memory of the positive moments.
2. TRUTH. As much as possible, make the entries true to who your child is.  Don’t encourage them to say they love broccoli in hopes that you will make it true. Part of the beauty of the journal is that it allows your child to look back on how they genuinely felt, lived, etc… If you asked Michael what he thinks of broccoli, you’d get a one word answer. “GARBAGE”. While it is true that you will not find this information in his journal because it doesn’t exactly conform to idea #1 (keeping it positive), you will find other foods he loves.

If you have questions, comment here and I will address them…I am here to help. Have ideas you think may help others? Comment here to build our community and help other parents.