Why We Journal

I thought it might be helpful for us to talk about why we did a journal with Michael in the first place.  It was a way for him to practice ‘talking’ about his day. We used a photo of his choice and wrote about it. For Michael, writing or crafting sentences on his communication device (an AAC app on an ipad) was easier for him than spontaneous conversation.  He brought his journal to school each day and had time to share his entry with one or two peers.

This allowed him to connect with the kids in his class, because it gave them information about Michael as a person that he would have been unable to share verbally. On this particular day, a tee shirt his dad had got him allowed him to share where Dave went to school. This fact would have been way too abstract for Mikey, but he knew he was proud of his shirt that was a gift from his dad.

The journal ended up having many other positive impacts on Michael’s life and I share those in this article: 

We usually kept the journal positive, partially because it was being taken to school each day to share with peers and partially because I really believe that focusing on the positive is a great way to live in general.  Here’s an article about that:

If you’re thinking of starting a journal with your child, here are some ideas.