Arrival & Departure Routines

by Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
June 15, 2024
Using routines and a predictable schedule will help the student anticipate activities. Activities and routines throughout the day should naturally have a clear beginning and an end, so they provide an opportunity for modeling and reinforcing communication. Routines become predictable and provide opportunities to embed target vocabulary. Once a routine is learned, help the student generalize the skills and apply it to new situations.

​Morning Arrival Routine

Create an arrival routine that is customized and accessible for each student.
  1. Upon arrival to the classroom, the student signs in indicating they are present. You may choose to use photos of the student or create object identifiers paired with the student’s name in print (also use braille for potential braille readers). Prompt the student to locate their identifier and move it from the absent board to a place on the present board. Alternatively, encourage the students to sign in on a sign in board or attendance chart to practice their signature or use a signature stamp to sign in.
  2. As the students arrive, greet them by shaking hands, fist bump or elbow bump and practice appropriate social exchanges.
  3. Encourage the students to practice independence by hanging up their coats on a hook that has their name on it to reinforce literacy. This is a natural time to practice disengaging fasteners to remove coats.
  4. Encourage the students to unzip their own backpacks and remove communication folders and deliver folders to a designated file with their name.
  5. As you greet the students, tell them any events outside of their normal routine.

Afternoon Departure Routine

Create a departure routine that is customized and accessible for each student.
  1. Prior to departure, encourage the students to unzip their backpack and pack their own backpacks including placing any communication in their folders.
  2. Encourage the students to put their coats or jackets on with as much independence as possible. Work on engaging zippers, snapping snaps, buttoning buttons, placing arms in sleeves, and putting hats and mittens on.
  3. When the students leave, have the students sign out by moving their name back to “out”.  

ECC Instruction

The ecc
teaching strategies
compensatory skills
Concept DevelopmentAlternative CommunicationEmergent Literacy​Access Print
​Pre-Braille ​Braille Code​​​Braille Formatting
​Braillewriter​​Slate & Stylus​​Tactile Graphics​Nemeth Code​Access Classes​Abacus ​Organize​​Study Skills​Time Management​​​​Listening Skills
assistive technology
social skills
Self determination
sensory efficiency
Sensory Input
​​​Sensory Areas & Rooms​​​
​Auditory ReadinessVisual Efficiency Skills​Optical Device Instruction​Tactual Efficiency​Tactile Readiness ​
Independent Living
​ Eating & Table MannersClothing IdentificationTelephoneFood PreparationMoney & BudgetService Agencies​SafetyHygiene & GroomingPersonal HealthHousehold Skills​​Shopping & Consumerism
Orientation & Mobility
Recreation & Leisure
career & vocational