Audiobook time
Listening with no screen or pictures to rest the eyes on asks the body to be still while the ears do the work. For a child who wants to move, that is an odd combination. The images below show what a listening session can look like.
♀Listening to an audiobook
A girl with headphones holds a tablet showing an open book while sound waves play.
♀Listening to an audiobook
A girl with headphones holds a tablet with a play symbol and a book, surrounded by sound waves.
♀Girl listening to an audiobook with headphones
A smiling girl with braids wears red headphones and holds up a phone showing a book symbol on the screen.
About this visual support
An audiobook asks for a particular kind of attention. There is nothing to watch, nothing to tap, only a voice and a story rolling on at its own pace. At the same time the body needs to keep a low, even energy, and it is precisely that balance, awake but still, that gets tricky when a child would rather run around.
This is where a visual schedule helps, by giving the eyes and hands a frame to rest in. A picture of the headphones, one of a blanket or a soft spot, and one of what comes afterward give the moment a beginning, middle, and end. The child does not have to wonder how long or how much, because the shape is visible before the listening even starts.
A tip suited to listening: set out something quiet to do with the hands meanwhile, such as drawing or holding a soft toy, and show it as its own picture beside the audiobook. The need to move then gets an outlet without breaking the story. To tie the listening time to a calm part of the day, you can gather the pictures in the Routined app.
Use this image in a schedule
Build your own visual schedule with this image and download it as a print-ready PDF. Completely free.
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Take the visual supports with you
In Routined you build schedules from these pictures, add timers and voice instructions, and your child follows the day on their own.
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