NOW & NEXT - What, why and how?

A Now/ Next board is a fantastic and simple way to let somebody know what is expected of them NOW and what they get for doing it/ why they should do it NEXT.

We all do things we don’t necessarily want to do because we have a motivator to encourage us to do it - we go to work because we get paid, we wake up early in the mornings because being late means we might get fired. This is the same for children and young people with Autism - we need to give them a reason the engage in the task they don’t necessarily want to do.

NOW - always the demand we are putting on them. NEXT - always their motivator or reward for doing it. Don’t be tempted to use it like a visual timetable, this is not their purpose and motivators/ rewards need to be instant.

Using a visual or a picture on these charts means that you don’t need to use excessive verbal communication to explain what is happening, the child can continually check the expectation and their reward, and it means the request or instruction isn’t coming directly from you - you aren’t the baddie anymore!

It is a great way to start introducing short work tasks or adult-led tasks. Try not to focus on the time scales for activities at first, just work on helping the child get used to the pattern of ‘Demand/ Reward’.

These printables are available from Twinkle who are giving parents free access to resources during the COVID pandemic.