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LEVEL 1 - Help the student to develop a highly structured daily schedule. Schedule everything that the student should or will do during the day. Create a simple form with times of the day organized into 30-minute slots of time. Start with the basics of getting up in the morning, washing face, brushing teeth, etc. Schedule meals, chores and “rehab” activities. Also remember to schedule in break periods several times a day, which should last 30 minutes to an hour. Every day should be similar in schedule. Create and review each day’s schedule with the student and keep the schedule posted in several places around the home. Refer to the schedule often with the student throughout the day, especially when changing activities. Ask questions such as, “What are you supposed to do next?” When appropriate, have the student fill out the schedule with your assistance.

LEVEL 2 - Either use a calendar already in the student’s home or make a realistic one up on paper. Ask the student to tell you what day, date, month, and year it is. Show the student on the calendar what the date is. Cross off days that have passed. Review this date with the student often throughout the session and the day. Write important events, such as appointments and birthdays, on the calendar. Talk about the events coming up in the next several days. Encourage caregivers to keep calendars around the house and to review the date several times a day.

LEVEL 3 - Ask the student to provide the month, date, year, and day of the week before checking the calendar. Then proceed as in Level 2.

LEVEL 4 - Ask the student to provide the date of a day removed in time. For instance, ask what the date will be tomorrow, next week, in 10 days, 5 days ago, etc. Ask the number of weeks or months until, or since, important dates, such as Christmas, birthdays, etc. Refer to the calendar as necessary.

LEVEL 5 -  Ask the student how much time has passed since specific events have occurred. For example, ask how long it has been since lunch, since the last visit to mall, the last time the person saw a movie, the last trip out of town, etc. Talk about events that happened a few hours ago, a few weeks ago, months ago, or even years ago. Help the student develop a chronology of events in time.

LEVEL 6 - Once the student is able to follow and be responsible for his own daily schedule, encourage him or her to buy a schedule book or calendar that can easily be carried.

LEVEL 7 - Acquire an inexpensive electronic personal organizer or scheduler, preferably one with an alarm function on it (this will also assist with memory and problem-solving skills). These can be bought at local discount department stores or at office supply retail stores. Help the student learn how to use the device, program the device and encourage them to use the alarm functions to increase success in recall of daily routines and schedules or even for medication times.

 LEVEL 8 - Help the student to make a Memory Notebook. Things that could be included can be 1) an autobiographical background section to assist the student with long-term, recent and short-term memory, 2) a section for daily schedules, 3) a section for medication schedules, 4) important telephone numbers and family/friends’ names, etc. Make it part of the student’s routine that the notebook be referenced for information several times daily in response to specific questions, (for example, “What time are you supposed to do your worksheets?” or “Can you find that information in your notebook?”).

LEVEL 9 - A “daily activity” could be to check this Memory Notebook and mark off things that have been completed for that day or week. At this point the student should be taking on more of the responsibility for keeping his notebook and daily schedule up to date and following it as appropriate. Give the student more opportunity to use the notebook more independently by suggesting that he or she check the notebook to see if there is anything to be done or if they might have certain information handy.

LEVEL 10 - The student should be using the memory notebook spontaneously and independently. The student might want to transfer this and similar information into a more effective and efficient daily calendar or electronic, personal organizer.