Pen Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Have you taught your dysgraphic children to take phone messages? If so, how? If not, what is your approach instead? This assumes a common phone line that any family member might answer, rather than each person with a separate phone, I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty-two Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 We screen all our calls (no caller id; just listening to the message as they come in), so no one picks up unless it's for them and they want to talk - "taking messages" is letting someone know there's a message for them on the machine ;). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I have not yet. But it may be helpful to have some telephone message paper, similar to what secretaries used to use or maybe even still use today? Just something simple like time of call, name of person calling, phone number to call back, name of person the phone call is for. I would not necessarily have the child take a full message beyond who is calling and the phone number. That may depend on the age of the child. I would also coach the child to ask for the info to be repeated or to parrot back the message to check for errors. A message system could even be more simplified by maybe having checkboxes. For instance, call was received in the morning or night, phone call was for X, Y, Z person, list of common callers and a blank line for name of an uncommon caller (or even just initials). Phone number would be tricky as it would have to be written. Maybe have leeway and the child is taught how to take messages for practice, but in reality is allowed to state to the caller they are unable to take a message and please call back later. That way, the skill is taught but the child doesn't need to fill that role. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 DS rarely answers the phone. I typically don't answer calls during the day and when I do, I know who is on the other end. The answering machine is turned on, and we have caller ID. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Dude, they don't even have to be dysgraphic to have this be an issue. :lol: My dorkball dd does this, not writing down messages and then oh yeah remembering them a day later. :toetap05: After the most recent one, it occurred to me the best way to leave messages, in this day and age, is to text message the person. So I suggest you make sure everyone has a text messaging account on their device of choice, then put the app for it on your ds' personal organizing technology device (ipod touch, iphone, whatever) that he keeps in his pocket to run his life. So when he needs to leave a message, he can TEXT the person. No lost paper, no confusion, done. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberly Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 . 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 When my boys were they were allowed to answer the phone if caller ID showed that it was a relative on the phone. If the relative wanted to leave a message they asked "Would you please call back and I'll let the answering machine take you message?" They got oohhs and aagghhs for that. They still do that because it seems normal to them - only answer phone if it's family, don't scribe messages, let the recorder do it. I guess the next stage in their growing up will be to speak a message into the iPod recorder app. They think that is cool and stylish. We do that for simple things like "go transfer the laundry and take the trash can to the street". Not sure I was any help since my boys have used the last year to solidify their reliance on iPods for "morning routine list", "homework list", "get ready for bed list", "pack for out of town sport event list", "Pack for baseball list", "pack for swim team list", "pack to do homework at doctor's office list"... Their calendars, timers, and alarm clocks are on their iPod. Audio books are on iPod. It helps to coordinate multiple sports, hubby business trips, school assignments I type into computer and it shows up on their iPod, recorder app gets it done. Turns out that our family relies on the kid with the worst working memory to make sure we arrive places on time, even if the meeting time has recently been changed, or know when it's trash day, or get allergy shot day. I guess he can't function without it and the rest of us use it as a nice help. Tonight at dinner we were laughing because we all realized at once that the low working memory guy has it together better than the rest of us together. A year ago he was trying to make do with lists slid into sheet protectors and using a dry erase marker - utter failure. Ticking boxes in an iPod is working. What a year it's been. Can't wait to hear the solution that works for your family! What a success that he is doing so well! Your support of him with scaffolding is great. I know adults who need reminders but don't use them and drop the ball. He is ahead of the game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberly Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 . 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Paragraphing not seeming to work--I am trying to add them, but if it doesn't work, will just leave it as a big jammed paragraph. I am not sure if people still do take messages by hand, but I think it is something that people who call in still think is done. I don't think it is as defunct yet as rotary phones for most people. We have been using the "would you please call back and leave a message for my mom on voice-mail" system, but it had seemed that as ds gets older people find this odd, and still seem to expect that phone messages can be taken. Maybe we have older callers, or live in part of country that is different-not sure. Anyway, I like a bunch of these ideas. Timberly, I really appreciated hearing about your family's success with iPod! I'm not sure that speaking a message into a voice recorder that has at first come from the phone is helpful as compared to just having the person call back and leave one directly on voice-mail, with no confusions in translation...but maybe it comes closer to a written message in today's world. We do not have text-message capabilities and so on, so it would mean needing yet another system of how to get messages taken onto an electronic recorder to then be given to recipient. ???? But I love the idea of using it for checklists and so on, we are still using paper checklists and it is going mixed, so worth a try switching to a digital system probably. For the phone, I am thinking that maybe Displace's idea of a standardized paper checklist to mark off that would stay right by phone would work well. That is how we do our shopping list, with almost all usual items we get only needing to be circled, and the rare thing written in on a few blank lines available.... Possibly that could be used for simple messages, and if it is too complicated for that, then to ask the person to call back and use Voice mail please. Since we do have caller ID, and since it works at least 75% of the time, that would be an extra help both to check on phone numbers and also perhaps to know when to ask if anyone has called and there might be a missing message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberly Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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