“Different learning materials can easily be made at home. Picture cards, made from magazine pictures of people engaged in the activity to be learned, are good visual aids. Video and/or audiotapes can be very effective. Many students enjoy seeing themselves on video, or hearing their own voices on a tape. These tapes can help the students assess their own progress, notice mistakes and reinforce a job well done. Models for practicing a skill can also be collected. An old clock to practice telling time, a set of plastic plates, forks, spoons and knives for table setting and an old telephone for practicing telephone dialling skills are all examples of excellent teaching materials that can be found around the home. It is best to use actual items, whenever possible, when teaching new tasks. It can be very difficult for students to learn on a ‘toy’ model or an abstract paper drawing of something and then be able to transfer that to real life situations.”

Kathleen Donohue & Patricia O’Haire
The Parent as Teacher: A Practical Guide for Parents of Developmentally Disabled Adults. Boca Raton, FL: Florida Adult and Comuunity Education Network (ACENET), 1991.