Practical Guide to Visual Supports for Parents

What even are these things?

Visual Support is a term that means using visual information (like pictures) to support the things you tell a child using spoken language. Visual schedules mean when information about the schedule for the day, week or month is given in visual format.

Why would you want to use these things?

Lots of times, when we give information to our kids, they forget it. That could be because they’re little, or even because that’s just the way they’re wired. I know if I write something down I’m much more likely to remember it. And visual schedules work much like a diary – most adults use a diary to keep track of what we have to do, and kids can benefit from this too.

In addition, when kids have anxiety, ADHD, delays, or are autistic, they can have extra processing challenges that mean pictures work better with words. By providing images that give information it lets our kids refer back to it if they forget – which can reduce anxiety, reduce confusion, and reduce the number of questions they ask you. It can also mean you can avoid that trap of constantly telling kids what to do – because you can refer to the schedule.

How can you implement visual supports?

There are lots of ways – and most of the time it’s ok to choose the ones that fit with your family. If your child has significant difficulties with language or understanding you’ll probably need some help from a Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist or Psychologist. But in the meantime, try the suggestions below to see if it helps.

Here are the steps I follow to create visual supports:

Consider what are the tricky times, or challenges you’re facing over and over, and that’s a good place to start. Is it the bedtime routine when you’re trying to clean the kitchen? Is it getting ready for the morning? Maybe it’s keeping track of what activities are on which days? When my kids were young their father did shift work, so we used a calendar to show what days he’d be home.
Common visual routines include:
– morning routine
– after school routine
– evening routine
– calendars that include what activities are on which week

As kids get older, family calendars can be used to convey information to kids – still by pictures!

Visual supports for certain tasks can help too. Some examples include:
– a visual list of all the items to pack in the schoolbag
– visual steps of what chores kids can do
Consider what kind of image would be best for your child. If they’re developing fairly typically and you need routines to make things smoother, it probably doesn’t matter too much. You could use cartoon pictures from a Google search, or any kind of visual chart from a store. If your kids have trouble processing information and will find it hard to work out what the picture means, remove that barrier by making it more concrete for them. You can do that by taking pictures of the actual items or tasks to put on the schedule and use those instead.
Create the routine – trying to keep the information as concrete as possible. Use the words that you would use in your family, like ‘morning jobs’, after school tasks’ or ‘bedtime steps’. Use easy-to-understand words to go alongside the tasks, with simple pictures that get the meaning across.
Guiding principles:
– start out simply and you can always add extra steps later. It’s hard work to get used to a new habit, so starting simple means you’re more likely to succeed. Once the process is familiar, you can make it more complex.
Talk to your kids about the process. You want to get some buy in to this new process – so talk to your kids about how it will help them and you. For example, maybe it’s a way to help them remember, but also a way so that you can remember. And so that they can check the chart if they forget, and you don’t always have to remind them (especially if they don’t like that!).
Monitor the progress. See how things are working out, and involve your kids in making any adjustments. For example, maybe you need to change the order of some things based on how your kids think or want to do things. Maybe you need to simplify it?

Ok. But how to you ACTUALLY make one?

I use Word a lot of the time – with a simple two-column table. I put words on one side, and the picture on the other. It doesn’t have to be fancy, and I like this cheap and quick version so that it’s easy to make changes. Just make, print, and blue tack exactly where they need it.

I’m also a big user of magnets, as they are durable and long-lasting, but also make it easy to change the routine. You can use these on magnetic note boards, or small handheld magnetic whiteboards that you can put in other rooms.

Some examples of places that sell things online include:

https://www.missionmagnets.com.au

https://preppdkids.com.au/collections/routine-reward-charts

https://organisinglifebeautifully.com.au/products/kids-routine-magnets

There are wooden options available too, such as these:

https://www.secondscout.com.au

Where to put the chart?

You need to have it at eye level so your kids can easily read it. And put it in the place they’ll be when they do the tasks. I have our morning routine on the fridge, the bedtime routines on the bedroom doors upstairs, and the calendar in the kitchen. I’ve used teeth cleaning steps on the bathroom mirror, and now that my kids are older there are steps on how to clean the bathroom for chore day.

BUT…

One common concern I get asked about is that kids might get stuck on things going to the schedule, and have trouble being flexible about it. I understand that, but I have found that if most of the information is predictable, kids can handle a little bit of change a lot better. In fact starting with visual schedules and routines is a great way to introduce some uncertainty and help your kids handle this. You can do this by…

Introducing the Question Mark!

Once the routines and schedules are established, you can introduce some elements of change. You could do this by talking to your kids about adjusting the routine, and moving some things around. Then you can introduce the Question Mark! This is a great way to introduce some uncertainty that’s not too big to handle. Start by adding a question mark to the schedule to represent that you don’t know what’s happening at that time, which can be as simple as planning to go to either the park or the library. Pick two things your child likes, so they will enjoy it – it’s just the uncertainty they’re getting used to. Once they’re managing this well you can use it to represent bigger unknowns, like perhaps doing things for the first time. Who knows, maybe even your child can choose what the family does?

Hot tips:

Taking pictures of your kids doing the steps is a great way to involve them in the process and make sure they understand what you want them to do
If you’re buying a magnetic option, look for a kit with blank tiles so you can stick your own picture on them if the kit doesn’t cover everything you need.

If your kids don’t like it and take the routines down – think about whether you’ve spent enough time discussing it with them and getting them on board. Ask what they think and see if you can problem solve it together. If you still have difficulty, seeing an allied health professional can be helpful.