Visual Schedules show your child / student what needs to be done and when.
If your child responds to posters or books, you might try creating a 'Visual Daily Schedule' to teach things like ‘Daily living skills’. There are many more ideas of how they work, online. Of course, most 'visual supports' work best if they are accompanied by verbal prompting, and auditory cueing, or other visual encouragement. The ultimate goal is that with practice, your child will lean to independently use these visuals to dress or bathe.
All visuals should be age appropriate and they should find the person at their level of understanding. If the person is a very ‘literal’ thinker/learner, which many with ASD are, then you may want to take actual photos to use on their schedule, instead of graphics. Also, they may not be able to ‘generalize’, using one routine in two different places.
< My Thoughts > “…one routine…”
Persons with autism thrive on consistency and ‘routine’. Self-regulation, when learned, can make everyone’s life a little bit easier. Unfortunately, when things change, the results of therapeutic strategies fade, and lives are interrupted. And, transferring skills from one setting to a different one may be impossible for the child with autism. Therefore, you can make a new visual schedule for each activity or event you anticipate that your child /student may struggle with.
Staff Writer (2018) offers Tips & Strategies when introducing a visual schedule.
Visual schedules may be used to:
'Individuality' is the key to addressing concerning and challenging behaviors. Each child has an individual 'needs' profile. Behaviors are responses to your child’s perception of what is happening in his or her immediate environment. Behavior responses are very individual, depending on who your child is developmentally, at the moment; and your child’s personality, individuality, and mindset.
< My Thoughts > "...at the moment..."
Individuality, and who your ASD person is 'at the moment' is key to the success of any type of behavior intervention. Whenever possible, let your 'person' engage in the creation of the visuals.
You might try creating a Visual Schedule to teach about upcoming events. Visual Schedules which show what needs to be done, in stages, and completion dates. Making them should include your child / student which takes patience and creativity. Of course, social stories and verbal prompting or other visual and auditory cueing may become necessary.
< My Thoughts > “…auditory cueing…”
Several things need to be kept in mind though when creating and designing helpful visuals. Those things are that not all people are visual learners. Sometimes the visual schedule can be accompanied by an auditory backup, or use of a Smart Phone App to ensure the outcome you are hoping for. Another thing is that all visuals should be age appropriate and they should find the person at their level of understanding. Be sure to have a 'completion' step with child moving time or tasks out of view. You know your child best, so 'build-in' positive motivations and rewards.
Remember that these basics about the the ASD person's needs still apply –
1. Action (What is going to happen?)
Visual of the anticipated event / activity.
2. Use digital pictures of time (When is it going to happen?)
See that on the Visual Schedule the order in which the activity /event will happen.
3. Positive/reward (What is in it for me?)
I will still go to the playground today, but not until the Visual Schedule says 2pm.
4. Next Step / Plan (What happens now?)
What to do while I’m waiting? Watch TV, look at a book, or do a puzzle.
5. Review & Role Play (Who will rehearse or roleplay with me?)
Read the Visual Schedule several times with me, so I know what is going to happen.
If your child responds to posters or books, you might try creating a 'Visual Daily Schedule' to teach things like ‘Daily living skills’. There are many more ideas of how they work, online. Of course, most 'visual supports' work best if they are accompanied by verbal prompting, and auditory cueing, or other visual encouragement. The ultimate goal is that with practice, your child will lean to independently use these visuals to dress or bathe.
All visuals should be age appropriate and they should find the person at their level of understanding. If the person is a very ‘literal’ thinker/learner, which many with ASD are, then you may want to take actual photos to use on their schedule, instead of graphics. Also, they may not be able to ‘generalize’, using one routine in two different places.
< My Thoughts > “…one routine…”
Persons with autism thrive on consistency and ‘routine’. Self-regulation, when learned, can make everyone’s life a little bit easier. Unfortunately, when things change, the results of therapeutic strategies fade, and lives are interrupted. And, transferring skills from one setting to a different one may be impossible for the child with autism. Therefore, you can make a new visual schedule for each activity or event you anticipate that your child /student may struggle with.
Staff Writer (2018) offers Tips & Strategies when introducing a visual schedule.
- Start with one task, routine, or activity
- Minimize instructions, make them developmentally appropriate
- Use ‘steps’ to help with ordering & self-regulation
- Let the child /student help create the schedule
Visual schedules may be used to:
- clarify expectations – what the students do / what the teacher will do
- organize the events of the day – step-by-step
- provide concrete reminders of what to do – in the correct order
- provide structure during unstructured times – like transition periods
- help make the day more predictable – less anxious & unexpected
- redirect child back to the current activity – show steps completed / next
- alleviating anxiety & help self-regulation – or, unwanted behavior
'Individuality' is the key to addressing concerning and challenging behaviors. Each child has an individual 'needs' profile. Behaviors are responses to your child’s perception of what is happening in his or her immediate environment. Behavior responses are very individual, depending on who your child is developmentally, at the moment; and your child’s personality, individuality, and mindset.
< My Thoughts > "...at the moment..."
Individuality, and who your ASD person is 'at the moment' is key to the success of any type of behavior intervention. Whenever possible, let your 'person' engage in the creation of the visuals.
You might try creating a Visual Schedule to teach about upcoming events. Visual Schedules which show what needs to be done, in stages, and completion dates. Making them should include your child / student which takes patience and creativity. Of course, social stories and verbal prompting or other visual and auditory cueing may become necessary.
< My Thoughts > “…auditory cueing…”
Several things need to be kept in mind though when creating and designing helpful visuals. Those things are that not all people are visual learners. Sometimes the visual schedule can be accompanied by an auditory backup, or use of a Smart Phone App to ensure the outcome you are hoping for. Another thing is that all visuals should be age appropriate and they should find the person at their level of understanding. Be sure to have a 'completion' step with child moving time or tasks out of view. You know your child best, so 'build-in' positive motivations and rewards.
Remember that these basics about the the ASD person's needs still apply –
1. Action (What is going to happen?)
Visual of the anticipated event / activity.
2. Use digital pictures of time (When is it going to happen?)
See that on the Visual Schedule the order in which the activity /event will happen.
3. Positive/reward (What is in it for me?)
I will still go to the playground today, but not until the Visual Schedule says 2pm.
4. Next Step / Plan (What happens now?)
What to do while I’m waiting? Watch TV, look at a book, or do a puzzle.
5. Review & Role Play (Who will rehearse or roleplay with me?)
Read the Visual Schedule several times with me, so I know what is going to happen.
Some Visual Schedules may be made with 'pockets' to emphasize the step-by-step progression of the activity / events. When Step One is complete, then the Step One Card is moved to the 'Done' side of the chart. Thus, continuing until all 'steps' have been completed. (SDIs are Specially Designed Instruction which are expressed in step-by-step parts; or, task goals broken-down into 'doable' sections.)
< My Thoughts > “…step-by-step..."
Step-by-step progression for engaging in, and completing the target behavior / activity allows for both individuality and independence.
Things to consider –
Havlik, K. (2021) advises that Visual Schedules are an intervention that can help individuals with autism follow a routine, transition between activities, develop new skills, and reduce dependence on caretakers when completing daily activities. A visual schedule is a sequence of photographs, videos, line drawings, symbols, text, or another visual format that is used to show its user what he or she is expected to do.
< My Thoughts > “…what he or she is expected to do.”
Parents and teachers must give children ‘expectation’ to tie onto. In other words, does the child have a clue as to what you are talking about? Does the child have the ‘skills’ or the ‘motivation’ to work through the whole task? The targeted skill may have ‘parts’ which the child has not learned nor mastered, yet. Does the child have the ‘cognitive development ability’ to connect the dots; or, to see ‘purpose’ for the action? Sometimes, learning and doing in ‘stages’ will take longer, but get you there in the long run.
Visual Schedules become SDIs, Specially Designed Instructions, in ‘teacher’ talk (as mentioned in the last image).
PaTTAN Staff Writer (2024) notes that when a child is in school, there may be a ‘virtual’ environment to support them. Schools may have available iPads, computers, talk-to-text/speech, or other supportive systems to meet the children’s needs. There may also be collaborative organizational supports for the development and delivery of SDIs, like Visual Schedules. Videos of the child using a Visual Schedule can be made to review and continue instruction.
PaTTAN also suggests that student should become advocates, stating their needs, understanding, and misunderstandings. There needs to be necessary supports (sometimes audio), plus plenty of feedbacks and reviews on both sides.
< My Thoughts > “…step-by-step..."
Step-by-step progression for engaging in, and completing the target behavior / activity allows for both individuality and independence.
Things to consider –
- Where will the visual schedule be placed?
- Will the visual schedule be presented horizontally or vertically?
- How many objects, pictures, or written words should be on the visual schedule for the child to be successful?
- How will the child track the completion of tasks (e.g., move visual over to the ‘done’ side; use a pocket, or use Velcro to move aside for completed activities; place a checkmark or cross off. Take the task completely off the visual field.)
Havlik, K. (2021) advises that Visual Schedules are an intervention that can help individuals with autism follow a routine, transition between activities, develop new skills, and reduce dependence on caretakers when completing daily activities. A visual schedule is a sequence of photographs, videos, line drawings, symbols, text, or another visual format that is used to show its user what he or she is expected to do.
- Identify the ‘targeted skill’
- Break into easy to do ‘steps’
- Choose ‘short’ or ‘long’ schedule
- Select ‘stick drawings’, ‘images’, ‘photos’
- Schedule by ‘time’, ‘activity’, or ‘event’
- Have a ‘check box’, or move cards from ‘do’ to ‘done’
- Include a ‘treat’ to motivate completion
< My Thoughts > “…what he or she is expected to do.”
Parents and teachers must give children ‘expectation’ to tie onto. In other words, does the child have a clue as to what you are talking about? Does the child have the ‘skills’ or the ‘motivation’ to work through the whole task? The targeted skill may have ‘parts’ which the child has not learned nor mastered, yet. Does the child have the ‘cognitive development ability’ to connect the dots; or, to see ‘purpose’ for the action? Sometimes, learning and doing in ‘stages’ will take longer, but get you there in the long run.
Visual Schedules become SDIs, Specially Designed Instructions, in ‘teacher’ talk (as mentioned in the last image).
PaTTAN Staff Writer (2024) notes that when a child is in school, there may be a ‘virtual’ environment to support them. Schools may have available iPads, computers, talk-to-text/speech, or other supportive systems to meet the children’s needs. There may also be collaborative organizational supports for the development and delivery of SDIs, like Visual Schedules. Videos of the child using a Visual Schedule can be made to review and continue instruction.
PaTTAN also suggests that student should become advocates, stating their needs, understanding, and misunderstandings. There needs to be necessary supports (sometimes audio), plus plenty of feedbacks and reviews on both sides.
References:
Havlik, K. (2021). Visual Schedules, a Practical Guide to Families; University of Utah. Retrieved online from https://ed-psych.utah.edu › autism-training-grant
PaTTAN Staff Writer (2024). Specially Designed Instruction (SDI). PaTTAN is the Special Education Department part of the Pennsylvania Training & Technical Assistance Network. Retrieved online from –
https://www.pattan.net/assets/PaTTAN/73/73631666-fe76-403d-bdc6-20f092ebf400.pdf
Staff Writer (2018). Visual Schedule Tip Sheet; Children’s Autism Scheduling of Edmonton; Retrieved online from – https://childrensautism.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/visual-schedule-tipsheet.pdf
Havlik, K. (2021). Visual Schedules, a Practical Guide to Families; University of Utah. Retrieved online from https://ed-psych.utah.edu › autism-training-grant
PaTTAN Staff Writer (2024). Specially Designed Instruction (SDI). PaTTAN is the Special Education Department part of the Pennsylvania Training & Technical Assistance Network. Retrieved online from –
https://www.pattan.net/assets/PaTTAN/73/73631666-fe76-403d-bdc6-20f092ebf400.pdf
Staff Writer (2018). Visual Schedule Tip Sheet; Children’s Autism Scheduling of Edmonton; Retrieved online from – https://childrensautism.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/visual-schedule-tipsheet.pdf