Cascade of Hope

Visual supports, visual strategies and visual cues are general terms for tools that present information using symbols, photographs, written words and objects. One of the most common visual supports is a visual schedule, sometimes called a picture schedule. This is a set of pictures that show activities or steps in specific activities. For example, a visual schedule can show all the activities in a single day or all the steps involved in a specific activity, like eating a meal.

This approach is for autistic children, but many other children can benefit from visual supports and visual schedules too. This includes children with developmental delay or children who are learning another language.

Why are Visual Schedules Effective?

Visual schedules can be used as effective tools to help in ways like these:

1. Increasing Predictability. Children often thrive off of predictability and structure, especially those with speech and language difficulties. Visual schedules can improve a child’s behavior by providing a sense of calmness. Using them can ease anxiety associated with an unknown, changing daily schedule.
2. Enhancing Communication. Being able to look at a visual representation as instructions and concepts are spoken can support a child’s growing language skills. One research study showed that toddlers were more likely to learn words when language stimulating activities were embedded within predictable events.
3. Improving Attention. A visual schedule can help a child attend to and focus on a certain activity. It provides predictability, which has been suggested to enhance attention. A visual schedule can even be customized by using motivating pictures or photographs.