How can Visuals Help?

 Visual supports are non-verbal ways for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to communicate their needs and make sense of the world around them. Children with autism benefit from using visual supports for a variety of reasons. A nonverbal child can use a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) to communicate his/her needs.

A child who benefits from routine and knowing the order of the day might use a visual calendar or schedule to familiarize himself/herself with upcoming events. A child who struggles with transitions such as leaving his/her home and getting on the school bus or tidying up toys might find pictures illustrating the appropriate steps helpful.

 Visual aids expand a child with autism’s ability to interact with his/her surroundings. They can give children a sense of autonomy and allow them to make choices and express needs. Visual aids also help children comprehend daily rhythms and have input in their activities. Perhaps most importantly, visual aids can open lines of communication between children with ASD and their caretakers.

Families who previously struggled to understand their child’s needs, endured meltdowns, and tried to reassure anxious children, can find some respite in opening lines of communication. Most importantly, children can learn how to express their desires, ideas, personalities, and wishes in a way they could not before.

 Feelings and emotions charts can help children who struggle to communicate their emotions by providing them with clear visuals to which he/she can point. Charts can show a few emotions such as happy, sad, angry, and scared or display a diverse range of emotions to include mischievous, skeptical, confident, enraged, or any other emotion you chose to include. These charts can be useful in a theropy setting as well to provide a visual aid for children practicing appropriate facial expressions. They can also act as a field guide of sorts to help children identify the emotions of people with whom he/she interacts. 

 Visual schedules and timetable cards let children know what the rhythm of their day is. Schools often use a visual schedule to give students an idea of what subjects they will be covering and in what order, but many children with ASD benefit from visual schedules at home as well.

Schedules not only let children know what to expect in a day but allow them to prepare for upcoming transitions and changes to routine. For example, a holiday might mean that family is coming to your house midday. This disruption of a schedule can be hard but seeing that the morning routine and evening routine is the same can offer your child some stability.

Some children benefit from several schedules identifying which days are school days and which days are home days, a timetable breaking down the flow of the day (i.e., morning routine, LEGO bricks, snack, outside time, lunch, etc.), or the steps to a particular task such as hand washing or getting dressed. Allowing your child to have as much input as possible into his/her daily schedule provides ownership of his/her day and how time is spent. A child who uses PECS might choose from his/her “play” board whether he/she wants to jump on the trampoline or do a puzzle during play time.