Common Types of Visual Supports

Visual Supports for Organization

The primary purpose of visual supports for organization is to provide students with information to help them to plan, sequence, and organize their day or their work. Some examples of visual supports for organization include:

• Calendars

• Visual Schedules

  • Daily Visual Schedule

  • Mini Visual Schedule

• People Locators

• Checklists

• Graphic Organizers

Visual Supports to Help Guide Behavior & Self-Management

The primary function of visual supports for behavior / self-management is to help students learn how to manage themselves when they are having trouble staying on task, when they are anxious or when they encounter a problem. Some examples of visual supports that help guide behavior and self-management, include:

• Time Timers / Visual Timers

• First-Then Cards

• Break Cards

• Choice Boards

• More Examples of Visual Supports

Visual Supports for Social Skills

The primary function of visual supports for social skills is to provide the student with information regarding appropriate social behavior. Some examples of visual aids to support social skill learning, include:

• Social Scripts / Social Stories ™

• Power Cards

• Video Modeling

• Picture Reminders of Social Norms / Rules

Visual Supports for Comprehension

Using visual aids to support verbal directions given by the teacher are beneficial to students as well as to the teacher.

The visual supports will help teachers:

• Use less time for repetition of directions.

• Reduce amount of support needed to manage students.

The visual supports will help students:

• Establish and maintain attention.

• Stay focused long enough to get all of the instructions.

• Clarify instructions.

• Perform tasks to completion.

Visual Supports for Communication

The primary function of visual supports for communication is to aid students who are either nonverbal or extremely unintelligible in expressing themselves (e.g., wants, needs, social information). Often, visual supports designed to aid with communication are classified under the area of Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC). Should you have a student who is nonverbal or extremely unintelligible, speak with your school speech-language pathologist to determine whether the use of AAC is appropriate.

Essentially, most visual supports will aid in the area of communication; however, some specific visual supports that aid with expressive communication include:

• Gestures and body language (e.g., eye contact, facial expressions, hand / body movements such as head nodding / shaking, pointing, waving, etc.)

• Utilizing the natural environment (e.g., signs, posters, objects, and anything else you can see, point to, or touch in the environment that serves as a visual tool for communication)

• Low-technology communication devices (e.g., choice boards & menus, picture dictionaries, charts, informational bracelets, language boards, etc.)

• Higher-technology communication devices (e.g., computer devices, smart phones, electronic tablets, etc.)

(Hodgdon, L., 1995. Visual Strategies for Improving Communication)