Visual Supports

Visuals refer to photos, symbols, drawings or even text used to increase accessibility of curriculum, environment or communication. Externalizing information through visual means supports students with a huge variety of skills. Here are just a few ways visuals benefit learning: 

• Help buffer for poor working memory

• As compared to verbal input which is spoken and then gone, visuals ensure that communication or instructions are available for students who require more processing time 

• Increase task independence and build confidence

• Helps students with attention, focus or executive functioning skills (sequencing, planning, organization etc.) 

• Provides an alternate method of communication to students with speech and language challenges (both receptive and expressive) or those who cannot yet read text

• Improve predictability of the day, class or task to improve motivation or decrease anxiety

• Provide advance notice of surprise changes, potentially stressful events and teach flexibility 

It may be a lot of work to prepare matching, laminated visuals for everything you might need. While this is a worthwhile use of time for key visuals you use often, remember that they don't need to be fancy! Paper and a pencil or a laminated sheet of paper with a whiteboard marker can be used to draw a simple visual in seconds. Some visual supports need to be accessed quickly, so a giant keyring bursting with cards may not always be practical. 

Daily schedules are commonly used in classrooms to prepare students for the events of the day. They assist with smoother transitions, improve independence and decrease anxiety. Adding visual supports to the daily schedule makes them doubly useful for students (see "What are visuals and Why use them?". Visual schedules for the day's events can be provided for the entire class, usually posted on the board, or on a more individual basis kept at the desk, on cards or clipboards. 

Breaking a multi-instruction task or assignment into more achievable "chunks" or steps can help foster independence in the classroom. This strategy may also help students with motivation, allow for breaks to be placed between steps or to make it clear to a student when they are done with something. Depending on the needs of the child, task lists could include any combination of pictures, text or physical objects. Task lists can be specific with particular steps clarified, or could use symbols to depict how many chunks or repetitions are required. 

Designed for quick access, smaller laminated cards can be carried on a key-ring or lanyard. Beware of having too many visuals as this can make it challenging to access the ones you need quickly. It may be tempting to make very specific visuals, but consider those that can be used across many situations. For example, trying to make a visual for every activity, environment or task can easily become tricky to use. Try basics like "more" "all done" "wait" "help" etc. Trial and error with the visuals you have created is a natural part of the process. 

The passing of time is an abstract concept that may not hold meaning for every student. Depending on their age, stage of development or executive functioning skills, minutes and hours may not be a helpful when providing pre-warnings, transitioning, or estimating length of activity. Not every student can read a clock or understand the numbers on a digital timer. Making time more concrete with visual supports can help clarify "how much longer" or "when". Using visual timers also helps students develop their sense of time. Here are some examples: 

ttps://www.kidsability.ca/uploads/Augmentative%20Communication%20Services%20(ACS)/Sources%20for%20Symbols.pdf