Using Visual Supports

Visual Choice Boards and Visual Schedules

A CHOICE BOARD IS A SET OF PICTURES THAT REPRESENT TOYS AND ACTIVITIES. These allow a child to make a choice of, in this case, games. I used a collection that included pictures off of the toy package, picture icons, and photographs that I took or pulled off the Internet. The child is invited to pull off a laminated picture with velcro on the back. We then placed that picture on a visual schedule.

A VISUAL SCHEDULE IS A LIST-LIKE SET OF PICTURES TO GUIDE THE ORDER OF ACTIVITIES: We taught children to follow a visual schedule over time. When teaching how to follow a schedule, we rarely deviated from that schedule but over time, we intentionally made changes. It is too easy for children with autism to become stuck in a pattern and we wanted to teach cognitive flexiblity. The framework is suppose to help the child understand what is going to happen so I was willing to change plans if a child wanted to make a change--but if we did, we go back and changed the schedule.

I also made sure that toys were not available sometimes so that we had to make a change in plan. Oops! I might say, as we got to the picture that indicates that a robot game is next, We can't play Robot! The Robot is playing with different kids today! Let's make a new plan! For some children, I spend a lot of time teaching the idea of Oops!

Generally, the visual schedule helps us have a shared vision for the play session and the goal is for everyone to be comfortable with changes if they occur. In life, changes do occur. Play, which is of course meant to be fun, is also meant to strengthen the skills we need in life.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING A VISUAL PLAY SCHEDULE

Note: Some children need real photos but most children, even children who don't yet read, do fine with pretty much anything that remains consistent--including written words for a game.


  1. Look together at the game or activity choices that are available on your Choice Board.

  2. Taking turns with the child or children and choose the games.

  3. After each game was finished, we "checked the schedule" to see what came next.

  4. At the end of playing, we used a song to make a clear ending to the play session.



Music also serves as a great organizing strategy and we ended every session with the same song.

Song from http://www.supersimplesongs.com