Show me what I need to do – Visual Schedules

For children with autism, visual schedules can be the key to success. Rather than telling them what to do, many times its important to show them in the form of visual schedules. Visual schedules can vary widely depending on the ability level of the child. They can be all text, symbols, pictures or objects. They can show the schedule for the entire day or for a single activity. The most important thing to realize is that even if the first form of a visual schedule doesn’t seem to work well, that doesn’t mean that visual schedules won’t work.

The first things to do when creating a visual schedule is to decide what needs to go into the schedule. Does it need to show just the activities, or does it need to show the single steps in an activity broken down. The second decision regards what you’re going to use to make the schedule. Is it going to be pre-printed, are you going to use a velcro strip on which to place the different symbols, is it going to be on the computer, are you going to use objects? What ever you use it is important to plan out the form of the system and how you’re going to use it before you start in order to make the transitions to using schedules smooth.

When introducing the visual schedule, it should be shown to the child and then attention should be drawn to it again upon initiating and completing each item on the schedule. Many times when an item is completed on the schedule something is done to indicate that step is completed. If it is a written schedule, the item can be checked off. If it is a schedule on a velco strip, the item can be removed and place in an “all done” container. Whatever method you choose, the child should be part of the process so they are seeing the transition from one activity to another within the schedule. If the adult manages the schedule it has less meaning to the child and will be less effective.