Welcome back to our Visual Supports Series, where we are exploring the concept and purpose of visual supports, the variety of visual supports out there, and how we can create and use visual supports across different settings. 

In Part 1, we covered the basics of what visual supports can help us do. 

In Part 2, we will be going over some of the types of visual supports out there and what areas of focus they might serve.

The definition of visual supports (covered in Part 1!) encompasses a wide variety of potential applications in the classroom, at home, or in the community. 

Visual supports can be broadly used as a cue for a large audience or for the benefit of one individual with specific support needs. As we cover visual supports here, we will be doing so through a lens of finding the right tool for an individual or small group with specific needs that could be met through visual support tools.

So let’s start by taking a closer look at some of the contexts in which visual support tools can be especially helpful!

A schedule is only as valuable as its ability to help us stick to it, and it is important that if we are going to be on a schedule, we have a way of checking in on it that’s easy to use and reference at the time it is needed. 

Visual supports in a scheduling context can take many forms, from replacing specific words or phrases with visual representations of an activity to using a visual to indicate which scheduled activity is currently happening. 

Visual supports can also help with how time is presented; a listed schedule with various times can have a very different feel from a schedule with activities represented by filled out time blocks that better visually represent how long everything will take. 

It’s important to remember when using visual supports that some forms of support might be easy to automatically interpret, whereas others might require some practice and preparation to be most effective. As with any visual support tool, you can choose the one that fits your needs or the needs of the person you are supporting!

Structure is a broad term that encompasses the way we prefer to do certain things in a shared space to maintain a healthy, safe, and productive environment. 

Structure might include rules, shared values, steps to most easily complete a task, or a plan that says who does what for a particular activity. 

Visual supports are as versatile as the ways we can create structure and can help establish or reinforce particular structures that we hope to implement. 

A classic example of a structure visual support is a visual reminder of a rule or procedure, such as “Sensory Tools Here” or “Return Books Here.” 

Other examples might include a visual guide for how to complete a specific task in the space where that task is normally performed, a visual designating a specific space like a Self-Regulation Station or Book Nook.

Sometimes, a visual support is not so much about meeting a particular structural goal or setting a schedule but helping to supplement some form of written, physical, or verbal communication with clarifying imagery. 

Clarifying imagery might not offer us perfect context or outright replace the text in question but can nonetheless support our ability to better understand a text or communicate our own needs. 

An example of a general visual might be a book that includes pictures to represent the most important textual moment. A text’s degree of visual supports could range from just a few covering key moments to an intentional structuring of the book so that all of the text is represented by a visual in some form. 

General visuals can also be used as simple communication tools, either as a shorthand for one specific pre-agreed upon form of communication or as an option board to choose from when other forms of communication are temporarily proving difficult. 

The best part about general visuals is that they can be chosen and adjusted based on your specific needs!

We hope this post has offered some baseline ideas for ways in which you might apply visual supports in your own space. 

Whether using them to meet your own executive functioning needs, to communicate across the day, or to make your learning environment more accessible to your students, you may find that one or more forms of visual support can help you navigate your day-to-day tasks and activities! 

If you’d like to share your own experience using visual supports then we would love to hear from you. Just drop us a line at hello@autismgrownup.com and stay tuned for Part 3 where we will hone in on creating visuals at home.