Welcome back to the final (for now!) part of our Visual Supports Series, where we have been exploring the concept of visual supports and the wide variety of ways they can be applied. 

In Part 1, we covered some of the basics of what visual supports can help us do, and in Part 2, we went over some of the common types of visual supports one might encounter. In Part 3, we covered ways we can use visual supports at home across varying levels of complexity and technology. 

In Part 4, we are taking a closer look at how we can use tools like Canva and PowerPoint to create our own visual supports on the fly for ourselves or for people we are supporting.

Canva, PowerPoint, and other visual presentation software tools are simultaneously an incredible boon for the creation of a huge variety of visual supports and an intimidating technology that might feel too complicated to be used properly. 

But such tools can be incredibly valuable for the specific purpose of visual supports precisely because they strike a balance between customizability and having reliable frameworks on which someone who isn’t extremely design-focused can rely. They can also be a great source of starting points, as the templates they offer might not often be the exact right fit, but can get us close enough that we can fill in the gaps. 

Let’s take a closer look at some things we might consider as we create our own visuals!

As with any tool we use to support our daily living, visual supports are all about how they help us accomplish the tasks we are focused on completing. 

With that in mind, the most important part of any visual is that it is compelling and meaningful to the people who are using it, and when you are creating your own visual, it helps to lean toward images or organization systems that feel “right” rather than ones that seem good in theory. 

This doesn’t mean we can’t try out a variety of options or give something a chance even if we are skeptical! Rather, it’s important when going through the effort of making our own custom visuals to listen to ourselves first and foremost!

While some people might worry about trying too “unorthodox” a solution, others might worry they are not “creative” enough to come up with a visual to meet their needs. 

As with our last section, it is important to emphasize that visual supports are only “good” or “bad” insofar as they help or don’t help us, and for many people starting with a template can be a great way to get in the right ballpark so they can fine tune the final product to meet their specific needs. 

As a bonus, if you find yourself stuck on finding a direction, sometimes comparing your goals to a generic template can help offer the direction needed, rather than just considering them in a vacuum. So, if you find yourself worried, you don’t know what visual will help, consider choosing one of the pre-made templates!

Beyond starting templates, one of the most valuable features of tools like Powerpoint and Canva for people who want to make visuals on the fly without investing an excessive amount of time and effort is that they do some of the work of formatting for you with features like snap tools, which lock graphics into certain spots on a page so that they are centered, exactly along a particular interval, or directly aligned with another graphic. 

For those of us who do not frequently hone our graphic design skills, snap tools can be an incredibly helpful shorthand that bridges the gap between customization, standardization, and familiarity. 

If you feel that the snap tools aren’t meeting your needs in a particular situation, you can always set them to your own specifications!

We hope that this post has offered some helpful starting points for creating your first visuals on a program like Canva or PowerPoint! 

While any tool has its limitations, it can be incredibly useful to add this one to your toolbox for times when only a custom visual will do, either for yourself or with a student or someone you are supporting. 

If you would like to see us cover the topic of visual supports more in-depth or would like to share your own experience, then we would love to hear from you! Just drop us a line at hello@autismgrownup.com and let us know what you think.