10 Benefits of Visual Schedules for Children with Autism

Visual schedules are a powerful tool for teaching children with autism, increasing their potential to be independent members of society and decreasing stress and frustration in your daily life. I use them daily at my ABA school in Paris.

Benefits of using visual schedules with children with autism

1. They enable you to present information in a visual way.

This makes it easier for your child to understand. Individuals with autism have a strength in visual perception.

2. They show your child the order of events.

You can use visual schedules to visually show your child he needs to do one activity and then another, or to show him several activities that will need to be done during the day.

3. Organize the day and eliminate difficult transitions.

By organizing a full day visually, you will eliminate surprises during transitions that can stress your child and provoke meltdowns.

4. Reduce adult prompts and increase your child’s independence.

By providing visual information, you can reduce your guidance and give your child more independence.

5. They are completely customizable  and therefore, meet the individual needs of your child.

I have included free printable photos for you to use in your visual schedule. You can use these photos, in addition adding your own to your visual schedule.

6. Can be used across different environments – a visual system transfers into a general education setting/workplace to help your child function independently.

You can create visual schedules for home, outdoor activities, school, extracurricular activities, etc.

7. They make you a more confident parent.

With your faithful visual schedules by your side, you will be able to feel confident in your ability to organize your child’s day and activities.

8. They give you more freedom to trust someone else to watch your child.

I often hear that families have trouble leaving their autistic child with someone else, such as a babysitter or family member. Get more tips to help you feel comfortable leaving your child with a babysitter here.

9. Makes it easier for teachers, school aides, therapists and parents to organize sessions and activities.

A visual system is easy for everyone in your child’s life to understand.

10. Produce a greater number of daily opportunities for learning.

All of the visual input available thanks to your child’s visual schedules, will increase the number of available learning activities each and every day!

How will using visual schedules impact your daily life with your child?

The greatest goal in using this type of visual support with children with autism is to decrease stress and increase learning.

Less stress and fewer meltdowns opens up the possibility of increased learning and fun

• You will have more time to have fun as a family.
• Your days will be less stressful.
• As a parent, you will have more energy to enjoy your family life.

How to get the most our of your child’s visual schedule

• I recommend using real photos.
• Make it consistent – using a visual schedule with your child regularly, will help him or her and your entire family reap all the benefits.

You may need…

These are some of my favorite tools to create visual schedules

We have included affiliate links for your convenience. You can read our disclosure here.

I use a laminator to laminate photos and other images to add to the visual schedules I use in my ABA classroom and in private programs at my center. This is similar to the one I use and comes with 10 laminating pouches to get you started.

Laminating pouches are the plastic sheets that you use with your laminator. (If you purchase the laminator above it comes with 10 free laminating pouches.)

When creating all of my visual aids, I use a paper trimmer to get nice straight edges. It’s also a lot faster than using regular scissors.

This  Visual Timetable for Home makes it easy to show your child each step necessary to get ready for the day. You can point to each step or guide your child to complete each step and then remove the image once the task is completed.

These tools help reduce stress and increase learning too

DIY Fidgets

25 Sensory Box Ideas for Your Child with Autism

Adapted Sign Language : Teach Your Child to Ask for what He or She Wants

These visual schedules contribute to your child becoming an independent community member. Learn more about visual schedules in the video below.

Pin for later!

Pin for later!