Using Visual Supports - Child Care Answers

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Using visuals to support everyday routines and transitions

As adults we use visuals every day. Some examples include calendars, to-do lists, maps, and assembly instructions. Therefore, it isn’t hard to see why children would benefit from similar supports. While visual support can be especially helpful for children with special needs, all children can benefit from the developmental learning that visual supports provide.

What are visual supports?

Visual supports are communication tools that use pictures, symbols, or words to help children understand and participate in daily routines and learning experiences. They act as cues to guide children through particular routines or to develop specific skills. Examples include routine boards, visual schedules, and checklists. Visual supports help provide structure and predictability, improve understanding, reduce frustration, and promote interaction and independence.

How visual supports grow with children

Visual supports should begin with pictures or photos for infants and toddlers, helping them make connections between what they see and what they experience. As children grow and develop literacy skills, visuals can include simple words or short phrases alongside pictures. This helps them with distinguishing between images and symbols, word-object associations, vocabulary/comprehension, and the concepts of “beginning, middle, and end,” which reinforce the narrative structure of reading. Over time, as reading skills strengthen, supports can rely more on written words, helping children transition from visual learning to early reading and comprehension.

Visual supports build skills

Language and communication skills
Comprehension and understanding
Organization, scheduling, and choice-making
Rules, reminders, and following directions
Transitions
Emotional regulation and reducing frustration
Reinforcing specific skills and/or behaviors
Promoting independence and confidence

Examples of Visual Supports

Family photos of polaroids on a string with clothes pins

Why Visuals?

The benefits of using visuals with young children

Visuals, in additional to language supports, can be helpful tools in providing support for skills that children are still working to develop, build independence, and decrease challenging behaviors.

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child hand touching adult hand with hearts

Prevention

The use of visuals can often help avoid or prevent challenging and unwanted behaviors.

Understanding

Visuals, like to-do lists, calendars, and signs help make abstract concepts more concrete.

Independence

Visuals decrease behaviors and anxiety and increase understanding, flexibility, and independence.

Using VIsuals

Best practices for implementing visuals

How do you implement and reinforce visual schedules and communication tools?

Start with the child’s developmental level
- Choose visuals that match the child’s age and understanding. (e.g. real photos for infants and toddlers, simple symbols or pictures for preschoolers with one to two words, and pictures with words for older children)
- Keep visuals clear, uncluttered, and familiar
Introduce visuals intentionally
- Model how to use them; show children what each visual means and how it connects to an action or part of the routine
- Start small with one or two visuals (e.g. snack time, cleanup), and build as children become comfortable
- Introduce visuals during calm moments, not only when behavior challenges arise
Be consistent
- Use visuals every day and in the same order so children learn what to expect
- Keep them in the same location (e.g. near the door, on the wall, or on a clip at the child’s eye level)
- Include other caregivers and/or your child care program in conversations about how and when you are implementing visual into your child’s routines
Involve children
- For older children, let them move pieces, check off steps, or turn over pictures as activities are completed
- Encourage them to point to or name visuals to communicate needs and choices
- Celebrate independence when children use visuals on their own
Adapt and update
- Review visuals regularly and replace outdated images
- Adjust for changes in routine, seasons, or developmental progress
- As children grow, add more words and simplify visuals to match their emerging literacy and comprehension

Bedtime routine chart with bath, teeth, books, and bed

Types of Visuals

Visual Schedules

Visual schedules and routine boards are useful in helping children understand a scheduled sequence of events, anticipate changes, and increase independence.

These types of visuals benefit children who struggle with routines or who are always asking “what comes next” or “when are we going to…”, helping them visualize that there are sequential events that need to occur prior to the activity.

Bedtime Picture Schedule PDF

Types of Visuals

Task Charts

Task charts, checklists, and to-do lists help children make sense of their roles and responsibilities. They deepen understanding, alleviate anxieties, and prevent unwanted behaviors that stem from lack of information or misunderstanding.

These types of visuals can be helpful for homework, chores, and jobs, including:

Packing their lunch
Completing homework
E-learning
Getting dressed, etc.

Types of Visuals

Feelings and Emotions

Social-emotional visuals, like visual scripts, feelings charts, and problem solving wheels can be used to help children understand social situations.

These visuals also help them engage with others, respond appropriately to situations, and solve problems. They help children visualize their emotions and provide choices on how to solve current and future problems.

For example, you can use this five-five breathing chart to develop self-regulation skills as a calming technique to help children regain focus during transitions or challenging moments. This allows them to connect deep breathing with touch and movement.

Feelings Charts

Types of Visuals

Token Boards

Token boards are visual tools you can use to motivate and reinforce positive behaviors in young children. They allow children to see what is available to earn at the end of a series of tasks. Appropriate rewards are positive, meaningful, and developmentally-appropriate. Examples of rewards:

Social rewards (special helper role, fist bumps, happy dance, praise, extra time with a teacher/parent)
Activity-based rewards (choose a game to play, read an extra book before bed, help with special job)

Over time, you should gradually shift rewards from external (stickers or prizes) to internal (feeling proud, helping others, or meeting personal goals), supporting the child’s growing sense of self-regulation and self-motivation. Additionally, giving your child a say about the reward he receives can make it feel more enticing.

Examples of token boards:

https://childcareanswers.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Website-780x500-Inline-Gallery-Video-4-1.png

5 Ways to Use Visual Schedules for Kids

Learn how to boost independence and reduce anxiety through this video from Harkla - Parenting & Child Development Tips.

Additional Resources

Printable visual tools

Print and use these PDF resources to help incorporate visuals into your child’s daily routines.

PDF Resource

First-Then Board

Download

PDF Resource

Morning Routine Social Story

Download

PDF Resource

Afternoon Checklist

Download

When words and visual elements are closely entwined, we create something new and we augment our communal intelligence ... visual language has the potential for increasing ‘human bandwidth'—the capacity to take in, comprehend, and more efficiently synthesize large amounts of new information.

Dr. Robert E. Horn

Stanford University