Visual schedules have been used extensively to support students with Autism Spectrum Disorder understand a routine and smooth transitions between activities. Visual schedules can be used more broadly with students and are particularly effective for students with language disorders and learning disabilities.

When using visual schedules remember to:

• include the written word/s underneath the picture
• explain the sequence of activities from left to right
• use a finish box / pouch / line so that the student must physically do something to indicate the action has finished
• persist, practice, remind, repeat - students will take time to learn new strategies and effort is required to make using a visual schedule a routine part of their day

Here are some ideas for implementing visual schedules in speech-language therapy sessions or when supporting a student in the classroom:

• use pictures to represent each activity in the therapy session (e.g. hello, story cards, glueing, writing, goodbye). This is particularly useful for students who are easily distracted or who wish to finish after ten minutes.
• uses pictures/words to represent the steps of an activity (e.g. listen to story, think about important words, listen to question, answer OR clarify question).
• use sequencing strips to order the steps of a task and support comprehension. You can ask the student to put the steps in order and check that it makes sense (e.g. Read the first paragraph, highlight the main idea in blue, highlight the important details in green, highlight any unknown words in yellow). By cutting the steps into strips the student can be given one strip at a time to focus on.
• To Do Lists! These are an invaluable tool for adults as well as students!! Use To Do lists to clearly outline the activities that are required for a task. This is really useful as a comprehension reminder for students, a way to keep them on-track with a task and a motivator to see a task through to the end. Use a tickbox so that the student can physically indicate when a step has been completed. Great for students from Grade 2 - 6.
• Use simple schedules with younger students to support their understanding of a class activity. This could be as simple as three pictures: Colour / Cut / Paste. Ask the students to use the pictures to tell you the steps they need to do for a task. This helps you check if they have understood the demands of the task.

Here are some examples of visual schedules.