Welcome to Visual Supports in Our World! Bruce J. Glendenning, M. Ed, SLP AT Specialist Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System (FDLRS/Crown) 4124 Boulevard Center Drive Jacksonville, Florida 32207

Visual Supports in our world!

Let’s check and see how well we understand the visual supports in our daily life!

Most people would benefit from paying attention to visual supports. Opps!! 

Game time!!

Even Polar Bears… need visual supports!

Welcome to VISUAL SUPPORTS: A TOOL FOR STUDENT SUCCESS!

VISUAL SUPPORTS for the Home, Community, and Classroom! communication and language deficits. Strategies for individuals with communication and language deficits.

Our Purpose today is to help answer the following questions…..  What are visual supports?  Which ones do I use?  How do I make them or get them?  How do I use them?  Do I need a special computer program to create them?

But first… How necessary are visual supports?

Think about how life would be without our own visual support systems! Visual Supports help us understand our world and keep us on track!

So…what exactly are visual supports for children? Hmmm?

Diane Twachtman-Cullen, Ph.D. defines Visual Supports as…..  “A tool that enables the child to keep track of the day’s events and activities and at the same time helps him or her to develop an understanding of time frame and appreciation of environmental sequences” Diane Twachtman-Cullen is a well known authority on autism spectrum disorders. (1995) Teaching Children with autism: Strategies to enhance communication and socialization

Linda Hodgdon, M.Ed., CCC-SLP  Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and lots of other students with behavior or communication challenges tend to be visual learners. They understand what they see better than what they hear. Therefore, they benefit significantly from the use of Visual Strategies.

Why Use Visual Supports With Children….  Follow rules  Visual reminders…  Understand what they are supposed to do  Know what is happening in their day  Understand how to complete work play or activities and tell someone they are finished  Move from one activity to another

Why Use Visual Supports With Children continued…..  Make choices about what they want to do  Prevent challenging behavior  Are helpful in supporting and increasing both receptive and expressive communication  Visuals are static, meaning that they remain present after the spoken word  Visuals can act as a cue to teach appropriate behavior

Visual Supports are an effective instructional tool…  “Visual supports organize a sequence of events, enhancing the student’s ability to understand, anticipate and participate in those events.  Visual supports supplement verbal instruction, clarifying the information for the student and increasing comprehension.  Visual supports can be used to cue communication, providing reminders of what to do and say in a situation.” Kathleen Ann Quill, Ed.D., Director of the Autism Institute, Teaching Children with Autism: Strategies to Enhance Communication and Socialization, 1995

Linda A. Hodgdon M.Ed., CCC-SLP  Visual Strategies for Improving Communication / Volume 1: Practical Supports for School and Home  Solving Behavior Problems in Autism / Improving Communication with Visual Strategies

Strategies for Individuals with Autism and Asperger Syndrome (2000)  by Jennifer L. Savner & Brenda Smith Myles  Visual supports give children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders more control of their environment, resulting in less frustration and fewer problem behaviors. A treasure chest of ideas!

Simply put…… Visual Supports are a way of making auditory information visual.

Where Do I Start?

Do I need a special software program to make visual supports…

Not if you can……  Draw  Use scissors (without cutting yourself)  Search the internet for images  Take digital pictures

BUT…. Isn’t there always a but? FIRST…………………...

Remember children communicate and understand at different levels Determine your child’s…… “Visual Stage”

Basically there are 5 stages  Object Stage  Photo Stage  Picture Symbolic Stage  Line Drawing Stage  Text Stage

Object Stage: the use of actual objects and items for communication needs.

Photo Stage: Use of real photographs from… Digital Camera Magazines Coupons Catalogs People Places Things

Photo Tips: When taking pictures of an item…  Place item or object on a solid/high contrasting background  Try to take the photo from the child’s perspective

Use scissors to cut out pictures from grocery ads, product boxes, etc.

Search the internet for….. FREE Clipart D&T Clip Art Library

Picture Symbolic Stage:  Create printed symbol-based communication and educational materials with Picture Communication Symbols and other pictures and graphics in 42 languages! Mayer-Johnson Boardmaker Software $399.00

Boardmaker features more than 4,500 Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) in both color and black-and-white, all in 44 languages.

Picture This... Professional CD  Contains over 5000 high-resolution photos!  Great for creating picture schedules, communication boards, and for teaching matching skills, reading skills and receptive or expressive vocabulary.  Price:$89.95

Overboard Communication Board Software  Overboard is easy-to-use communication board software perfect for home use!  Similar to Boardmaker, you can quickly search and retrieve 5,500 color picture symbols appropriate for both younger and older children.  You can size, print out boards, worksheets, journals, schedules and more!  It includes speech output too so you can make talking stories or picture schedules.

Line Drawing Stage: Draw simple pictures…..

But…be careful not to confuse anyone!

Text Stage: Use of written words and/or numbers for communication needs.  Use written text along with photos, pictures, and line drawings to promote reading.  Written text also assures that everyone interacting with the child uses the same language for a particular item. Bowling ballRead Captain Jack Sparrow

 Throughout the day. Visual supports need to be portable so they can go wherever the child goes.  Throughout our lives. Once the student is successful we may be tempted to remove visual supports, but experience has shown us that as students enter new environments and face new challenges it is much easier to modify existing visual supports than to reintroduce supports which had been taken away. When do we use visual supports?

Okay….I get it! NOW…show me some examples!

What Kind of Visual Supports Can I Use? Examples:  Visual Schedules  Information Sharers  Checklists / Organizers  Visual Behavior Supports

Schedules  The goal of a visual schedule is for the child to transition independently to the next activity.  Schedules need to be portable and easy to access and use.  You can use pictures, words, colored-coded cards or whatever works best for the individual student.  Use symbols at the child’s level of understanding.

Visual Schedules

 A “check schedule” card is kept right next to the schedule.  When it is time for the student to transition to the next activity the card is handed to the student with the request to “check your schedule”.  The student will bring the card back to the place where it belongs, thus bringing him to his schedule. This schedule works well for younger students just learning to use a schedule or for students in a self-contained classroom. Example # 1

 Once the student is at their schedule they can be cued or physically assisted to take the next card on the schedule. Example # 1 continued

Example # 2  As each activity is completed the card is moved to the “All Done” column. Be sure to schedule activities the student enjoys, to keep them interested and motivated. Things to do.All Done Warm-Up Work Task Break Community Lunch This schedule clearly communicates what needs to be done. It can be attached to a notebook or clipboard so it is portable and easy to use.

Example # 3 This schedule works well for students who spend most of their day in general education  This schedule is both portable and flexible. It is made from an inexpensive folder like any student would carry with them.  As each activity is completed the card is turned around in the mini-pocket (made from pieces of cardboard taped on the folder).  Students can put their assignments “to be done” in the left pocket and “completed” assignments in the right pocket.

Information Sharers What did you do today?

Information Sharers continued…… Identification card

Visual Reminders…  Just as adults use calendars, grocery lists, and “to-do” lists to enhance memory, children benefit from visual reminders.

Reminders of verbal directions…  Visuals are static, meaning that they remain present after words are spoken. Children can refer to them once the spoken words are no longer present. Visuals serve as a reminder of the verbal direction.

First / Then ~ Sequence

First / Then ~ Choice

Visual Supports help children stay on task….  Visuals assist children in knowing exactly what is expected of them. (e.g., washing hands independently, cleaning up toys)

Regular routines….  Regular routines, when represented visually, can be taught to children at a very young age  Once taught, the adult can fade out of the routine and allow the child to self-monitor the routine to completion.

Teaching appropriate behavior….  Visuals can act as a cue to teach appropriate behavior or new skills for children who are having challenging behavior.

 Visual strategies can be used to prevent problem behavior. Managing Behavior….

Visual Behavior Supports Waiting can be a very abstract concept: Where do I wait? How long do I wait? What do I do while I wait? Pictures, visual timers and wait cards can help give meaning to the word “wait”.

Supports for communication… Visual strategies are helpful in supporting and increasing both receptive and expressive communication.

People Locators & Sequence of Events

 A picture in the hand tells a child where they are going.  A “receiver envelope” is kept at the site where the activity will occur.  The child puts the picture in the envelope where the activity takes place—transition complete! Transitions

Reminders and rules This is a good way to remind students to walk in the classroom or hallway. For some students, handing them this card before walking in the hall is enough to slow down the pace.

Reminders and rules continued… Carry cards like these when walking in the community to reinforce verbal requests to follow rules of safety.

REMEMBER: Simply giving a child the visual support is not enough.  Using a step-by-step format, an adult must teach the child how to use the visual support  The adult must model each step  Prompt as needed  Always provide praise for attempts and successes

Home / School Calendar

Preparing for Visitors  In the home: Use a card like this one for families to prepare their child for visitors.

Where are we going?

Choices at Home and in the Community  Choices at home are just as important as choices at school. Remember that even the simplest of choices can empower the child and increase positive behavior.  “Do you want to use the yellow toothbrush or the blue toothbrush?” was enough to get one family past “I don’t want to brush my teeth”.

Making snack choices….  Making snack choices visual and available can help the child communicate his wants and needs for something to eat or drink and allows you to control the options.

Think “Total Communication” For many children, visual supports are most beneficial when used in conjunction with spoken language and/or sign language.

When Creating Visual Tools…. DO: use what the student understands quickly and easily create tools that are universally understood observe how the students respond to what you create teach what you create place visual tools in all settings DON’T Make tools that are to complicated or too difficult for students to understand create arbitrary rules about how visual tools must look

Caution: Be very careful as to not use…. too many visual supports!

Have you ever found yourself in this predicament?

Or how about this?

Things to Remember….  A simple drawing can communicate  Keep visual supports clear and concise  Include only the precise information necessary to complete a task  Making visual supports requires a time investment….start small!

 Make visual supports age appropriate.  When using visual supports pair them with spoken language so students begin to attach meaning…But use the words sparingly and match key words and phrases to the objects, pictures or actions.  Make the supports sturdy, easy to handle, durable More Things to Remember….

 Present visuals from left to right if your child can scan horizontally (prepares the child for reading) NOTE: some children are vertical scanners – In this case, present visuals from top to bottom.  Sometimes you will see immediate results.  Sometimes it takes days, weeks or months before you see results. STICK WITH IT! It is only by using the visuals that students will attach meaning to them. Even More Things to Remember….

So The Question Arises… Why Use Visual Supports? Because…they work!

Web-Sites  This site has many ready-made visuals which are easy to print and use.  This site has pictures to download and lots of resources.  Overboard is communication board design software containing over 5,500 high resolution pictures  Check out this site to find out more about Boardmaker and other resources.  This site literally has thousands of pictures you can access.

Web-Sites continued…  This site has some simple picture recipes.  This site has tons of information on autism and related issues, including structured work tasks.  This site explains the Picture Exchange Communication System by Bondy and Frost.

CREDITS……  Visual Strategies for Improving Communication by Linda Hodgdon  Solving Behavior Problems in Autism by Linda Hodgdon  Teaching Children with Autism: Strategies to Enhance Communication and Socialization by Kathleen Quill, New York: Delmar Publishers Inc.,  Eastern Upper Peninsula Autism Grant Team  Boardmaker Picture Symbols by Mayer-Johnson, Inc. P.O. Box 1579, Solana Beach, CA USA  Making Visual Supports Work in the Home and Community: Strategies for Individuals with Autism and Asperger Syndrome (Spiral-bound) by Jennifer L. Savner, Brenda Smith HylesJennifer L. SavnerBrenda Smith Hyles

No …. It’s just the Beginning