Simple & Practical Visual Strategies for Children with Autism

This article is from Linda Hodgons Newsletter

Simple, Practical Visual Strategies that Work
I’ve encountered people who master having a schedule or a snack choice board for students and they feel like they are done. They don’t see beyond those first visual tools that they have created. I wish they would realize that they have only just begun to tap the possibilities with visual strategies. The “magic” of visual strategies is that they are the perfect tools to teach those concepts that can be so difficult for lots of students to understand. There are endless opportunities to teach concepts and solve problems with visual tools.

Here’s an example from Caity’s Mom

Caity wasn’t happy about getting her clothes washed. Changing clothes caused problems. So here is how Mom explained how she handled it.

This Washing Clothes card

helped us through a lot of trying situations. Caity did not understand the concept of dirty clothes. But she knew SHE needed a bath. So I created a visual for Caity’s clothes to have THEIR bath in the washing machine. In the meantime, she could make a choice of other clothes that she could pick. Pretty clever, isn’t it? And it’s so simple. It isn’t the fanciest chart and I don’t think it took a long time to create. But I have no doubt that this little gem saved Mom from dealing with lots of tantrums along the way.

Transitions can be “messy”

Transitions are some of the toughest times for lots of children, whether or not they have special needs. Kids don’t want to stop what they are doing to join our agenda, whatever it may be . . . especially if they are having fun. Here’s a visual transition tool that helped Caity succeed.

Caity’s Mom reports

The Transition Tool was my lifesaver for transitioning Caity. First she would see me take it out to use. Just seeing it helped her to know that something was going to change. I would then give her a few moments to adjust to the "idea" of going. Then I would begin the countdown. I would always observe her to see how she was handling the idea of leaving. Then I could either go slower or faster depending on how well she was doing. But (important to remember) when I got to the last number, I HAD to be ready to go immediately.

When she was younger I could do a countdown method from “5-4-3-2-1-time to go” flip chart. I put favorite cartoon characters on the top of the flip section to help motivate her to look at the transition tool. I was in control of the countdown, so when I got to three, I would observe her to see how well she was handling the idea of ending her activity. I could either slow down the remaining count or speed it up. It depended on the situation.

As soon as I got to the last flip of “time to go” or “all done” I needed to be ready to go because she could leave without me. I put a clear plastic pocket on the last flip section. Then I could change the wording with a little card to have it say whatever I would like. For example, “go home,” “stop TV,” or “all done”. I used the transition countdown tool for several years and finally progressed to the five-finger countdown, and then eventually (years later) I was able to just tell her “time to go.”

What a simple solution The flip chart worked! Just look at it. Duct tape and a few stickers. Not fancy, but Caity understood exactly what it meant. Mom counted down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Could she have made it count up like this . . . 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ? I think so. It really doesn’t matter as long as Mom and child both have the same understanding.

Please note this

Mom describes how she used the cardboard & duct tape version. Later on, the system “morphed” to using her fingers. And later on, the system “morphed” to a verbal system.

Here’s a common question

“OK, I am using some visual strategies and the student is responding. When do I start to “wean them off” so they don’t become dependent on them?” The answer to this question is “maybe never.” Or the visuals may gradually be replaced, but that may take a really long time . . . like years.

The bottom line

Visual supports may change and morph as time goes on because the student’s needs change. But using visual tools to help them handle the events of life successfully can be lifelong . . . . and that’s a good thing."