Visual Schedules

Visual schedules are pictures of the activities your child needs to complete during a routine (like getting ready in the morning) or activities that will happen that day (such as going to the library or going to speech therapy). Visual schedules provide emotional comfort by reminding children what will happen next and powerful reminders of what they are supposed to be doing in a given moment.

Showing your child a picture of the next activity reinforces the directions you give - your child hears the instructions (“It’s time to put on your shoes”) and sees the instructions (picture of shoes). Visual schedules also provide children emotional security by eliminating surprises about daily events.

If your child finds changes to the routine distressing, talk to them about those changes as you review the schedule the night before or during the day (“Remember, tomorrow Grammie is coming over to play” or “After lunch we’re going to take a walk to the park”). If your child spends some nights at mom’s house and some at dad’s, prepare for the transition by including a picture of that family member on the schedule so your child knows where they will be spending the evening. If your child has difficulty remembering steps in a routine, the visual images can be gentle reminders of the steps that need to be accomplished during this time. Referring to the pictures lets your child be more independent and reduces the number of times you need to give the same direction!

Follow this link for more details about using a visual schedule at home. You can print the pictures from this link, make your own pictures by drawing them (it’s fun to draw them with your child!), or order premade magnetic visual schedules to stick on your fridge. There’s no “right” way to make a schedule - simply include the information that your child needs to keep on track and feel secure.